On September 22, at the initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia and the Union of Writers of Armenia, Komitas Chamber Music Hall hosted the presentation of the book “I Was That Seed” by Jerusalem-Armenian poet, prose writer and publicist Anoush Naggashian.

Archimandrite Komitas Hovnanyan gave his blessings to the attendees of the event.

Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan transmitted the congratulatory remarks of RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan and stated the following: “Anoush is with us and by our side even when she is not in the Homeland, and when she comes to the Homeland, she represents the whole Armenian Diaspora. By presenting her grandmother Anna Naggashian’s complete story of escape from and survival during the Armenian Genocide in this book, Anoush is shaping the image of a proud and dignified Armenian, not an Armenian who suffers.”

Serzh Srapionyan emphasized the fact that the past of Anoush’s grandmother is Anoush’s past since Anoush relived that past while listening to her grandmother’s stories as she was growing up. “Grandmother Anna would keep her son, Anoush’s father away from the thought of getting married to a foreigner through a telegram addressed to her son stating the following:  “My son, you didn’t fight for Armenia and didn’t shed any blood, and now you are going to give your sperm to a foreigner?” Realizing that she is exactly that sperm, Anoush Nggashian considered it her duty to share her grandmother’s story in a book. As a result of her efforts, we now have a book that is of major artistic value and serves as a source,” the Deputy Minister stated.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Yerevan State University, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan emphasized that Anoush Naggashian’s book is of political and historiographical significance and serves as a source of information.

Head of the Chair of the History of Armenian Literature at Yerevan State University, Professor Samvel Muradyan expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia for organizing the presentation and stated that in the book he sees not only Anoush the documenter, but also Anoush the aesthetic person.

Founding director of “Diaspora” Scientific and Educational Center of the Armenian State Pedagogical University of Yerevan, Professor Suren Danielyan emphasized the fact that every encounter with Anoush Naggashian is like the best dialogue with a writer and literary critic. “The book clearly shows that Anoush has a sense of responsibility for time, and in this book we feel that the book is similar to an epic,” Suren Danielyan stated.

Associate Professor of the Chair of the History of Armenian Language at Yerevan State University Norayr Poghosyan also gave a speech, after which Merited Artist of the Republic of Armenia Sargis Najaryan and the students of Rafael Patkanyan Primary School #9 of Vagharshapat read excerpts from the author’s book.

At the end of the presentation, Anoush Naggashian expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Diaspora for organizing the event and to Rev. Fr. Archimandrite Ghevond Hovhannisyan for helping her publish the book and stated that she had a unique sense of responsibility for the creation of this book. “I respect the memory of my grandmother, Anna Naggashian and believe I fulfilled my duty to her by publishing this book. Before her death, my grandmother had promised to tell me the whole story of her life, and that is exactly what she did. She passed away a couple of months after she had told me the story. The Turks had forcefully exiled her and my grandfather from our Homeland, Kemerek, However, today, I have called all my cousins, as well as their children and grandchildren from different parts of the world to join me during this presentation. Today I announce that we created a new Kemerek here on our motherland. This is why I wanted the presentation of this book to be held in my Armenia,” Anoush Naggashian said.

Afterwards, Anoush invited her cousins to the stage, and the event ended with a more detailed presentation of the book.