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TO LIVE By Shushanik Kurghinian Translated by Knarik O. Meneshian To live, one must give completely-- Strength, joy, fervor, and youth, Have no fear of pain, hold back tears, Forget smiles, love, and compassion. To live, one must defy death. What joy not to grow old! Time plays a joke in vain, And defeated, it passes you by unnoticed. Instead of walking, take flight--falling matters not, For he who falls from up high does not stay down. Let your soul grow strong on the anvil of pain, Unhindered--in order to live. -- Shushanik Kurghinian (1876-1927) lived in Armenia and Russia, and is famous for her proletarian and feminist poetry. Her first volume of poems got published in 1907, in Nor Nakhichevan. She has been widely censored by the Czarist and Marxist editors, and a large portion of her writings has never been published. An archive of her works is kept at the Museum of Art and Literature in Yerevan. Bibliography: Kurghinian, Shushanik. Poems. Ed. J. Mirzabekian. Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1971. -- Knarik O. Meneshian was born in Austria. Her father was Armenian from Armenia and her mother was Austrian from Austria. A writer and teacher, she is married and lives in Glenview, Illinois with her family. In 1991, Knarik taught English in the village of Jrashen (Spitak Region), Armenia. In 2002-2003, she and her husband lived in Armenia for a year as volunteers and taught English and Computers in Gyumri and Tsaghgadzor. Her various works have been published in American and Armenian publications. She has authored a book of poems titled Reflections, and translated from Armenian to English Reverend D. Antreassian's book titled The Banishment of Zeitoun and Suedia's Revolt.