Zabelle C. Boyajian () (1873 – 26 January 1957) was an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

n painter, writer, and translator, who lived most of her life in London.

Biography

Zabelle C. Boyajian was born in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

in the

Diyarbekir Vilayet The Vilayet of Diyâr-ı Bekr (, ota, ولايت ديار بكر, ) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, wholly located within what is now modern Turkey. The vilayet extended south from Palu on the Euphrat ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(one of the ancient Armenian capitals, Tigranakert) into the family of the British Vice-Consul in

and

Harput Harpoot ( tr, Harput) or Kharberd ( hy, Խարբերդ, translit=Kharberd) is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the ...

Thomas Boyajian and Catherine Rogers, a descendant of the English poet

Samuel Rogers Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. His ...

. After her father's murder during the Hamidian massacres, in 1895, Boyajian, her mother and her brother, Henry, moved to London, where she enrolled at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

. She also started writing and illustrating her own books. Her first novel, ''Yestere: The Romance of a Life,'' about the massacres in Sasun, was published under the pen name Varteni (London, 1901). She was very close with Anna Raffi, the wife of the Armenian novelist

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

, and her two sons, Aram and Arshak, who had moved to London after Raffi's death. Boyajian periodically translated and published excerpts from Raffi's novels in the journal ''Ararat'' and organized various reading events to honor his work. In 1916, she compiled and translated the anthology ''Armenian Legends and Poems'' (1916), which was introduced by Viscount

James Bryce James Bryce may refer to: *James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist * James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer *James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politician ...

and which included several poems in

Alice Stone Blackwell Alice Stone Blackwell (September 14, 1857 – March 15, 1950) was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, radical socialist, and human rights advocate. Early life and education Blackwell was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Henry Browne ...

's translation. She traveled widely and in 1938 published her travel notes and illustrations of Greece, ''In Greece with Pen and Palette''. In 1948 she translated and published

Avetik Isahakian Avetik Sahak Isahakyan ( hy, Ավետիք Սահակ Իսահակյան; October 30, 1875 – October 17, 1957) was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer and public activist. Biography Isahakyan was born in Alexandropol in 1875. He was educ ...

's epic poem ''Abu Lala Mahari''. Boyajian also wrote essays on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

Michael Arlen Michael Arlen (16 November 1895 – 23 June 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian ( hy, Տիգրան Գոյումճեան), was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of Armenian origin, who had his greatest su ...

, Raffi, and

, as well as comparative works on English and Armenian literature. As a painter, Boyajian had her individual exhibitions in London in 1910 and 1912, in Germany in 1920, in Egypt in 1928, in France, in Italy, and in Belgium between 1940-50.Khatchatur I. Pilikian, ''95th Anniversary of Zabelle Boyajian's Armenian Legends and Poems'

Retrieved on April 8, 2012. Boyajian died on 26 January 1957 in London.

Books

* ''Armenian Legends and Poems.'' Trans. Z. C. Boyajian. New York: Columbia University Press, 1st ed., 1916. * ''Gilgamesh: A Dream of the Eternal Quest.'' London: George W. Jones, 1924. * ''In Greece with Pen and Palette.'' London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1938.

Critical reception

The Contemporary Review (December 1916) wrote about the anthology ''Armenian Legends and Poems'': Scotsman (November 18, 1916) wrote: The Manchester Guardian wrote about Boyajian's art work: (Qtd in A. A. Bedikian's "The Poet and Artist: A Profile of Zabelle Boyajian" ''Ararat Magazine'' Summer 1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyajian, Zabelle 1873 births 1957 deaths Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian people of English descent British people of Armenian descent Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom Ethnic Armenian painters People from Diyarbakır People from Diyarbekir vilayet Survivors of the Hamidian massacres Translators from Armenian 20th-century Armenian translators 20th-century Armenian painters 20th-century Armenian women writers 20th-century Armenian women artists