Vardan Matevossian
Vardan Matevossian is a writer, philologist, publicist and translator.
He was born in 1964 in Montevideo and is a third-generation Diaspora Armenian.
Matevossian's biography starts with the Armenian language and everything Armenian. And that Armenianness made him overcome foreign influences while many others failed to do so and preserved only their Armenian eyes that always look at Armenia.
From 1973 till 2000 Matevossian lived in Buenos Aires. In 1981 he graduated from the Khrimian Institute and in 1991 from Buenos Aires National University.
As for 2005 he lived in New Jersey and worked at the Hovnanian College. Studying the Armenian literature and history constituted main parts of his activities.
Matevossian has translated 10 volumes of literature from Armenian into Spanish, including works of Yeghishe Charents, Paruyr Sevak, Yervand Otian and others. He has published a number of articles in various Diaspora magazines.
In August of 2005 there was a presentation of Matevossian's books, Endless Return, The Southern Side of the World and The Armenians in Latin America, held in the Museum of Literature and Arts.
In his book The Armenians in Latin America he presents facts that were not known in Armenia. For instance, it turns out that the term "Armenia" is very popular in Latin America and he connects this popularity to Biblical themes. This book is not available for the Armenian readers.
The other one Endless Return, is a book of memoirs covering the period of 1989-2004.
"We carry Armenia in our souls as a universe, as our destiny, " Kostan Zarian's words are the starting point for this book.
There Matevossian tells about his visits to Armenia, about the life and customs in Armenia, the negative and positive aspects of Armenian reality. The book is dynamic with stories about his friends and acquaintances.
Preservation of the Armenian roots is very difficult for the Diaspora. In this context, any book, any publication comes to contribute to the preservation of Armenianness among the Diaspora Armenians.
Sources
- SIMPLY VARDAN MATEVOSSIAN, By Gohar, Yerkir/arm, August 26, 2005