Zabel Yessayan’s memoir The Gardens of Silihdar (1935) will be the subject of our next book club. The session will be hosted and introduced by Nouritza Matossian with contributions by lover of literature, Eddie Arnavoudian. We will share readings and discussions on the author and the text in Armenian and English. Copies of the English and Armenian editions can be found below.
Nouritza comments, You have shared with us your love of reading and listening to fine Armenian writing, be it poetry or prose. However, some of us cannot speed read in Armenian or would appreciate help from those who are well versed in the language and literature. Our aim is to create a level playing field by aiming to read a book of literary merit written in Armenian and translated into English. This towering writer's own life (1878-1943) makes for a dramatic if not tragic novel. Her writings include a powerful body of poetry, fiction, accounts of the killings of Armenians in Adana 1909 and later work with orphans of 1915. Finally, her life ended in Armenia with her imprisonment and death. Despite the horrors, she lived through and recounted, this book is the lucid, tender and elegant remembrance of her early years in Constantinople among Armenians, Greeks and Turks.
Please note: The AI Book Club continues every other month with a new leader selecting the book to be read and discussed. These may be in Armenian, in English (or both as this time), and other languages with English translations.
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Join us on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83816584814?pwd=VmlpZHVhN2lFMTNDT0ZOR3ZBUk92Zz09
Meeting ID: 838 1658 4814
Passcode: 109722
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This Event is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund .
Our events are free on Zoom but we need your help to continue producing exciting programmes. Please visit our Support page to make a contribution. https://www.armenianinstitute.org.uk/support-us
