Karen Khurshudyan wrote his first book. What is “The Kingdom of God” about?
09.04.2021
From love to war, from genocide to the preservation of the Armenian nation. These are the main topics that you can read about in the book “The Kingdom of God” by the Director of the Abovyan Gymnasium in Marcel, Karen Khurshudyan.
The presentation of the collection of poems took place on April 9, at the Yeghishe Charents Museum of Literature and Art. “The Kingdom of God” is the author’s first book.
The book consists of 4 main parts: “Golden Alter”, “Heaven of the abyss”, “Embraced in my arms”, “Poems”.
“I wanted to bring the reader closer to their roots in a new poetic style, to present folk traditions, people will find their truth and peace here. I also tried to help the reader understand how it is possible to be loved, to love, to give love since this is the basis of nature, humanity and eternal peace,” Khurshudyan said in an interview with “Hayern aysor””.
Why “The Kingdom of God”?
“For me, Armenia is the paradise of God, the Kingdom of God, the capital. The Kingdom of God also coincides with the title of one of my verses, which was dedicated to Ejmiatsin, the place of my birth. I decided to organize the presentation of my book in Yerevan, since Yerevan is the cornerstone of literature, science and culture for me, Armenia has always been dictating and I also wanted to be its bearer, so that our cultural and scientific activities could start in Armenia,” Khurshudyan said.
One of the poems of the book is dedicated to Khachatur Abovyan. According to the autho, the goal is to make Abovyan’s life, episodes of death, and versions recognisable to the reader. According to him, Abovyan is the person who accompanies an Armenian in his adult life and helps to preserve his identity until the last breath.
The editor-in-chief of the book, Armen Avanesyan, highlighted the work of Karen Khurshudyan in preserving the Armenian identity, which, according to him, is also visible in the book.
“Karen Khurshudyan set a goal not only to create poetry, but also to educate, bring up young people, Armenian children, and worked purposefully in this direction. His book is an exceptional achievement and is sure to leave a useful mark,” the editor said.
The presentation was attended by cultural figures from different spheres. Many of the guests recited poems from the book, and also dedicated their own poems to the author.
Khurshudyan said that all proceeds from the book will be used for the development of the Abovyan Gymnasium. Various poems of the book have been translated into different languages: English, Persian and French. Karen Khurshudyan said that a book will be published soon, which will include translated versions. There is also a goal to fully translate the book into French.
The author’s next book, which will be more voluminous and will be devoted to the last Artsakh war, will be published soon. The book will be released in autumn.