Hrant Ignati Matevosyan (, 12 February 1935 – 19 December 2002) was an Armenian writer and screenwriter. By the time of his death he was considered Armenia's "most prominent and accomplished contemporary novelist".

Biography

Hrant Matevosyan was born in 1935 in the village of Ahnidzor, now located in Armenia's

Lori Province Lori (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia (country), Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. ...

. He studied in the village school then continued his education at the Pedagogical University of Kirovakan (now

Vanadzor Vanadzor (, ) is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city h ...

). In 1952 he moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

where he worked at a printing house. From 1958 until 1962, Matevosyan was a proofreader for the magazine ''Sovetakan Grakanutyun'' ("Soviet Literature") and the newspaper ''Grakan Tert'' ("Literary Newspaper"). Matevosyan started his literary career in 1961 with an essay "Ahnidzor," which was an expression of a new outlook in literature and was not appreciated at first. His first story collection ''Ogostos'' (August) was published in 1967. Matevosyan became acclaimed as one of the pioneers of Armenian modern rural prose. He headed the Writers' Union of Armenia from 1995 until 2000. His literary pieces have been translated into around 40 languages, including

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...

, and Georgian. Matevosyan died of cancer on 12 December 2002 at the age of 67. He is buried at

Komitas Pantheon __NOTOC__ Komitas Park and Pantheon () is located in Yerevan's Shengavit District, on the right side of the main Arshakunyats Avenue, in Armenia. It was formed in 1936 after the demolition of the "Mler" cemetery and its historic chapel. Many out ...

which is located in the city center of Yerevan. He had two children, a son and a daughter.

Education

* Kirovakan Pedagogical University * 1958–1962 — Yerevan State Pedagogical Institute, Department of History and Linguistics * 1966–1967 — Moscow Higher Course on Scriptwriting

Awards

* 1967 — "Дружба народов" (Friendship of Nations) magazine award * 1984 — USSR State Literature Award * 1984 — USSR State Literature Award * 1996 — Knight of RA Mesrop Mashtots order

Works

Stories * 1967 — August * 1967 — Orange Pony * 1967 — Mesrop * 1968 — Buffalo * 1987 - Trees Articles and essays * Metsamor * In Front of White Paper * It's Me Film scripts and plays * 1969 —

We and Our Mountains ''We and Our Mountains'' (; ) is a 1969 Armenian comedy-drama film directed by Henrik Malyan and starring Azat Sherents, Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Sos Sargsyan and Khoren Abrahamyan. The screenplay was adapted by Hrant Matevosyan on the basis of his own ...

(film) * 1969 — The Poor's Honour (film) * 1975 — This Green, Red World (film) * 1977 — Autumn Sun (film) * 1977 — August * 1979 — Aramayis Yerznkyan (film) * 1983 - Neutral Zone (play) * 1984 — The Master (film) * 1992 — National Army (film) Short stories * 1962 — We and Our Mountains (short story) * 1974 — Carriage Horses * 1982 - Tashkent * 1973 — Autumn Sun * The Master * Along the Edge (incomplete) * Buffalo * The Country's Nerve *Princess Nana's Bridge Statues On September 12, 2013 a statue of Hrant Matevosyan, created by Artashes Hovsepyan, an honored artist of RA, sculptor, was installed in the yard of the school named after Hrant Matevosyan.

References

External links

Hrant Matevosyan's official website

Armenian Encyclopedia

Armenian writer Hrant Matevosyan would celebrate 78th birthday today

No Week without Hrant Matevossian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matevosyan, Hrant 1935 births 2002 deaths 21st-century Armenian male writers 20th-century Armenian writers 21st-century Armenian writers 21st-century Armenian screenwriters Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Male screenwriters Recipients of the USSR State Prize High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors alumni Burials at the Komitas Pantheon