Levon Larents (Kirisciyan) (, 1875–1915) was an Armenian writer, translator, journalist, editor, novelist, poet, and teacher. He was an editor of many newspapers around the world and the founder of many others. During the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, Larents was deported to Ankara and then killed.

Life

Levon Larents was born in 1875 in the

Samatya Samatya (; ) is a quarter of the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the Marmara Sea, and borders to the west on the neighborhood of Yedikule (the "Castle of the Seven Towers"). Etymology The name originates from the Greek word '' ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He received his education at the local

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

where he graduated in 1902. During his time as a student in Robert College, Larents along with classmates Yenovk Armen and Hrand Esayan published the ''Zepur'' Armenian periodical. For a brief period after his graduation, Larents was a contributor to the ''Puzantion'' newspaper. He then moved to

Adapazarı Adapazarı () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 324 km2, and its population 281,489 (2022). It covers the central and northern part of the agglomeration of Adapazarı and t ...

where he taught 'The History of Civilization' at the local Armenian Getronagan School there. In 1905, Larents went to the United States, escaping from societal pressure in the Ottoman Empire, where he became part of the reform movement of the Armenian

Hunchak The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) (), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian political party, founded in 1887 by a group of students in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the first socialist party to operate in the Ottoman Empire and i ...

political party. While in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, Larents became the editor of a local Armenian newspaper called ''Tsayn Hayreneats'' or "Voice of the Fatherland" for a period of two years. He eventually moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

when worked in Orosdi Back, a wholesale company. While in Alexandria, he also became a contributor to the ''Azad Pern'' local Armenian newspaper. However, after the death of

Arpiar Arpiarian Arpiar Arpiarian () (December 21, 1851 – February 12, 1908) was a writer and a political activist from the Ottoman Empire. He was the pioneer of realism in Armenian literature. Early life and education Arpiar Arpiarian was born in 185 ...

, Larents moved to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. After the Young Turk revolution in 1908, Larents returned to Constantinople where he became the chief-editor of ''Murj'' and ''Tsayn Hayreneats'' for two years. While in Constantinople, Larents published a book of poems entitled ''Trahkdi Yerker'' or "Songs of Heaven". He also translated numerous works from French and English into Armenian. One such work was a translation of

H. F. B. Lynch Henry Finnis Blosse Lynch, Master of Arts, MA, FRGS (18 April 1862 – 24 November 1913) was a British traveller, businessman, and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Parliament of the United Kingdom, Member of Parliament. Biography Lynch was the only ...

's "Armenia" which was published in 1913. In 1911, he had also translated the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

into Armenian.

Death

Levon Larents was one of the Armenian leaders deported during the

. He was first deported to Ayaş along with other Armenian intellectuals. Larents was then transferred to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

where he was killed outside of the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larents, Levon Writers from Istanbul Date of birth missing Date of death missing 1875 births 1915 deaths 19th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian-language writers Robert College alumni Expatriates from the Ottoman Empire in the United States

Life

Death

See also

References