Shahan Shahnour
Encyclopedia
Shahan Shahnour also known as Armen Lubin (real name Shahnour Kerestejian, August 3, 1903, Istanbul
- August 20, 1974, Paris
) was a French
-Armenia
n writer and poet. He is considered as a renowned Diasporan
author in the Western Armenia
n tradition with his own style of writing.
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- August 20, 1974, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n writer and poet. He is considered as a renowned Diasporan
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
author in the Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
n tradition with his own style of writing.
Biography
Shahan Shahnour was born Shahnour Kerestejian, on August 3, 1903, in a suburb of Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from Berberian High School in 1921, and started contributing to "Vosdan" paper, mostly with translations. In 1923 he moved to Paris, where he worked as a photographer, and in 1929 he published his first novel written in Armenian, RETREAT WITHOUT SONG, which had appeared periodically in Harach newspaper of Paris. In 1933, he published his second book, also written in Armenian, THE BETRAYAL OF BLOOD-SUCKERS, which is a collection of short stories. In 1937 he fell victim to a terrible bone disease (Osteolysis) which disabled him and caused him much pain and suffering for the rest of his life, which was spent in hospitals after he lost his home in 1939. In 1945, having partially recovered from his illness, he started writing in French under the name Armen Lubin, and from then on he was acclaimed highly as a French writer and poet and received several literary awards. He published in French THE FURTIVE PASSER-BY, SACRED PATIENCE, THE NIGHTLY TRANSPORT, THE HIGH CAGE, and FIRE WITH FIRE. In 1962 a collection of his Armenian works were printed in Yerevan by Haybedhrad Press. In 1967 he published TWO RED NOTEBOOKS in Armenian, and in 1971 THE OPEN REGISTER also in Armenian. Shahnour died on August 20, 1974, in the hospital of Saint Rafael, in France.Books
- Lubin, Armen. Feux contre feux. Paris, 1968.
- Lubin, Armen. Les hautes terrasses; poemes, Paris, 1957.
- Shahan Shahnour. Nahanj arants yerki: badgerazart badmutiun Hayots (Retreat without Song: Armenian History Illustrated). Paris, 1929 (in Armenian).
- Shahan Shahnour. The Tailor's Visitors, trans. Mischa Kudian. London, 1984.