The ancestors of editor of Horizon Weekly Vahagn Karakashian were from the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. In the late 1930s, the Karakashians, who had lived in the Armenian settlements of Cilicia and Musa Dagh and had fought and won the 40-day Battle of Musa Dagh in 1915, settled in Lebanon and established the Anjar settlement where Vahagn was born. The stories of Vahagn’s grandparents had a great impact on him. Besides that, he was also inspired by the sounds of the Armenia dhol and zurna instruments in the dance melodies of Musa Dagh.

“Those dance melodies were like poems for me,” Vahagn says.

Vahagn Karakashian has served as editor of Hairenik newspaper (Boston) and is currently the editor of Horizon Weekly. As editor of these newspapers, he considers preservation of the Armenian identity, language and culture and an Armenian education the only and major goal.

“An Armenian community often assimilates, and this is very dangerous for our country.”

The purpose of the editor’s current visit to Armenia is to provide the Armenian Diaspora with information about the four-day Artsakh war that took place in April-information that is simpler and “from the inside”.

“We Armenians are always in a war. As a nation and as a state, we need to understand what challenges we face today.”

However, few know that Vahagn Karakashian is also a poet and has published a book that presents the identity issues of a migrant. These are issues that he often asks himself and tries to find the answers.

“For me, writing a poem is a way of expressing my attitude towards the nation and my individuality. The human body and a person’s mindset is itself a universe. My secret of writing is conveying your feeling as beautifully as possible and transmitting it to the reader.”

The book is composed of five parts. In each part, the author touches upon the homeland, love, his birthplace, faith and identity. The weighty and tremendous longing runs like a red line in all parts.

“Armenians abroad always face the identity issue. I am Armenian. I have the feelings that an Armenian has. I know very well that my roots trace back to an Armenian, but as a person who is a citizen of four other countries and has moved 26 times, I ask myself who I am as a person, not as an Armenian, but as a human being. These are the questions and feelings that I present in my book. They are the feelings of a person who is seeking his identity, doesn’t find it and suffers from the search for that identity…”

When asked if he has plans to move to Armenia, leave journalism behind and start writing, Vahagn said the following:

“I am certain that I will come and live in Armenia someday. My homeland is here. My homeland is Artsakh…As far as leaving journalism and writing is concerned, I must say that my dream is to have an opportunity to dedicate my entire time to writing…”

What is Vahagn’s priority issue as a writer?

“Books are messages that writers convey to their readers. Each writer must convey his feelings through his creations. In my case, the message that I want to get across to my readers is the search for identity-as a nationality, as an Armenian, as well as a human being, meaning where we come from, where we are going and what we need to do.

The main message of Christianity is to love, respect and help each other. We as writers need to have the philosophy to transmit to people through our works.”

About future plans…

“There are poems that I have not published yet. I am currently working on a novel that is devoted to faith, where we human beings come from and where we are going. It is about the in-depth issues of an individual and the purpose of living on the planet.”

As a conclusion…

Each part of the Vahagn Karakashian’s book of poems entitled “Ceremonies of Heaven and Earth” is separated from each other with the paintings by painter and sculptor Karen Petrosyan, who created the paintings especially for this book.

Interview by Lia Tahmazyan

Source: lurer.com