Dana Walrath, anthropologist, artist and writer, gave a presentation for the Armenian Institute on her Young Adult prose poem, Like Water on Stone, and led a workshop on graphic nonfiction for us a few days later. Both were received very warmly, the budding artists at the workshop wishing for follow-up and more opportunities to explore this burgeoning art form. Walrath, who teaches in the School of Medicine at University of Vermont, used her experience of caring for her own (Armenian) mother to create a compassionate book that documents the decline of a loved one but also presents new perspectives on relationships and humanity gained from the transition. Using collage and drawing, Walrath combines short candid texts with illustrations of events over their shared lifetime with warmth and perception that shows her own growth through these stages. The book brings comfort to those who are in similar situations and some understanding to those who have yet to fully enter this particular world.
Like Water on Stone follows three children caught up in the Armenian Genocide, the complex responses of their family members to the impending disaster and the ways in which the children grow as they fight to survive. The story’s narrator is an eagle who, struck by tragedy himself, follows the children on their journey with his own commentary on their situation. The writing is lyrical, touching and full of information without ever becoming “didactic”. Walrath portrays village life in detail, bringing a liveliness to the storyline that other similar books do not with their focus on only the brutality of those years. Both sides are present and Walrath successfully brings them together in this unique, moving book. For all ages, though aimed at teens. Aliceheimer’s and Like Water on Stone are available through the Armenian Institute book store.
Written by Susan Pattie
Originally written for Bardez, AI’s periodical in 2013-2020