FORTY YEARS’ REFLECTIONS IN THE "MIRROR"
by Edmond Y. Azadian
AZG Armenian Daily
25/09/2007
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian
Mirror Spectator, the first Armenian weekly in English. The founding
fathers were all conversant in the Armenian language. They had a good
command of the language and literature. Did they betray the language of
their ancestors or were they engaged in a new mission? They certainly
had a call from the future.
This debate began very early for the American Armenian community, to
be followed by other communities. The struggle for the preservation of
the language was not a winnable one, especially in the early 1930s
when no one could fathom the start of Armenian schools on these
shores. The dilemma for the founders of the Mirror Spectator was to
fight a losing war when the language was doomed to be lost or to keep
pace with times, to use the existing vehicle, the English language,
to inform and instruct the youth, to educate them and to keep them
in the community fold?
The founders of the Mirror ventured into this new mission, although
they loved the Armenian language dearly.
Their venture paid off. We have a vibrant Armenian community which
conducts its business in English, yet it cherishes the same love and
respect towards the mother tongue.
As the tides move in, they do not ask the community leaders what
language to use. In South America newspapers are published mostly in
Spanish, in France the publications are in French and in the Middle
East, the publications are grudgingly adopting Arabic, to reach
out to the young generation, and to present our cause to the public
in general.
Even in Turkey the most popular dailies, namely Marmara and Jamanak,
are losing readership, yet Hrant Dink’s Agos made a splash by rallying
the youth and politicizing the community, when he began publishing
his paper mostly in Turkish.
Does anyone lose his ancestral language voluntarily?
It is the sign of the times.
The founders of the Mirror Spectator were visionaries, who were able
to forecast the trends and provide an adequate tool to the community
to preserve its heritage.
My association with the Mirror Spectator goes back forty of its
seventy-five year history, as I became the executive director of the
Baikar Association in 1967, with daily involvement in the editorial
work of both publications, namely Baikar daily (later weekly and
monthly) and for the Armenian Mirror Spectator.
When I joined the staff of the Baikar Association, two of the founders
of the "Mirror" were still alive, although not active or involved
in any way in the publication. They had nostalgic stories about
the founding years and about the people who had helped their dream
come true.
One of the founding editors was Prof. Elisha B. Chrakian,
a mild-manners philosophy professor at Northeastern University,
where he also ushered my steps to enroll in English and American
Literature programs.
He always had his pipe handy as he formulated his thoughts and
articulated his words in a quiet, almost unintelligible voice, as
if whispering a secret in your ear. Although he visited the Mirror
offices regularly, he seldom contributed any article. Every time I
visited his home he received me in a most congenial and courteous
manner. I have also enjoyed the hospitality of Mrs. Chrakian, a lady
with aristocratic features and manners.
Every time I met Prof. Chrakian, he was busy editing, translating,
analyzing Avedik Issahakian’s poems, letters, articles, which he
eventually published in book form. He was related to another great
poet, namely Diran Chrakian (Indra), one of the philosophers of
Western Armenian literature, along with Yeghia Demirjibashian. I had
inherited a large number of Indra’s manuscripts, and as a relative
and fellow philosopher I saw more affinity between Prof. Chrakian
and his cousin, but I could not interest him in Indra’s literature
beyond a certain point.
I still smell the aroma of Prof. Chrakian’s pipe tobacco in my nostrils
as I remember him.
The other surviving founder of the paper was Bedros Norhad, another
visionary who had left his days as Mirror editor behind, and at that
period he edited the English version of the AGBU’s Hoosharar magazine.
Every time I met him he always made some comments about the paper
and very calculated and cautious remarks. He always retained the
proprietary feeling about the paper, but perhaps he was not invited
to contribute to it.
As I reminisce about my life with the Mirror Spectator, the profiles
of its editors emerge one by one in my mind. I have participated in
the paper as an editorial column writer, news gatherer, translator
and art columnist.
At one time the editorial position was a revolving door; editors
succeeded each other or themselves, and in between I had to take over
the editorial responsibilities until the next one arrived.
After six years of participation in the daily kitchen of the
production, I continued my association with the paper as the ADL
Press Committee Chairman and also as columnist and editorial writer.
