New Social Movements and the Armenian Question in Turkey. Civil Society vs. the State by Özlem Belçim Galip

In this important new study Dr. Özlem Belçim Galip addresses the so-called “Armenian Question” and its place in the struggle between civil society and the state in contemporary Turkey. The introduction guides the reader through the central themes and concepts, and the following chapters traverse the history of Armenians from the late Ottoman Genocide to 2002, when the Justice & Development Party (AKP) took power, and the eventual disappointments of Erdogan’s “New Turkey”.

The long fourth chapter is the study’s unique strength: an interview-led account of the “new social movements”—a term which refers both generally to the post-Marxist social movements which emerged after 1968, and specifically to these in contemporary Turkey. Key moments are the assassination of Hrant Dink and the massive civil society mobilisation in its wake, the Gezi Park uprising, and the emergence of self-identifying Muslim and Alevi Armenians in a relative opening of society. Most poignantly, many of the interviewees are now in exile or imprisoned.

Concluding remarks explore the ramifications, asserting the centrality of the Armenian Question for any meaningful transformation of Turkish civil society, and so the Turkish state’s democratisation. Overall, utilising both a wide-ranging literature and firsthand interviews, the result is a landmark book on the latest iteration of the Turkish Republic’s foundational question.

Review by Nicholas S.M. Matheou

Originally written for Zanazan Magazine Issue 2

Aftershocks: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Identity by Nadia Owusu

The name of Nadia Owusu appeared in all the Armenian newsfeeds suddenly, with the publication of her book – Aftershocks. The blurbs and bios started with the dazzling geography of her identity: Ghanaian-American-Armenian, who lived in Italy, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and went to school in the UK. 

When we acquired the book for the Armenian Institute’s library I picked it to leaf through quickly, and couldn’t put it down: it took me on such an unusual, honest and courageous journey, one rarely seen in memoirs. The book is an emotional and intellectual rollercoaster - a candid and touching story  of her life, combined with a serious examination of her own identity and belonging. Right after its publication, Aftershocks was included in many prestigious ‘best book’ lists, including The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Time, Vulture, and the BBC - it was even a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. 

What touched me immensely was how Owusu, first as a child and then as a young woman, navigated the endless changes and shifts that defined her life with a heartbreaking but also brave fragility. The book starts with earthquakes – an actual, real one in Armenia, which I myself witnessed in 1988, and an emotional one in the little girl’s heart when her estranged mother unexpectedly turns up to see Owusu and her younger sister. The tremors of these earthquakes accompany Owusu all her life, whether visiting the ancestral lands of her family in Ghana or worrying about her brother – a young black man – in the US. 

When I picture an earthquake, I picture an earthquake. And, I picture my mother’s back and my father’s tumor and planes crashing into towers. When I picture an earthquake, I picture orphans in Armenia and child soldiers. I picture myself, safe, behind guarded walls. I picture an absence. I hear thunder and silence. An earthquake is trauma and vulnerability: The earth’s, mine, yours”.

Owusu’s writing is exquisite, navigating through the timelines and countries, but keeping the reader’s attention with her lyrical storytelling, and leading through a fairytale-like journey of a young girl, searching for a place, for identity, for peace of mind. And while it’s a book written with raw truthfulness about pain, depression, heartache and loss, it is mostly a book about strength, grace and love.

Review by Tatevik Ayvazyan

Originally written for Zanazan Magazine Issue 2

The Politics of Armenian Migration to North America, 1885-1915: Sojourners, Smugglers, and Dubious Citizens by David E. Gutman

This important book addresses a significant gap in studies about pre-Genocide Armenian migration from the Ottoman Empire, including departures and illegal return visits. Using a wide variety of archival material, this accessible text provides a rich and complex account of clandestine and illegal migration, reminding us that such population movements are not unique to recent times. David Gutman’s The Politics of Armenian Migration to North America explores how both Ottoman and American policies changed between 1885 and 1915, at times in opposition, eventually converging to block movement. The migrants are shown using agency and ingenuity, striving to accomplish their goals of sustaining selves and families.  Gutman reveals inter-relations between the Empire’s ethno-religious groups with a network of smugglers facilitating the movement, Armenians occupying critical though fragile and changing positions in this important underground economy.

The book explores the driving forces behind this risk-laden migration, demonstrating the importance of family-centred life for Ottoman Armenians.  The backlash generated by this mobility, from the Ottoman Empire and later the U.S. government, mirrors what would become the default 20th century response to migrants and refugees, continuing today.  As Gutman points out, migrants would have chosen to stay home, had they been allowed to prosper.

Review by Susan P. Pattie

Originally written for Zanazan Magazine Issue 1

Meteliksiz Aşıklar (Անկուտի սիրահարներ | Angudi Siraharner) by Zaven Biberyan

I am a new, and quite slow, learner of the Western Armenian language, but one of the dreams that motivates me is that when I manage to learn it, I will be able to read Zaven Biberyan in his original Armenian! In this short piece here I would like to talk about Biberyan’s Meteliksiz Aşıklar which I read in Turkish, and which was published by Aras Publishing House.

