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 CHARENTS Yeghishe (Armenian: Եղիշե Չարենց) was born on March 13, 1897 in Kars. An Armenian poet, prose writer and translator. First he studied at Armenian then at Russian realistic schools of Kars (1908-12), at Moscow National University after Shaynovsky (1916-1917) and in 1922 entered Moscow Higher Literary Institute headed by V. Brusov but left his studies unfinished. From November 20, 1924 till June of 1925 he was abroad. In 1926-28 Charents work at the editorial offices of the newspaper “Khorhrdayin Hayastan” and journal “Nork”, in 1928-35 he worked at Armenian State Publishing House (HayPetHrat). 1912-17 Yeghishe Charents became the follower of literary movement Symbolism (the series of poems “Three Songs about the Melancholy Girl”, “Land of Fire”, 1913-16, “Hours of Vision” 1915, “Rainbow”, 1917). During these years Charents searched for a dream place beyond the real world where it would be possible to carry out his dreams and desires. He discovered the most indispensable holiness, his homeland, that was being parted during the First World War (1914-18) and turning into a hell of Dante (Blue-eyed Homeland”, 1915, “Dantesque legend”, 1916, “Vahagn”, 1916, “National Dream”, 1917). The poetic series, poems, ballads created in 1918-21 and 1922-24 singled out by the author’s romanticism and “left” orientation (“Soma”, 1918, “The Maddened Mob”, 1919, “Burning Fire”, 1918-20, “From Land of Nairi”, 1920, “Charents-name”, 1922). 

The patriotic theme has a great significance in his works: “Tagharan”, 1920-21, “Vision of Death”, 1920). 1925-32 were marked by Charents’s overcoming  the “left” orientation in his poetry and by the establishment of principles of psychological realism (“Heroic Poem”,  1925, “Lyrical Intermission”, 1927-30, “Epical Sunrise”, 1930).

The collection “Book of the Way” was published in 1934 that includes the poems “At the Crossroads of History”, “Heading to Mount Masis” “Nork” where the core of his philosophical thought was the historical destiny of the Armenian people. 1935-37 was the most complicated period in Charents’s creative activities that is characterized by the authentic depiction of personal, social, historical and political life. During these years he wrote the poems “In Memory of Komitas”, “Navzike”, “A lonely place, I do not know where”, drama “Wedding of the Hero”, series of sonnets “Dauphin of Nairi”, many verses and  epigrams.  Charents’s poetry is distinguished with the diversity of literary genres, stylistic devices and the variety of language means. Charents also did many translations. In 1937 was unreasonably imprisoned and later acquitted.

Yeghishe Charents died on November 27, 1937 in Yerevan. He was the victim of cult of personality. 

The city Charentsavan, the Museum of Literature and Arts in Yerevan as well as schools, streets and libraries of RA were called after his Yegishe Charents. 

There is the house-museum of Charents in Yerevan, his monument is in The Circular Park (1987, sculptor N. Nikoghosyan). The Writers' Union of Armenia established an award after Yeghishe Charents. 

Source - "Who is Who. The Armenians" Encyclopedia, Volume I, chief-editor Hovh. Ayvazyan, Yerevan, 2007.