19 Facts About Yervant Odian

Yervant Odian was an Ottoman Armenian satirist, journalist and playwright.

Yervant Odian is regarded as one of the most influential Armenian satirists, along with his contemporary Hagop Baronian.

Yervant Odian is best known for his work Comrade Panchooni, a satire mocking the Armenian revolutionary parties of the time.

Yervant Odian was deported to the Syrian desert during the Armenian genocide and survived; he published his memoirs about his experiences during the genocide in 1919.

Yervant Odian's writing styles are often described as extroverted, as if his is removing his persona from the piece in order to best portray the truth.

Yervant Odian was born into one of the most affluent families in Constantinople.

Yervant Odian's paternal uncle Krikor Odian was a respected political figure and one of the founders and writers of the Armenian National Constitution.

Early in his life, Yervant Odian attended the Berberian School in Constantinople, where he began writing.

Yervant Odian pursued writing thanks to the support of his uncle, who was a major influence in his upbringing.

Yervant Odian served as a deputy of the Armenian National Assembly.

In 1896, before the massacres of Armenians in Constantinople ended, Yervant Odian left his then-home and traveled across Europe seeking asylum in places like Athens, Paris, Vienna, and London, and Bombay, before finally settling in Cairo.

Yervant Odian eventually returned home to Constantinople in 1909, where he continued his work as a writer.

Yervant Odian was then deported to Deir ez-Zor, where was able to escape death by becoming a translator for German officials there, since he knew French and Turkish.

Yervant Odian returned to Constantinople and wrote for the newspaper Jamanak.

Yervant Odian published his memoirs about his experience in the Armenian genocide in Jamanak in 1919.

Yervant Odian left Constantinople in 1922 and lived in Bucharest and various locations in the Near East.

Yervant Odian spent the last days of his life in Cairo, Egypt, where he died in 1926 at the age of 56.

Some of Yervant Odian's works have been adapted into films in Armenia, including Comrade Panchooni and Monsieur Jacques and the Others.

In 2016 the Armenian Museum of Fresno celebrated the 150th birthday of Yervant Odian by hosting an event focused on his life and his literary works.