Biography

James Najarian is a scholar of nineteenth-century British poetry and prose, poet, and editor whose work explores the intersections of faith, art, and the literary imagination.

He studied at Yale and now teaches English at Boston College, where he also edits Religion and the Arts, an international journal exploring the intersections of faith and creativity. Over three decades of teaching, writing, and editing, Najarian has built a reputation for bringing clarity and insight to subjects that bridge literature, theology, and cultural history.

The Intersections of Art, Belief, and the Literary Tradition

James Najarian’s work approaches literature as a dialogue between art and the sacred. He studies how writers from the nineteenth century to the present have wrestled with questions of transcendence, the imagination, and the ethical responsibilities of creation. His essays, books, and lectures reveal how aesthetic form becomes a way of thinking about belief itself, and he engages his students with humor and warmth.

Beyond his critical research, Najarian is a practicing poet and Armenian Orthodox deacon whose creative work reflects on memory, heritage, and devotion. His verse often returns to his rural Pennsylvania upbringing. Whether writing about Romantic England or contemporary faith, he brings a steady moral and artistic curiosity to everything he undertakes.

Teacher and Scholar

James Najarian is recognized for his clear, engaging teaching and his ability to connect nineteenth-century literature to contemporary questions of art, ethics, and identity. His classroom invites conversation between the historical and the personal where ideas of faith, gender, and culture are vivid and thought-provoking. At Boston College, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Romanticism, Victorian prose, and literary theory.

Editor and Arts Advocate

As editor of Religion and the Arts, he has broadened the journal’s reach to include diverse perspectives on creativity and belief. His editorial vision emphasizes dialogue between disciplines, making space for both rigorous scholarship and original artistic expression.Najarian has also served as a reviewer for academic presses and literary journals, supporting new research that bridges the humanities and theology.

Poet and Writer

Alongside his scholarly work, James writes poetry and fiction that explore memory, faith, and cultural inheritance. His creative work reflects the same precision and attentiveness that define his criticism, bringing an emotional depth to his study of literature. His work has appeared in journals such as America, Southern Poetry Review, and The Black Horse Review, and he continues to publish poems and short fiction that examine how personal faith and artistic form illuminate one another.

Cultural and Religious Interpreter

Drawing on his Armenian heritage and his role as a deacon in the Armenian Orthodox Church, James writes about the intersection of spirituality and artistic life. His essays and creative pieces examine how ritual, beauty, and language shape moral imagination. He has contributed to The Hyephen, Queer Armenian Library, and Armenian Poetry, reflecting on questions of devotion, identity, and cultural continuity.

Rethinking the Canon

Through his studies of Romantic and Victorian writers, Najarian reconsiders the boundaries of the literary canon. He shows how lesser-known poets and prose writers expanded what literature could say about faith, beauty, and the self. His scholarship traces the evolution of aesthetic and moral values in nineteenth-century Britain, examining how the language of faith and doubt shaped artistic innovation.