The first editor I worked with was Varoujan Samuelian who had a
weekly column under the headline "Juicy Tidbits", and many people
called him Juicy. He was a very popular person in Watertown, some
kind of folk hero, a confirmed bachelor. He did not drive and as he
walked to his house in downtown Watertown, he had to make stops at
the grocery store, funeral home, dentist or the cobbler. Most of his
columns were derived from his conversations with those townspeople. I
could hardly understand his wit, as many outside Watertown could not
make head no tail of it, because it was confined to the borders of
Watertown, which he had never left.
He was only forced to leave Watertown when he was drafted into the
Army during World War II.
I remember Juicy quitting his job or being fired four times during
my tenure. He never harbored any rancor.
He used to return to work every time he was asked to, and during his
absences, I had to fill in for him.
The staff always remembered the previous editor Bob Vahan, with
bittersweet comments. He had quit his job after a fall-out with the
board at that time. In retrospect, I can see how conflicts could
arise between a young and educated editor and a board that retained
old country habits in running a business.
Hard working, dedicated, sacrificing members who were behind the times.
Helene Pilibosian brought an intellectual aura to the paper, albeit
sometimes falling behind the pace of fast-moving news and actions. She
was a poet in every sense of the word – a kind, quiet, hard-working
editor who had inherited her dedication from her father, Khatchadour
Pilibosian, a most generous volunteer helping the paper. Helene’s
secret weapon was her husband Hagop Sarkissian, who was very well
versed in Armenian politics and history and who had served on the
staffs of Baikar and Zartonk papers.
Jack Antreassian had a stint as editor. He had contributed to the
Mirror on and off, but his main contribution was launching and editing
the Ararat Quarterly, an intellectual powerhouse. He had written and
translated many books, he had served the Diocese and the AGBU, and his
leadership would boost the interest in the paper. He was an outstanding
writer and organizer. We all believed that his involvement with the
paper would result in a dramatic change, but his plans and vision
were too ambitious. The organization’s budget did not match them.
Jack used to commute from New York to Boston every week, to spend three
days preparing the paper for publication in record time. He gradually
dropped his presence to two days, then one day. In the last period
of his editorship, he used to send the copy and I had to work with
the printer to get the paper out. But remote control editorship did
not work at that time, because we lacked today’s technology. In the
meantime I had developed my skills as a layout artist, so much so that
I had a job offer from the printer, which I obviously had to turn down.
At one time we could not find an editor of Armenian extraction
and we had to hire a Harvard Law School student, a good writer
and knowledgeable young man who began to work with impressive
performance. He was not familiar with the sensitivities of the Armenian
community and he did not seem to care much about it either. I had
to navigate the paper through those sensitive issues. In the 1960s
Harvard Square was the hotbed of the hippy culture, and this young
man, named Bill Kelly, was totally immersed in that culture. One day
he invited me and a young Catholic priest for dinner at the student
commune where he lived. I was exposed to that sub-culture for the
first time. That experience also explained the failings of this young
man, as he disappeared sometimes for days on end, either to return
with some paint on his clothes – since he moonlighted as a painter –
or he would sit in the office with dreamy eyes gazing into space,
while I struggled to meet the newspaper’s deadline.
Before even graduating from law school, the young man successfully
used his attorney’s skills against me.
Indeed, he had called the chairman of our district committee,
Dicran Simsarian (also an attorney) to complain about me. I remember
Mr. Simsarian calling one day to tell me to "leave the young man
alone". "I will leave him alone when I find him", I answered.
Bill had convinced our chairman, a person very dedicated to the
organization, that I had been intruding in his work, just to cover
up his escapades.
One day our young editor dropped out of sight unceremoniously,
leaving the task of finding a new editor behind.