Zaven Biberyan has recently started to gain a reputation as one of modern Armenian literature’s best novelists. In addition to his novelistic talent, Biberyan was also a great narrator and indeed chronicler of Armenians’ tragic past, while his character-centred focus produced deep descriptions of the emotions aroused by a continued witnessing of ongoing political disasters. Sadly, Zaven Biberyan was long neglected as a novelist, sharing the fate of many other great writers, enjoying fame only after death. As we learn from his biography and from the preface by Marc Nichanian in the book, Zaven Biberyan lived through difficult times, as an Armenian, a left-wing journalist, and as far as we understand from his life, his unflinching, outspoken criticism of all established values in the defence of human rights.

Zaven Biberyan was born in 1921 in İstanbul and died there on 4 October 1984. He was buried in the intellectuals’ section of Şişli Armenian Cemetary. Meteliksiz Aşıklar narrates the landscape and people of İstanbul without nostalgia, being a novel that shows how people experience the life of the city, seen through the lenses both of a comparison to small-town life and the perspective of a 19th years old Armenian man. The anger, frustration and stasis of Biberyan’s characters makes the novel a difficult emotional experience. However, Biberyan never takes the reader into mere pessimism but appreciates the simplicity of happiness amid the pressures of conventional social values and the vulnerability of his own identity. 

Meteliksiz Aşıklar doesn't have much of a plot beyond the complications surrounding 19-year-old Armenian Sur’s love for Norma, his older girlfriend, but its main purpose is as drawing a picture of the 1950s in Turkey and it also mentions the Varlık Vergisi (Wealth Tax) which was imposed on non-Muslim citizens in Turkey in 1942 and the 6-7 September pogrom on non-Muslim communities in Istanbul. It is a great pity that no English translation exists alongside its French, Turkish, and Armenian versions. Zaven Biberyan’s rich social tapestry seems almost to anticipate a future viewpoint. Sur’s struggle with masculine adulthood also acts as a description of life as a young Armenian in İstanbul, which criticises all of society’s moral values and sacred virtues. Those who can read him in Armenian can buy its e-book version from Aras Publishing House, but below is my translation from the Turkish:

“It was a wonderful thing to lie so carefree without looking around every minute with beating heart, without incident, without anxious expectation of constant disaster. Not being nervous. Being comfortable, having peace of mind ... Not feeling guilty, not being anxious because of a non-criminal act ... There are countries in the world where no one looks at people who hug each other, no one accosts them because they kiss, and no one attacks them when they are alone.”

We still do not know, Sur, what country might give you this, but Biberyan beautifully imagines your moment with Norma on the island. As you say to each other later, “How nice it is to know that you have a friend around and not to be afraid"...

I wish that Sur and Norma’s dream comes true for everyone who looks at the blue sky where the seagulls pass… without fear but with love and friendship…

And I wish to have Biberyan’s book translated into English and many other languages as well. 

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Other notable works by Biberyan include: 

• The Dawn of the Ants/ Mırçünneru verçaluysı/ Karıncaların Günbatımı

• Lıgırdazı, Yalnızlar 

e-book link: https://www.arasyayincilik.com/urun/անկուտի-սիրահարներ/

Written by Şahika Erkonan

Originally written for Zanazan Magazine Issue 2

The Gimmicks by Chris McCormick

Who is the author?

Chris McCormick is the author of a novel, The Gimmicks (Harper, 2020), and a short story collection, Desert Boys, winner of the 2017 Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award. His essays and stories have appeared in The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Tin House, and Ploughshares. He grew up on the California side of the Mojave Desert before earning his BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MFA from the University of Michigan. He is an Assistant Professor in the creative writing program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is at work on his next novel.

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Buy The Book Here

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The Gimmicks by Chris McCormick By Tatiana der Avedissian

After sitting on the tower of books that I had piled up since the first lockdown, I finally found the time this Christmas to read The Gimmicks, a book I had been meaning to read since the summer. Since the pandemic started, I have found my ability to concentrate on a book limited against the backdrop of never-ending work and errands - a phenomenon that seems to plague a few of my friends, who like me, are avid readers. Well until Christmas, when I finally got some downtime and took The Gimmicks with me to Cyprus, reading it in just four days. 

I was really struck by it not because I am Armenian, but because I was not expecting it to be such a captivating novel about certain periods in contemporary Armenian history that I must admit I have never been too familiar with, namely the ASALA movement, a Marxist militant organisation that took upon itself extreme measures to bring about the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Up until recently, I had no idea who Monte Melkonian was either, and for those of you as unfamiliar with him as I was, he was an American-Armenian revolutionary and nationalist militant whose nickname was Avo, like one of the title characters of the book.

