YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Poet, translator, former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Mowses (Hakobyan) is engaged in translating and creative activities. Soon he will present a new collection, as well as the translated version of Nietzsche’s works to the readers. The year was full of surprises for the intellectual with original way of thinking; Hakob Mowses was decorated with a state award for “The Seventh Hunt”, according to Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan’s December 29, 2015 decree. The writer told “Armenpress” about the reward, new works and modern trends in literature.

Hakob Mowses on the collection of poems “The Seventh Hunt”

The book was published in 2013. This is yet the last collection of the writer that has been written during 3-4 years. These are new poems. The heading symbolizes two things: “the seventh” – as this is the writer’s seventh book and “hunt” - as the topic of hunting is slightly touched upon in the book.

Awards, prizes

Prizes have existed since the 18th century. They do not have special creative significance. They are aimed at pointing at you by somebody at a certain moment of your life– the state in this case. Certainly, it has no meaning at all.

However, it is a good thing that the state appreciates its scientist, writer, culture worker etc.

Creating poems and two prerequisites

Poems of different writers are born differently. It can be born from one sound, one meeting, one phone conversation.  There are two prerequisites for writing poems for Mowses. First – perfect lack of worries within that day; I must not concentrate on other things, I must be focused only on writing.  Second – at least half of the poem must already be written in my memory.

The endemic phenomenon

In know there is such a term in Botany as endemic. These are the plants that grow only in a given area. Poems are the endemic plants of a certain language area; they are connected only with the language. Translations have merely enlightening significance. Of course, there are masterpieces, successful translations. He himself does translations.

Love for German literature

This love is first of all preconditioned by the fact that the writer considers German culture the only one within the European culture that is morphologically close to us, is dear to us and has the same origin as the Armenian one. He thinks this is because the German language as the Armenian language formed in the environment of the Greek grammatical system.  

Interviewed by Roza Grigoryan

Photos by Gevorg Perkuperkyan