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ARA BALIOZIAN - ICONOCLAST WRITER RENOUNCED IN ARMENIA
Mary Mikaelyan
hetq
July 27, 2011
75 year-old Ara Baliozian is an author, translator, and critic,
born in Athens, Greece. He received his education at the Mekhitarist
College of Moorat-Raphael in Venice, where he also studied economics
and political science at the University of Ca Foscari.
Readers will not be able to find any of his works in Armenia, despite
the author's efforts to the contrary. He has authored over 30 works
in both Armenian and English.
He now lives in Ontario, Canada, where he devotes his full time to
writing. He now mostly posts his works on different Armenian internet
discussion boards.
I had the opportunity to converse with the iconoclast writer and
thinker via the internet.
You have written and thought about our culture for years. What is
your general opinion regarding our culture?
This is my answer. Since I refuse to reproduce Armenian propaganda,
I have become an undesirable, a dreaded 'non-person', a traitor.
Your works were published in scores of Armenian periodicals. Why did
they turn against you?
Because I began to think independently, in opposition to the propaganda
path they held dear.
They hate you in Armenia. Is it that you are extremely anti-Armenian
and pro-Turkish, or are we, here in Armenia, so intolerant?
I am a supporter of justice. As ottomanized and sovietized Armenians,
we have a tendency to be intolerant.
What, in your opinion, are the views that have made you enemies?
Probably because I have exposed the insincerity and incompetence of
our leaders.
How does it feel to be forsaken in the fatherland?
It just an ordinary experience; like any other. At different times
all Armenian writers have been wrongly accused of various crimes that
they never committed.
You claim that we are living in a situation where strong propaganda
reigns. What particular aspects do you see as a result of this
propaganda?
Well, let's take the fact that we are obliged to write the word God
with a capital letter and it's anathema to say anything against God.
Then there is our Turko-centrific side - the belief that our destiny
remains in the hands of the Turks.
It appears that there are certain themes that are off-limits in
Armenia. Perhaps in the same way as the Orhan Pamuk incident in Turkey.
The Turks are way ahead of us. Just the fact that they've had a Nobel
Prize winner attests to this.
How do you work with literary agents in Canada?
Canadian and American literary agents are only interested in books
that will make money. My writings have no such value.
What does it mean to be a writer of Armenian descent?
It means to belong to a community that has always fallen victim to
foreign and domestic dictators.
What can you say about Armenian literature?
We've had literary giants but treated them like tiny mosquitoes.
Do Armenians in the diaspora avoid your critiques?
Armenians only agree on one thing - manufactured propaganda, including
that of the enemy.
Can one be patriotic but not fascist?
There is an element of fascism in all Armenian patriotism and
nationalism.
Do you see any salvation on the horizon or are we doomed?
To write signifies to hold out hope.
So you have hope that Armenia will somehow change its attitude towards
you one day?
I hope so but I wouldn't bet on it.
Mary Mikaelyan
hetq
July 27, 2011
75 year-old Ara Baliozian is an author, translator, and critic,
born in Athens, Greece. He received his education at the Mekhitarist
College of Moorat-Raphael in Venice, where he also studied economics
and political science at the University of Ca Foscari.
Readers will not be able to find any of his works in Armenia, despite
the author's efforts to the contrary. He has authored over 30 works
in both Armenian and English.
He now lives in Ontario, Canada, where he devotes his full time to
writing. He now mostly posts his works on different Armenian internet
discussion boards.
I had the opportunity to converse with the iconoclast writer and
thinker via the internet.
You have written and thought about our culture for years. What is
your general opinion regarding our culture?
This is my answer. Since I refuse to reproduce Armenian propaganda,
I have become an undesirable, a dreaded 'non-person', a traitor.
Your works were published in scores of Armenian periodicals. Why did
they turn against you?
Because I began to think independently, in opposition to the propaganda
path they held dear.
They hate you in Armenia. Is it that you are extremely anti-Armenian
and pro-Turkish, or are we, here in Armenia, so intolerant?
I am a supporter of justice. As ottomanized and sovietized Armenians,
we have a tendency to be intolerant.
What, in your opinion, are the views that have made you enemies?
Probably because I have exposed the insincerity and incompetence of
our leaders.
How does it feel to be forsaken in the fatherland?
It just an ordinary experience; like any other. At different times
all Armenian writers have been wrongly accused of various crimes that
they never committed.
You claim that we are living in a situation where strong propaganda
reigns. What particular aspects do you see as a result of this
propaganda?
Well, let's take the fact that we are obliged to write the word God
with a capital letter and it's anathema to say anything against God.
Then there is our Turko-centrific side - the belief that our destiny
remains in the hands of the Turks.
It appears that there are certain themes that are off-limits in
Armenia. Perhaps in the same way as the Orhan Pamuk incident in Turkey.
The Turks are way ahead of us. Just the fact that they've had a Nobel
Prize winner attests to this.
How do you work with literary agents in Canada?
Canadian and American literary agents are only interested in books
that will make money. My writings have no such value.
What does it mean to be a writer of Armenian descent?
It means to belong to a community that has always fallen victim to
foreign and domestic dictators.
What can you say about Armenian literature?
We've had literary giants but treated them like tiny mosquitoes.
Do Armenians in the diaspora avoid your critiques?
Armenians only agree on one thing - manufactured propaganda, including
that of the enemy.
Can one be patriotic but not fascist?
There is an element of fascism in all Armenian patriotism and
nationalism.
Do you see any salvation on the horizon or are we doomed?
To write signifies to hold out hope.
So you have hope that Armenia will somehow change its attitude towards
you one day?
I hope so but I wouldn't bet on it.