McCormick's book tells the tale of two cousins whose lives change drastically after becoming involved with the ASALA movement. Avo is the wrestler. He is strong and muscular with a distinct monobrow compared to Ruben, the backgammon player, who is a smaller-framed man with an indistinct appearance except for his glasses. Avo moves in with Ruben's family after the passing of his parents, and despite their differences, they become close enough to consider each other brothers, but all that changes when Mina and Avo fall for each other. Mina is Ruben's backgammon rival, whom he deems to have more luck than skill at the game, blaming her for stealing his opportunity to be chosen by their teacher Tigran to compete in the Paris backgammon tournament. Secretly in love with her, all goes awry once the two brothers fall for the same girl, all unbeknown to Avo. 

The use of games and sport in the novel to symbolise the journeys each of the title characters take is not missed by the reader. Ruben's life resembles a backgammon tournament with many quick wins, but over time, it becomes clear that just like the game, skills are as important as luck to succeed in life. Ruben is drawn into a world, a dark part of Armenian history, to prove his value elsewhere and drags his loyal brother with him. Meanwhile, Avo's love for wrestling manifests into a reality when he finds himself conflicted about whether his love for Mina or his desire to please his 'brother' is more important. 

I could not decide whether this is a love story set against the backdrop of Soviet Armenia and the Genocide that took place a little over 60 years prior, or the story of two men growing up in Soviet Armenia and how their generation dealt with the reckoning of the Armenian Genocide. Armenians have consistently suffered from inflection points that have dramatically changed the course of their people's history and lives, and McCormick portrays these moments superbly through the short stories recounted by his characters. He makes effective use of vivid imagery that transports you to a time you never lived, and for a moment, you can see it clearly in your mind.  

McCormick beautifully weaves together a story that moves through time and captures the critical moments in twentieth-century Armenian history; the Genocide, Soviet Armenia, the ASALA movement, the devastating earthquake and the subsequent wave of migration for the lucky ones to America. I cannot also point to a central theme of this book. Is it about first loves, the impact of the Genocide on the first few generations of survivors, the tale of two brothers, or the migration of Armenians? But that is not as important because McCormick carries us through the characters' journeys and leaves us mainly questioning how the perceived Armenian 'hero' turned into the phoney he was foretold to become, while the actual Armenian hero never had his moment to truly shine. Quite distinct from the real-life story of the other 'Avo'. The book certainly broke my 'no reading' spell, as I was reminded just how much more entertaining characters in books are than on a screen.  

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Other reviews

Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan

Anatolia Sevoyants, the 58-year old librarian of Maran, is convinced she’s going to die soon. And while you spend the first chapter worrying about her and getting to know her simple, ascetic home - the author Narine Abgaryan transports you to this remote and fictional Armenian village, to meet its dwindling population. Every single home in Maran has its story – sometimes sad, sometimes funny, every single character is memorable and different, but they’re all tied with the scars of a war and famine. Narine Abgaryan doesn’t place the village and the events anywhere geographically and historically specific. It can be any conflict-ridden part of the world, and any war and genocide. Only her colourful language - dropping an odd Armenian word in her own sweet-sounding Tavush dialect -connects Maran to the high and misty mountains in the northern part of Armenia.

‘Three Apples Fell from the Sky’ has been compared to ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, for its structure, vibrant characters, skilfully embroidered with magical realism and historical references. The book made me also think of Hrant Matevosyan’s writing – warm, inviting storytelling and deeply emphatic look at the life in an isolated Armenian village.

Moscow-based author writes in Russian and the recent excellent translation by Lisa Hayden made the book available to the English-language readers. While the book borrows its title from an old Armenian saying, usually following fairytales (Three apples fell from the sky: one for the storyteller, one for the listener, and one for the eavesdropper), its also is a serious examination of the cruelty and devastation of the war, tragically very relevant to Armenia and Narine’s beloved Tavush today.

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Translated by Lisa C. Hayden, Oneworld Publications, 2020

Written by Tatevik Ayvazyan

Originally written for Zanazan Magazine Issue 1

The Uncompromising Facts of History: Christopher J. Walker’s Writings on Armenia by Rebecca Jinks

Following the passing of the renowned historian, Christopher Walker in 2017, the Armenian Institute organised a memorial  lecture as a tribute to his works. The lecture, written and delivered by Dr Rebecca Jinks, a lecturer in Modern History at Royal Holloway University, has been published by AI, and is now available for £5. 

Dr Jinks followed-up the 2017 lecture  with a presentation at Kings’ College London, with the KCL Armenian Society—After Christopher Walker: New Approaches to Modern Armenian History and the Genocide. We were very lucky to be joined by the Head of History and Head of sixth-form Enrichment for Lancing College, Christopher Walker’s alma mater, Dr Damian Kearney,  and his year 12 class for the lecture. Dr Kearney had kindly searched the school archives for Christopher Walker’s contributions to the school magazine, which showed his obvious literary talents that he put to wonderful use in his historical works. 

Lancing College Magazine, Advent 1959, Amateur Dramatic Society “C.J Walker gave a very stimulating paper on Ibsen, the first paper to be given since the foundation of the Society. The paper heightened our enjoyment of the Theatre Royal’s production of ‘Rosmersholm’ which was brilliantly acted by a cast that included Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Eric Porter and Mark Dignam.”

Written by Arda Eghiayan

Originally written for Bardez, AI’s periodical in 2013-2020

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