AUA’s Certificate in Translation Program Contributes First Armenian Publication to The Brooklyn Rail

2 min read

YEREVAN – A collaborative translation done by  the American University of Armenia (AUA)’s Lecturer in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Shushan Avagyan and Associate Registrar Chaghig Arzrouni-Chahinian was recently published in InTranslation, the web-exclusive section of The Brooklyn Rail online periodical.

The collaborative translation was one of the many projects completed during the practicum in AUA’s Certificate in Translation program.

The co-translation is the first piece by an Armenian author to be featured in InTranslation. The piece, which can be found here,  is a translation of the prominent Ottoman Armenian writer Zabel Yesayan’s story “The Man.” Launched in April 2007, InTranslation is a venue for outstanding work in translation and a resource for translators, authors, editors, and publishers seeking to collaborate.

Avagyan explains, “There are many writers who have written and write in Armenian and whose work is brilliant, yet unknown beyond the borders of the Armenian world. It is a shame that very few of them have been translated into English and one of our goals with the Certificate in Translation program is to enable these voices to break through the borders of just one language.”

Avagyan is the translator of Viktor Shklovsky’s Energy of Delusion: A Book on Plot, Bowstring: On the Dissimilarity of the Similar, A Hunt for Optimism (Dalkey Archive), and I Want to Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian (AIWA).

Arzrouni-Chahinian, born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, began translating because of her interest in languages. Her translations focus mainly on texts relating to Armenian classical music.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.