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ZABEL YESAYAN
1878 - 1943
Zabel Yessayan (alternate spellings: Yessaian, Esayan, Essayan,
etc.), a gifted novelist who was considered the female counterpart
to Krikor Zohrab, was born in Scutari, a district of Constantinople.
From an early age, she wanted to be a writer and as early as age
17 she published a short piece in a literary magazine. She obtained
higher education in Paris where she worked her way through the Sorbonne
by revising a French-Armenian dictionary and by writing articles
and short stories for French and Armenian magazines. She returned
to Constantinople at the age of 30 to enjoy an active literary life,
well recognized for her talent. The Young Turks ranked her with
Zohrab, Zartarian, Siamanto
and Varoujan and placed
her name – the only female writer – on their list for
liquidation. She escaped to Bulgaria and from there managed to reach
the Caucasus where she documented much of the atrocities taking
place...
Biography |
