Diana Der-Hovanessian

Poet Diana Der-Hovanessian Passed Away

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Diana Der-Hovanessian, poet and long-time president of New England Poetry Club, died on March 1, 2018. She was the author of 30 books of poetry and translations, several plays, and twice a Fulbright professor of American Poetry. She has awards from NEA, Poetry Society of America, PEN/Columbia Translation Center, National Writers Union, Armenian Writers Union, Paterson Poetry Center, Prairie Schooner, American Scholar, the Armenian Ministry of Culture, and many others too numerous to list. Her work has appeared in Poetry, AGNI, Nation, the New York Times, CDM, Paris Review, etc. She was a graduate of Boston University and did graduate work at Harvard. She worked as a poet in the Massachusetts schools as well as a visiting poet and guest lecturer on American poetry, Armenian poetry in translation, and the literature of human rights at various universities both here and abroad. She served for over 30 years as the president of the New England Poetry Club. She worked tirelessly to educate the public about the Armenian Genocide.

Her husband James Dalley preceded her in death. She leaves two daughters, Maro Dalley and husband James Johnson of Hanna, Wyoming; Sonia Dalley and husband Mark Tisserand of Cambridge; three grandchildren, Maggie Johnson and Daniel and Helen Tisserand of Cambridge; sister, Helen Pahigian of West Newton; nieces, Melanie and Shushan Pahigian, Diana Madden, Mara and Nita Der Hovanesian of New York and Florida; nephew Anthony Pahigian in Washington, D.C. The funeral service is at Holy Trinity Church, 145 Brattle St., Cambridge on Tuesday, March 6 at 11 a.m. with hokejash to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Armenian EyeCare Project, the Armenian Missionary Association of America, or the Armenian Tree Project.

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