New Britain Herald, CT
May 23 2009

Armenian stories ring familiar

Friday, May 22, 2009 10:10 PM EDT
By JENNIFER ABEL
Staff writer

NEW BRITAIN ‘ The New Britain Public Library’s month-long celebration
of Armenian culture continued Thursday night, with a children’s hour
dedicated to traditional Armenian folk and fairy tales.

`Some of the fairy tales have themes similar to American stories,’
said Amy Litke, head of the children’s department. `Themes like strong
women, and the importance of taking control of your life … one
story, `A Weave of Words,’ is about a woman who is a weaver and a man
who is a prince. He can’t even read or write, because he loves hunting
so much. So the woman tells him, `fortunes can change, learn a trade.’
Eventually they’re captured, but manage to earn their freedom by
weaving beautiful rugs.’

The fairy-tale reading, and other Armenian-themed events this month,
are part of the library’s `World of Words’ program. Pat Watson, the
library’s assistant head of adult services, explained the program in
more detail.

`Every year, we select a country to celebrate its culture, literature
and history,’ Watson said. `We try to pick countries with a population
in New Britain, and there’s a good-sized Armenian population here.’

As part of the Armenian World of Words festival, the library will host
an `Armenian Double Feature’ today afternoon at 1 p.m., featuring two
documentary films about Armenian religious culture. (Last Saturday
they had a double feature on a more sobering topic: a documentary on
the Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Turks during World War I).

Other scheduled World of Words events include a bilingual presentation
of Armenian poetry Wednesday and an Armenian cafe featuring native
music and cuisine on May 30.

For more information about the Armenian World of Words festival, call
(860) 224-3155, ext. 125.

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