One of the oldest Russian-language magazines in Armenia – “Literary Armenia” – is in a very poor condition today. The magazine which used to have 10,000 copies a month, is now published quarterly in 500 copies.
The “Literary Armenia” was founded in 1958 and it is published till now. Editors-in-chief in different times were poet and playwright Gurgen Boryan, the author of the two-volume edition “The Silver Age” about Kilikia history Michael Shatiryan, Gevork Emin and others. Since 1973, in the head of the magazine stands poet and translator Albert Nalbandyan (the deputy editor is Sergey Muradyan – actually this is the whole editorial staff of the magazine: there’s no resources for additional staff).
Not the most important literary magazine of the USSR managed to publish such works for publishing of which one could appear in jail. The magazine was almost the first in the Union to publish Yuriy Karabchievskiy; the issue with poems and essays of Mandelstam was secretly exported to other republics; later – Marina Tsvetaeva, Andrey Beliy, Vassiliy Grossman – which were powder kegs for publishers. Anyhow, the “LA” not only survived but became a landmark event among Armenian issues.
One of the oldest Russian-language magazines in Armenia – “Literary Armenia” – is in a very poor condition today. The magazine which used to have 10,000 copies a month, is now published quarterly in 500 copies.
The “Literary Armenia” was founded in 1958 and it is published till now. Editors-in-chief in different times were poet and playwright Gurgen Boryan, the author of the two-volume edition “The Silver Age” about Kilikia history Michael Shatiryan, Gevork Emin and others. Since 1973, in the head of the magazine stands poet and translator Albert Nalbandyan (the deputy editor is Sergey Muradyan – actually this is the whole editorial staff of the magazine: there’s no resources for additional staff).
Not the most important literary magazine of the USSR managed to publish such works for publishing of which one could appear in jail. The magazine was almost the first in the Union to publish Yuriy Karabchievskiy; the issue with poems and essays of Mandelstam was secretly exported to other republics; later – Marina Tsvetaeva, Andrey Beliy, Vassiliy Grossman – which were powder kegs for publishers. Anyhow, the “LA” not only survived but became a landmark event among Armenian issues.
Today too, the “LA” is a lifebuoy for the Armenian modern literature which has very limited opportunities to promote itself. For Russian-language writers this is the only periodical. New stories, new poems and new translations which is not less important. For instance, Saroyan translations. Only four volumes of William Saroyan’s huge heritage are translated into Armenian. A lot more is translated in Russian: every year the “LA” publishes Natalia Gonchar’s translations as a gift to the great writer: Saroyan himself asked Gonchar to present him a new translation on every August 31 which is his birthday.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:89:]]“My poems were first published in the “LA” when I was 8,” says poet and translator Anahit Tadevosyan, “and I became a member of translators’ community thanks to the “LA”: Albert Nalbandyan somehow felt I can become a translator. Me and the magazine are now inseparable: it is the only specialized issue in Armenia that publishes works of Russian-language poets and writers.”
In 2008, the Union of Armenians in Russia which financed the “LA” for 5 years cut the funding of the magazine.
The government support of 3,5 million AMD is not sufficient even for printing needs. “A rare literary magazine can fully maintain itself,” says Albert Nalbandyan, “But we cannot even dream about it: only 10-15 % of circulation is profitable. It is very risky to depend on a person or an organization that is why we are planning to create a Board of Trustees.”
The Board of Trustees would be consisted of 7-10 members which would give the “LA” around $2.000 a year. According to Nalbandyan, the magazine needs 7,5 million AMD a year ($20,000) to “survive”, in that case it can be published quarterly and not in debt. Needless to say how small are the claims and how high the fidelity of the “LA” workers is.
The “LA” can be found on any stand, one year subscription costs 800 AMD, 500 AMD for students, and a separate issue is 300 AMD. This cost seems pure symbolic. It’s just the magazine doesn’t want to lose a half-century history.
Source: JNews.am