On June 28, the literary translations branch of the Union of Writers of Romania in Bucharest, in association with the Union of Armenians of Romania, held an event dedicated to the 100^th birth anniversary of one of the most famous artists of pre-war and post-war Romania, Jeni Acterian (1916-58) at Metropolitan Library of Bucharest, writes “Armenpress”.

Actress, filmmaker and translator Jeni Acterian is now more than famous for her book “Diary of a Squeamish Girl”, which is one of the best books in that genre in Romania with its sincerity and hypersensitivity. The diary was first released in 1991 by Humanitas Publishing House, edited by Actarian’s elder brother Arshavir Acterian and translated by Doina Uricariu (Jeni wrote the diary in French and partially in English). This was followed by the publication of Ararat Publishing House of Bucharest. In 2015, Humanitas Publishing House released a more integrated version of the book, which was discussed during the event.

The speakers were President of the Union of Armenians of Romania, Vice-President of the Union of Writers of Romania, Senator Varujan Vosganian; S. Skultéty, who helped release the translated version of the book in 2015; historian, literary critic Paul Cernat and president of the literary translations branch of the Union of Writers of Romania in Bucharest Peter Sragher.

Jeni Acterian was born in Constanta. After graduating from the French school in Bucharest, she got accepted to the Department of Philosophy and Mathematics of the local university. Due to the war and financial difficulties, she wasn’t able to continue her studies in Paris. Later, she received her education in performing arts at the Dramatic Arts School of Bucharest. She has played in different theaters of Bucharest, directed several plays and done translations from French and English. She was a smart, strong and irreconcilable individual and had close ties with the famous Romanian writers and artists of the time, including Mircea Eliade, Eugen Ionescu and Emil Cioran. Jeni Acterian died from an incurable disease when she was in bloom.

Her elder brothers Arshavir Acterian (1907-97) and Hayk Acterian were also famous in the fields of literature and performing arts in Romania. Arshavir was exiled to Siberia and stayed there for many years after the war, while Hayk died at the military front in 1942.