Aram Raffi

Aram Raffi

Aram Raffi was a prominent Armenian author, patriot and an advocate of the Armenian cause. He was the elder son of Raffi, the famous Armenian novelist and Anna Hourmouz. Aram was born in Tabriz on 15th of August, 1875 but moved to Tbilisi shortly after his birth, where he attended the Armenian College. His talent in writing and analytical thinking manifested itself at an early age, when at the age of fourteen, he began writing critical essays on 17th-century Armenian literature under the pen-name of Zareh Titanian. In 1895 he moved to London with his mother to study languages and literature at University College. He was an accomplished linguist: he taught Russian, Arabic and Persian, spoke English perfectly and had a profound knowledge of English literature. In addition to his comprehensive knowledge of six or seven languages, he had theoretical knowledge of some fifteen or twenty others. In 1913, Aram accompanied Noel Buxton and the Rev. Harold Buxton on their journey to the Caucasus and Armenia. He contributed several chapters to the book Travel and Politics in Armenia, which was published on his return. He later he wrote a long essay on the epics, folklore and mediaeval poetry of Armenia for Zabelle Boyajian’s Armenian Legends and Poems. Throughout his life he was an active member of the Armenian Society in London and the Armenian Association of London and was the first editor of the Ararat periodical where he published several articles and essays on the extermination of Armenians and his travels to Armenia. In addition to his essays and articles in the English and Armenian press, he wrote comedies and left unfinished more than one historical drama. Aram’s passion for his work and refusal to rest and recover after an attack of pleurisy, ultimately led to his death on 12th of November 1919.