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Library Of Congress Marks 500th Ann. Of The Armenian Literary Tradit

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  • Library Of Congress Marks 500th Ann. Of The Armenian Literary Tradit

    LIBRARY MARKS 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN LITERARY TRADITION WITH EXHIBITION, PUBLICATION

    States News Service
    January 26, 2012 Thursday

    The following information was released by the Library of Congress:

    In 1512, Hakob Meghapart (Jacob the Sinner) opened an Armenian Press in
    Venice, Italy, and published an Armenian religious book, "Urbatagirk"
    (the Book of Fridays). The era of Armenian printing had begun.

    To mark the quincentenary of this event and UNESCO's designation of
    Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, as its Book Capital
    of the World, 2012, the Library of Congress will open an exhibition,
    "To Know Wisdom and Instruction: The Armenian Literary Tradition at the
    Library of Congress" on April 19, in the South Gallery of the Thomas
    Jefferson Memorial Building. The exhibition will remain on view from
    8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Sept. 17.

    Drawing from the Armenian collections of the Library of Congress,
    the exhibition will display the varieties of the Armenian literary
    tradition from the era of manuscripts through the early periods of
    print and on to contemporary publishing.

    Manuscripts in the exhibition will range from 14th- and 15th-century
    gospel books hand-copied by monks to 19th-century works on palmistry
    (Constantinople, 1894), fire-fighting (Venice, 1832), cotton production
    (Paris, 1859) and the first modern Armenian novel, "Armenia's Wounds,"
    by K. Abovyan (1848). The first complete Armenian language printed
    Bible from Amsterdam in 1666 will be soon along with a richly
    illuminated missal copied in 1722 for the use of the celebrant of
    the Armenian liturgy and a rare 19th-century musical manuscript by
    Pietro Bianchini, who was the first to transcribe the Armenian liturgy
    using European musical notation. A 20th-century Soviet edition of
    the Armenian national epic, "David of Sasun" (1962) will also be
    on display.

    In conjunction with the exhibition, the Library of Congress will
    publish an exhibition catalog titled "To Know Wisdom and Instruction:
    A Visual Survey of the Armenian Literary Tradition from the Library
    of Congress." The catalog was compiled by exhibition curator Levon
    Avdoyan, the Library's Armenian and Georgian area specialist in the
    Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. This
    100-page softcover book with 75 images is available for $25 in
    bookstores nationwide and through the Library of Congress Shop,
    www.loc.gov/shop/, (888) 682-3557.

    The exhibition and catalog have been made possible through generous
    grants from the Dolores Zohrab Leibmann Fund, the Dadian Fund of
    the Library of Congress, Roger Strauch and Julie Kulhanjian Strauch,
    the Vartkess and Rita Balian Family Foundation and the Sami and Annie
    Totah Family Foundation.

    The Library will also present a concert in conjunction with the
    exhibition. Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan will perform at 2 p.m.

    on Saturday, May 19, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Thomas Jefferson
    building, located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.

    Hakhnazaryan is a Young Concert Artists laureate who captured the
    First Prize and Gold Medal at the 14th International Tchaikovsky
    Competition in June 2011. The concert is free and open to the public,
    but tickets are required and are available through Ticketmaster at
    www.ticketmaster.com (external link).

    The Library's African and Middle Eastern Division
    (www.loc.gov/rr/amed/) is the center for the study of 78 countries and
    regions from Southern Africa to the Maghreb and from the Middle East
    and the Caucasus to Central Asia. The division's Near East Section is
    a major repository for Armenian language materials on a wide variety
    of subjects in varied formats.

    Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest
    federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination
    and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by
    providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections,
    programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library's rich resources can
    be accessed through it website at www.loc.gov.

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