Leṛ Kamsar

Ler Kamsar was the pen name of Aram Tovmaghyan, an Armenian writer and satirist. He was native of Van in the Ottoman Empire, where he began his writing career. He survived the Armenian genocide and fled to Eastern Armenia, where he worked as a satirist for various newspapers and published several works. His works satirize international and Armenian politics, religion, the clergy, and those in power, as well as aspects of everyday life, social issues, and the literary world. His criticisms of the Soviet authorities led to his repression in 1935. He spent the next twenty years in prison and exile, and he was largely prevented from publishing after he was amnestied in 1955. Many of Kamsar's works and diaries have been published since his death in 1965, although a large amount of his writings remain unpublished.