Recently, Armenian poet Harutyun Hovakimyan won in the Poetry category at the “Ticket to Stardom” international competition held in Kazan. The award ceremony was held as part of Aksyonov Fest.

Harutyun Hovakimyan is a member of the Union of Writers of Armenia. In 2010, he won the Presidential Award of the Republic of Armenia. In an interview with http://style.news.am, Harutyun talks about how his poem was presented at the competition, what he experienced as he was receiving the award and more.

“I wasn’t expecting the award. A year ago, my series of poems entitled “Dance of Scales” was printed in Oktyabr magazine. I was really happy, but I was surprised to see that it was not only appreciated by readers, but also won an award at the “Ticket to Stardom” competition held during the Aksyonov festival. It was truly a miracle,” says the young poet.

Hovakimyan says he wasn’t aware of the competition and was nominated by Russian presses.

“I was somewhat familiar with Aksyonov’s poems and the festival named after him, but I never imagined that I would receive an award that my beloved contemporary prose writer Dennis Osokin and talented poetess Anna Rus have received,” said Hovakimyan.

Talking about his experiences when receiving the award, Harutyun mentioned that he was very nervous.

“The award was handed to me by the respectable mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Raisovich Metshin in Ratusha, Kazan. I was quite nervous as I received the “Ticket to Stardom”. As soon as I ended my speech, I wanted to read my poem in Armenian and then the Russian version, which was translated by Anahit Tadevosyan. I refused to recite the poem to the sounds of music because the language of our prayers is itself music…The festival’s organizers and the gathered welcomed my desire, and after my speech, those congratulating me also recalled Komitas, Parajanov and Narekatsi…”

Touching upon his future plans, Hovakimyan mentioned that he’s planning on publishing his second collection of poems, becoming more involved in his second profession, that is, fashion design, and “simply living”…

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