Zabel Sibil Asadour


Zabel Asadour better known by her literary pseudonym Sibil was born as Zabel Khanjian, was a famous Ottoman Armenian poet, writer, publisher, educator and philanthropist.

Biography

She was educated at the Üsküdar in Constantinople where she graduated in 1879. She was one of the founders of the , an organization that supported the construction, maintenance, and operation of Armenian girl schools throughout the Armenian populated districts of the Ottoman Empire. She taught in the provinces and then in Constantinople.
In 1879, she wrote the textbook Practical Grammar for Contemporary Modern Armenian, a classical grammar book that has been revised and republished many times with help of her husband. Sibil also wrote general articles about education and pedagogy, as well as poems for children.
Writer and political figure Krikor Zohrab, Hrant Asadour, together with Sibil collectively re-established the literary publication Massis, where Sibil wrote portraits of many renowned Western Armenian literary figures. The articles were collected in 1921 in a joint book which Hrant Asadour entitled Profiles.
Sibil was best known for her literary works. In the 1880s she published her poems in Massis and Hairenik. In 1891, she published her novel The Heart of a Girl and a collection of poems, Reflections, in 1902, mostly romantic and patriotic poems. She also wrote short stories, particularly about women. She also wrote for theater and one of her most famous works is the play The Bride. In 1901, she married writer, journalist, and intellectual Hrant Asadour. She and Hrant Asadour exchanged numerous love letters over the course of their courtship, a handful of which have been translated into English by Jennifer Manoukian.