Sona Van was born Sona Ter-Hovhannisyan in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1952.[1][2][3][4] Her grandparents and parents had at one point been forced to leave Armenia due to the Armenian Genocide.[1][5] Van formally trained as a doctor at Yerevan State Medical University, and she also holds a master's degree in psychology.[4][6]
In 1978, she moved to the United States, settling in California.[1] In the United States, she worked as a doctor and psychologist while also pursuing a poetry career. Her first collection, Rays of Light, was published in 1996.[6] In 2006, she founded the literary journal Narcissus with the poet and playwright Vahan Vardanyan [hy], and she has served as editor in chief of the publication since 2013.[1][4][6]
Her work frequently discusses the violence of the Armenian Genocide, aiming to raise awareness of the genocide in the English-speaking world.[4][5]
Van has published at least four poetry collections, including Parallel Sleeplessness (2010).[1][4][7] Libretto for the Desert, a poetry collection that deals specifically with the genocide, is her best-known work, and it has been translated into 23 languages.[5][8][9] Her work was also included in the 2017 anthology of 25 contemporary Armenian poets Armenia’s Heart: Poems … and Nothing More.[10]
She has been the recipient of HOMER - The European Medal of Poetry and Art. In 2019, she received the International Maria Konopnicka Prize alongside Beata Poźniak, an actress who has produced recordings of Van's work.[5] She has also received a gold medal from the Ministry of Culture of Armenia [hy], as well as the Movses Khorenatsi medal.[1][4]
