PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
San Francisco – Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 387-3433
Fax: (415) 751-0617
[email protected]
Contact: Ani Baghdassarian (415 ) 387-3433
Reflections on Genocide: The Armenian Genocide in Poetry
SF Poet Laureate and Famed Armenian Poet Diana Der Hovanessian at Poetry
Event
San Francisco, CA ~V At a unique event in commemoration of the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, renowned Armenian poet and
translator Diana Der Hovanessian and San Francisco~Rs poet laureate
Devorah Major will read selections from their work. The evening of
poetry and arts, hosted by the Bay Area Armenian National Committee will
take place on April 19, 2005 at 7:30 pm at the San Francisco State
University Poetry Center. In addition to other readings, the event will
also include music performed by Armenian composer and singer Gor
Mkhitarian, and an exhibit of paintings by local Armenian-American
artist Nanor Ekmekjian.
Diana Der Hovanessian, well known as a poet and one of the world~Rs
finest translators of Armenian poetry, was a Fulbright professor of
American poetry at Yerevan State University in 1994 and 1999. She is the
author of 21 books of poetry and translations, and has won awards from
the National Endowment for the Arts, PSA, Pen-Columbia Translation
Center, National Writers Union, American Scholar, Prairie Schooner, and
Paterson Poetry Center, among others. Her poems are often aired on
National Public Radio and have appeared in the New York Times, Christian
Science Monitor, and journals worldwide. She is currently president of
the New England Poetry Club.
~SReflections on Genocide,~T also features Devorah Major, San
Francisco~Rs Poet Laureate. In addition to being a poet, Major is a
novelist, spoken word artist, activist, and arts educator. Her most
recent books are two volumes of poetry: Where Rivers Meet Ocean~T (City
Lights Publishing, 2003) and ~SWith More Than Tongue~T (Creative Arts
Books, 2003). An anthology of her work will be released in May 2005 by
City Lights Publishing.
The evening will also include readings by native San Franciscan poet
Sevana Panosian, who holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
from San Francisco State University~Rs prestigious writing program. Her
work has been anthologized and translated in ~SBirthmark: An Anthology of
Armenian American Poetry~T, and she is the first place recipient of the
New England Poetry Club~Rs ~SDaniel Varoujan~T award.
Los Angeles poets William Archila and Lory Bedikian will also read
selections of their work. Each holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in
Creative Writing from the University of Oregon. Bedikian was awarded the
Dan Kimble First Year Teaching award for poetry and her work has
appeared in journals nationwide. Archila, exiled during El Salvador~Rs
civil war, has been anthologized in Another City: Writing from Los
Angeles published by City Lights Books.
Musician Gor Mkhitarian who will perform songs from his award-winning
CDs ~SEpisode,~T ~SYeraz,~T and ~SGodfather Tom,~T A recitation in Armenian by
UC Berkeley student Hasmig Tatiossian will also take place. Tatiossian
is in her senior year at UC Berkeley, International Relations with an
Emphasis on Genocide and Human Rights Violations. Mixed media paintings
by local artist Nanor Ekmekjian will also be featured at this
extraordinary event. Born and raised in Lebanon, Ekmekjian~Rs work
revolves around themes of displacement and exile. Her work is
predominantly mixed media in both figurative and abstract paintings.
The SFSU Poetry Center is located on the fifth floor of the Humanities
Building, room 512. For further information, contact the Bay Area
Armenian National Committee at (415) 387-3433.