Hovhannes Shiraz

Born Onik Karapetyan in Alexandropol, now Gyumri, Hovhannes Shiraz rose from a difficult childhood to become one of twentieth-century Armenia’s most beloved poets. His pen name was inspired by the Persian city renowned for roses and poetry.

Shiraz wrote with emotional immediacy about love, motherhood, Armenia, and national memory. Collections such as Lyre of Armenia brought his accessible, musical language to generations of readers, while his long poem The Armenian Dante confronted the Armenian Genocide.