AGBU PRESS OFFICE
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone (212) 319-6383
Fax (212) 319-6507
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PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, October 28, 2004
ARARAT MAGAZINE TO HONOR ANAHID AWARD WINNERS
MEET ERIC BOGOSIAN, DIANA DER-HOVANESSIAN, GREGORY DJANIKIAN AT NOVEMBER 4 NY RECEPTION
NEW YORK, NY-ARARAT, the magazine that for decades has been a forum
for English-language of literature and Armenian American talent, will
host a reception for three winners of the Anahid Literary Award. The
reception will take place on Thursday evening, November 4, at AGBU
headquarters (55 East 59th Street, New York City) at 7:30 pm.
Attending the reception and reading from some of their works will
be New York writer/performer Eric Bogosian, Boston poet Diana
Der-Hovanessian, and Philadelphia writer Gregory Djanikian.
An anonymous donor established the Anahid Literary Award in 1989. The
efforts of the well-known writer and intellectual, Jack Antreassian,
were instrumental in formulating the conditions and creating the
board to administer the award. Mr. Antreassian was also the first
editor of ARARAT. The Armenian Center at Columbia University agreed
to administer the award, which consists of a prize of $5,000. Its
purpose is “to recognize the achievements of American writers of
Armenian descent, to encourage the development of their careers,
and to foster the publication and dissemination of their works.”
On the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the awards, ARARAT
magazine published a special issue devoted to the Anahid award
winners. Now, with this reception, three of the winners have agreed
to meet with the metropolitan area friends of ARARAT and afficionados
of Armenian American literature.
Eric Bogosian is the creator of monologues and solo shows as well as
a playwright and novelist. His solos have received three Obie awards,
a Drama Desk Award, among other honors. His work has had extended runs
Off-Broadway, and performed around the world. Bogosian has appeared
in over two dozen films, including his own adaptation of his play
Talk Radio and Atom Egoyan’s Ararat. In 2004 Bogosian was named a
Guggenheim fellow.
Diana Der-Hovanessian is a groundbreaking translator and poet. She
was a Fulbright professor of American poetry at Yerevan State
University in 1999 and 1994. She has awards from the NEA, PSA,
PEN-Columbia Translation Center, National Writers Union, American
Scholar, Prairie Schooner and Paterson Poetry Center. She has taught
workshops in poetry, translation, and the poetry of human rights at
various universities.
Gregory Djanikian was born in Egypt, and grew up in New York and
Pennsylvania. He began writing seriously while an undergraduate
in college. His prizes include a National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowship, and two from Poetry magazine, the Eunice Tietjens Prize,
and the Friends of Literature Prize. He is Director of the Creative
Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
ARARAT Magazine (), is sponsored by the AGBU and
is proud to present these three Anahid award winners at the November
4th reception. Suggested donation is $10 ($5 for students), and copies
of the Special Anahid Award issue will be available for purchase at
the event. As space is limited, preference will be given to those
who make reservations and pre-pay. Please RSVP by calling Hripsime
212-319-6383, or by email to ararat@agbu.org.