Hrant Ignati Matevosyan (, 12 February 1935 – 19 December 2002) was an Armenian writer and screenwriter. By the time of his death he was considered Armenia's "most prominent and accomplished contemporary novelist".
Biography Hrant Matevosyan was born in 1935 in the village of Ahnidzor, now located in Armenia's Lori Province. He studied in the village school then continued his education at the Pedagogical University of Kirovakan (now Vanadzor). In 1952 he moved to Yerevan where he worked at a printing house. From 1958 until 1962, Matevosyan was a proofreader for the magazine Sovetakan Grakanutyun ("Soviet Literature") and the newspaper Grakan Tert ("Literary Newspaper").
Matevosyan started his literary career in 1961 with an essay "Ahnidzor," which was an expression of a new outlook in literature and was not appreciated at first. His first story collection Ogostos (August) was published in 1967. Matevosyan became acclaimed as one of the pioneers of Armenian modern rural prose. He headed the Writers' Union of Armenia from 1995 until 2000. His literary pieces have been translated into around 40 languages, including Russian, English, French, German, Lithuanian, Estonian, and Georgian.
Matevosyan died of cancer on 12 December 2002 at the age of 67. He is buried at Komitas Pantheon which is located in the city center of Yerevan.Matevosyan's memorial tombstone at Komitas Pantheon He had two children, a son and a daughter.
Education Kirovakan Pedagogical University 1958–1962 — Yerevan State Pedagogical Institute, Department of History and Linguistics 1966–1967 — Moscow Higher Course on Scriptwriting
Awards 1967 — "Дружба народов" (Friendship of Nations) magazine award 1984 — USSR State Literature Award 1984 — USSR State Literature Award 1996 — Knight of RA Mesrop Mashtots order
Works Stories 1967 — August 1967 — Orange Pony 1967 — Mesrop 1968 — Buffalo 1987 - Trees
Articles and essays Metsamor In Front of White Paper It's Me
Film scripts and plays 1969 — We and Our Mountains (film) 1969 — The Poor's Honour (film) 1975 — This Green, Red World (film) 1977 — Autumn Sun (film) 1977 — August 1979 — Aramayis Yerznkyan (film) 1983 - Neutral Zone (play) 1984 — The Master (film) 1992 — National Army (film)
Short stories 1962 — We and Our Mountains (short story) 1974 — Carriage Horses 1982 - Tashkent 1973 — Autumn Sun The Master Along the Edge (incomplete) Buffalo The Country's Nerve Princess Nana's Bridge
Statues
On September 12, 2013 a statue of Hrant Matevosyan, created by Artashes Hovsepyan, an honored artist of RA, sculptor, was installed in the yard of the school named after Hrant Matevosyan.
References
External links Hrant Matevosyan's official website Armenian Encyclopedia Armenian writer Hrant Matevosyan would celebrate 78th birthday today No Week without Hrant Matevossian