Zartarian became a student of Tlgadintsi (Hovhannes Harutiunian, 1910–1912), who was a leading figure in rural Armenian literature.

[1] Zartarian was greatly influenced by his mentor, and his writing career stemmed from the encouragement he obtained.

In 1903, Zartarian was arrested by the Ottoman government and subsequently forced to leave the country because of his political activity.

When writing for the newspaper, Zartarian would often reiterate the need for Armenian nationals living outside their homeland to pursue working towards the ultimate goal of an autonomous Armenia.

During the Armenian genocide, Zartarian was taken to Ayaş and kept in prison on 5 May and later taken under military escort to Diyarbakır to appear before a court martial there and was murdered by Cherkes Ahmet, and lieutenants Halil and Nazım, at a locality called Karacaören shortly before arriving to Diyarbekir.

In 1910, he released a volume called nocturnal clarity (ts'ayglos, Armenian: Ցայգլոս) that was subsequently translated in French.

Many of his works were collected by a group called "The Friends of Fallen Authors" and released as a volume in 1930 in Paris.