Gevorg Emin
| Gevorg Emin Գևորգ Էմին |
|
|---|---|
Gevorg Emin
|
|
| Born |
September 30, 1918 Ashtarak, First Republic of Armenia |
| Died | June 11, 1998 (aged 79) Yerevan, Armenia |
| Occupation | Poet, essayist, translator |
| Nationality | Armenian |
| Ethnicity | Armenian |
| Literary movement | Socialist realism |
| Notable works | Seven Songs About Armenia |
Gevorg Emin (Armenian: Գևորգ Էմին, September 30, 1918 – June 11, 1998) was an Armenian poet, essayist, and translator.
Emin, the son of a school teacher, was born in the town of Ashtarak. In 1927, his family left Ashtarak and moved to Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia. In 1936 he finished secondary school; in 1940 he graduated from the local Polytechnical Institute as a hydraulic engineer. After graduation he designed and supervised the building of a hydroelectric power station which is still producing electricity. The power station remained his only engineering accomplishment.
In school, Emin met Armenia's leading poet Yegishe Charents, who died in 1937 in a Soviet prison. Emin recalls in his preface to For You on New Year's Day:
Emin's roots as a poet are deeply embedded in the culture and the physical landscape of the country he grew up in. To this is added his extensive reading of modern poetry, especially French symbolist poets, and his enduring faith in the power of poetry. From 1941 to 1945, Emin fought (and was wounded) in World War II. His poetry makes no specific references to his own war experiences but often refers to the Armenian Genocide.
Emin's poetry has been translated from Armenian to many languages all over the world. Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko read him in Russian and immediately hailed his work. Yevtushenko wrote the Introduction to the collection of Emin's verse translated into English as For You on New Year's Day; here the Russian poet contrasted Emin to his fellow Armenian poets who emphasized emotion in their work:
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