Spurk (in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Սփիւռք pronounced ''Spiurk'' meaning ''

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

'') is an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n literary and public weekly, periodical, or journal, published since 1958 in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

1958-1989: Literary and general periodical

;1958-1974 - Simon Simonian First published in a tabloid size by the Armenian literary figure Simon Simonian as a weekly, and then as a biweekly (once every two weeks). Initially led by an independent line away from traditional Armenian political party lines, it was a prominent Armenian language publication with literary, historical, social and artistic coverage. ''Spurk'' also had a large network of readers and authors from different countries (among them authors from the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic like

Hovhannes Shiraz Hovhannes Shiraz (; April 27, 1914 – March 24, 1984) was an Armenians, Armenian poet. Biography Shiraz was born Onik Tadevosi Karapetyan in the city of Alexandropol, then part of the Russian Empire (now Gyumri, Armenia). His mother, Astghik ...

Silva Kaputikyan Silva Kaputikyan () (20 January 1919 – 25 August 2006) was an Armenian poet and political activist. One of the best-known Armenian writers of the twentieth century, she is recognized as "the leading poetess of Armenia" and "the grand lady of t ...

, Kevork Gubelyan etc.) in addition to a large number of writers and poets from the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

. Among with a few other Armenian journals like '' Nayiri'', ''

Pakin ''Pakin'' (or gallicised ''Pakine'', ) is an Armenian-language literary and cultural periodical published in Beirut, Lebanon since 1962. The magazine was founded by Garo Sassouni as executive editor and Yetvart Boyajian and Boghos Snabian as edit ...

'', ''Shirak'' etc., ''Spurk'' became the focus of Armenian literary and intellectual life in the region of

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

throughout the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.(Re)constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: ethno-cultural diversity and the state in the aftermath of a refugee crisis, by Nicola Migliorino, 2008, p. 123Armenian Diaspora.com: Սփիւռք պարբերաթերթ (Լիբանանի հայ մամուլի շարքից)
(in Armenian) ;1975-1989 - Kevork Ajemian In 1975, Kevork Ajemian took over the publication of the periodical from Simon Simonian, but kept the literary and artistic orientation and focus of the publication. Kevork Ajemian continued with the periodical until 1989. Upon the death of Kevork Ajemian, it was revealed that he was one of the founding members of ASALA alongside Hagop Hagopian (real name Harutiun Tagushian).

1990: Organ of Armenian Popular Movement

In 1990, Ajemian transferred the licence of the periodical ''Spurk'' to the left-wing Armenian Popular Movement (seen as the political mouthpiece of the

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Government of Turkey, Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for ...

(ASALA) in Lebanon). The latter changed the general focus of the paper and a large amount of the materials were devoted to political issues, the Armenian Cause and liberation ideology. The new owners also changed the format of the publication from tabloid newspaper into small size magazine and started to publish it monthly or with lesser frequency, The political orientation of the magazine was a big departure from the traditional literary / artistic tradition of the original publication for 1958 until 1990 under Simonian and Ajemian and the new ''Spurk'' is considered a new publication independent from the historical Armenian periodical. Currently ''Spurk'' is a yearly illustrated journal.

Editors

* Simon Simonian (1958-1974) * Kevork Ajemian (1975-1989) *Armenian Popular Movement (1990 onward)

References

*Kevork Yazdjian, Lebanese-Armenian press in 2002, Yerevan, 2004, 47 p. {{Reflist Armenian journals