The Hamazkayin Regional Executive Board for Lebanon, on February 27, 2020, sponsored a program celebrating Armenian lyric poetry. The event, organized by the board’s Literary Branch, took place at the “K. and H. Armenian Hall” of the Levon Shant Cultural Center in Beirut.
The emcee, Lilit Demirdjian, welcomed everyone. Jacques Hagopian then spoke on behalf of the branch. He noted that lyric poetry is a fundamental style in literature, if not the chief style. Lyricism is itself poetry, he added. The branch, he said, planned to organize more specialized events in the future and to involve children in Armenian schools. He thanked the administrators of the Yeghishe Manoukian and United Armenian Colleges and the M. and H. Arslanian Djemaran for encouraging their students to participate in the event. “We find ourselves in an era where there is retreat in every field, including culture, and literature is in the most vulnerable place,” Mr. Hagopian asserted, hoping that the event would be a chance to enjoy the erstwhile glory of Armenian lyric poetry.
