Varand (also known as Soukias Hacob Koorkchian, Armenian: Վարանդ Քիւրքչեան, born (March 10, 1954, Tehran) is an Armenian-Iranian poet, playwright, lyricist, author, translator and painter who has published 25 collections of poetry since 1972. Varand was honoured as Professor of Armenian Literature by the Grigor Lusavoritch University of Etchmiadzin, Armenia in 2001. He translates both Persian classics as well as modern poetry into the Armenian language. Varand was the chairman of the Armenian Writers Society of Iran founded in 1961 for over ten years, while recently elected chairman of the board for the organization. He also is the editor in charge of the cultural department at Armenian daily newspaper of “Alik”, an honorary member of the Writers Union of Armenia in Yerevan and the professor of the Armenian literature at Azad University of Foreign Languages in Tehran.