Barbara Merguerian served as editor for two terms. A Harvard PhD in
Russian history, she had tremendous scholarly and community experience
under her belt. She was a prominent figure in the community as the
publications director at NAASR, and with her involvement with AIWA,
a woman’s organization. In a way, she was over-qualified to take
the helm of a weekly paper, while many other scholarly positions
would have welcomed her. She agreed to take the position twice,
and I can say our collaboration was productive because we both
learned that neither of us could push the other beyond a certain
set limit. There was an unsigned agreement who would tackle what
subject. She particularly avoided any topic dealing with ADL policies,
yet she was in her element when it came to promoting any women’s
agenda. She was particularly fond of promoting the position of women
in the Armenian Church hierarchy. In principle, I did not have any
qualms moving with the times and accepting Armenian women taking
leadership roles in the Church; however; with all the advancements,
the Armenian Church hierarchy remained adamantly conservative and we
have yet to see any women join the ranks of the clergy, let alone to
rise to the position of bishop or Catholicos.
Looking back, I can say that my collaboration with Barbara was a
learning experience. She had her subtle ways of conveying messages,
which I appreciated retrospectively.
Ara Kalayjian had a meteoric rise as an editor. He was a pleasant
surprise for all of us, because he had spent most of his life at the
Jerusalem monastery, and coming from that confined environment most
people would have a difficult time adjusting. Ara was a prolific
writer and scholar writing in Armenian. His transition into English
was amazingly smooth. Even his familiarity with the intricacies
of political life came as a surprise. He had an encyclopedic mind
and thanks to his vast memory, he always helped me as a resource
person. When asked about any historic fact or event, he would either
answer readily or it would take him less than 30 minutes to retrieve
the answer.
It was a tragic reversal when his loss of memory struck. For a
long time he was in a state of denial until he was incapacitated to
perform. His writings, both in English and Armenian, will remain as
a rich legacy from a superb mind that served the Mirror well at the
peak of his energies and his intellectual brilliance.
It was during Mr. Kalayjian’s editorship that our benefactor Rouben
Terzian provided the funds and technical assistance to develop the
present format, which brought a more modern and dynamic look to
the paper.
Alin Gregorian took over the paper at a very trying time. She faced
tremendous odds, first, working on a part-time basis, and second,
being completely unfamiliar with the paper’s policies, the political
agenda of its parent organization and the setup of the particular
segment of the community which the Mirror traditionally served. Thanks
to her professionalism she conquered all hurdles to maintain, if not
to improve, the level of journalism that the reader expected from
any editor.
My weekly working sessions with her are very rewarding, as we
analyze topical issues, even if one of does not produce an article
or editorial column.
She has been a most open and cooperative editor. After absorbing weekly
complaints about computer crashes, scarcity of copy or resources, or
any other problem which is endemic for any Armenian newspaper, I know
that Alin will return to her editor’s desk, put on her professional
cap and produce yet another exciting issue of the paper.
Perhaps during her editorship I have produced more editorial columns
than under any other editor, because she always challenges me to
write or discuss topics which would stimulate me to write. And before
I know it, I realize that I have produced enough essays and articles
for another volume.
Besides the editors, many prolific columnists have contributed to the
paper and they have enhanced its contents. I have only covered here
the names that have held editorial positions. If my memory serves
me well, I have not left out anyone who served as editor during the
last forty years. I am sure someone will fire a letter to the editor
if I have failed to mention one, and I would welcome being corrected.
One writer, who has not officially served as editor, cannot be
overlooked here, because her contributions are so overwhelming. She has
served many editors in her voluntary performance over fifty years. That
is Armine Dikijian, whose contributions dominated the content of
the paper for so many years. "Armine Dikijian with New Yorkers" was
perhaps the most sought after column, not only by New Yorkers, but
also by all the readers. She seldom missed any column, regardless if
she was sick or busy. She would cover all aspects of community life,
from the elegant gown of a socialite to the analysis of a classical
concert. That is why the Mirror had half of its subscription base
in the greater New York area. When she attended a function, many
people approached to greet her or to make visual contact with her in
order to have their "place in the sun" in next week’s column. Armine
was a person of principles and she had her likes and dislikes, but
most of the time she preferred to compliment people or pat them on
the back. Our differences never reached the level of confrontation,
because I highly valued her contribution. Her loss cost the Mirror
most of its New York readership. She was irreplaceable.
***
As I continue my contributions to, and cooperation with the paper, I
can see the experiences of those forty years in the rear view mirror,
helping me to find the proper path ahead and to observe the future
in perspective.