Hemsin Stories

Hemşin Stories, the first story book of Mahir Özkan, known for his works on Hemşin Armenian language and culture, has published its new edition. The book, published with a new cover design, has the distinction of being the first Hemşin literary work ever published.

Hemşin Stories contains 24 stories written by the author based on the narratives of the Hemşin region and his own memories. In the first part of the book, which consists of two parts, the stories written by the author in Hemşin Armenian and Turkish are presented on symmetrical pages. With this format that allows comparative reading, the book also appeals to those who want to get to know the Hemşin language and improve their existing Hemşin knowledge. The second part of the book consists of versions of the same stories in Armenian letters. This section, prepared by our publishing house for Armenian readers, has been enriched with explanations presented in square brackets in order to eliminate the difficulties in understanding arising from the differences between Hemshin and Armenian.

Hemşin Stories is the first literary work published in Hemşin Armenian, which has survived orally in Hemşin villages and plateaus in the Eastern Black Sea Region for centuries. In this respect, the book proposes a new way to preserve this language, which is becoming less spoken day by day due to migration from villages to cities and the impact of modern life on the region, a way to produce written literature.

On the other hand, the book draws attention as it is the first literary work published in Hemşin Armenian (in Latin and Armenian script), which managed to survive after dozens of different Armenian dialects disappeared with the destruction of the Armenian population in Anatolia in 1915.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Size: 13x19.5

First Print Year: 2014

Number of Printings: 2nd Edition

Media Type: Paperback