Honoring NY-Area Early Writers and Intellectuals of the Mirror-Spectator

Antreassian founded the two organizations’ respective presses — St. Vartan and Ararat Press, his own Ashod Press and the AGBU literary quarterly, Ararat, of which he was the first editor. He helped create the Antranig Dance Group and Camp Nubar for the AGBU, and the Anahid Literary Award, which became connected to the Columbia Armenian Center. His work at the Diocese after the Armenian earthquake of 1988 led to the creation of the Fund for Armenian Relief. He wrote four books of essays, satire and poetry, edited an anthology of pieces published in Ararat, and published a number of volumes of translations from the Armenian.

Antreassian’s work will be introduced by writer Peter Sourian. Sourian, born in Boston in 1933 but raised in New York, is the author of three published novels — Miri (1957), The Best and Worst of Times (1961) and The Gate (1965), and has completed three unpublished novels. He has published a book of essays and criticism called At the French Embassy in Sofia (1992), and a number of short stories. Sourian, a Harvard graduate, taught at Bard College from 1965 to 2010. He was a television critic for The Nation (1975-81), and served on various American national awards committees and advisory boards.

Deeply influenced by French literature and culture, Sourian writes poetry in French and has done translations from French into English. A number of his works have Armenian themes, especially The Gate. Last year, a volume of Sourian’s short stories was published in Armenian translation in Yerevan as Entrik otarneri het [Supper with Strangers] and Sourian visited Armenia and Artsakh at the end of 2010 for a book tour upon the invitation of the Writers Union of Armenia. Sourian is a member of the Anahid Literary Award committee and served for many years on the editorial board of Ararat quarterly, as well as on the board of Columbia University’s Armenian Center.

Dr. Movses (Moses) Housepian (1876-1952), born in Kessab, now in Syria, fled the Hamidian massacres to England, and then came to the US in 1900. He graduated from Long Island (New York) Medical College in 1905 and practiced as a physician until his death. He unselfishly served the Armenian community, focusing on the needs of humble immigrants. He went to the Caucasus in 1916 to serve as a physician as part of the Armenian volunteer movement, and saved many lives.

Housepian became an important leader in the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (ADL), regularly participating in New York chapter meetings and party conventions. Like the party, he was a staunch supporter of Soviet Armenia, and the work of the AGBU, and actively worked in the latter’s 1946 successful fundraising effort for repatriation. He served as a member of the central committee of the Armenian National Council of America until his death. The New York ADL chapter was named posthumously after Housepian. Housepian was a strong supporter of the Mirror-Spectator. Housepian’s children, Marjorie and Edgar, followed their father’s example and themselves soon became important leaders in the Armenian-American community.

Nerses Babayan, who will speak about Housepian, knew his family, as Mrs. Housepian was a friend of his father. Babayan moved to Boston from Beirut in order to be assistant editor of Baikar and Mirror-Spectator from 1970 to 1973. He went to Boston State College in this same period and received a master’s degree in history and political science. He attended graduate courses at Johns Hopkins in 1974. Afterwards, Babayan came to New York and opened a consulting and managerial firm. He continues to support and contribute to the Mirror-Spectator.