APP's 12th anniversary!

Yesterday was APPs 12th anniversary.

We have celebrated it, as we often do, quietly, reading poetry and happy to have achieved a few key points. 

We remain the only website providing audio and text RSS feeds of poems written by Armenians, as well as contemporary authors on Armenian subject matters. 

We continue providing all internet surfers free access to the webpage and audio downloads 24/7/365 via RSS, Twitter and iTunes.

We invite you to join our readers in celebrating APP's broad spectrum:
- independent research of the best Armenian poetry we can find  
- gems by authors from the 19th century to the present
- introduction to out of print books, periodicals and digitized archives
- an index by authors and countries
- experimental works by contemporary authors
- introduction of budding authors, including the APP/ASA poetry competition winners, now in its 8th year
- different languages of expression, mostly Armenian, English or French, with translations provided whenever possible

This project is curated and produced by Lola Koundakjian in New York. To contact APP, send an email to: ArmenianPoetryProject[at]gmail[dot]com.

If YOU ENJOY this website, please consider making a donation via Paypal.com by clicking on the button below. Your donations help maintain the audio website, buy books and replace equipment for the recordings as well as research in libraries. 

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Յովհաննէս Ասպետ ՄԵՐ ՆԱՀԱՏԱԿՆԵՐՈՒՆ

Ո՜վ Տէր Աստուած,
Մեր նահատակներու
Տառապանքին,
Պաղատանքին,
Ցաւին ու վէրքին,
Անոնց աղօթքի,
Վերջին յոյսին,
Տաժան մահուան,
Անյաղթ հաւատքին
Իրենց լաց ու կոցին մէջ,
Քու արիւնագամ
Խաչին բարձրացան,
Քու ցաւին միաձայն,
Իրենց վերջին շունչով,
Աղերսական կանչերով,
Աղաղակեցին քեզ.
Աստուա՜ծ իմ, Աստուա՜ծ իմ,
Ինչո՞ւ մեզ թողուցիր:

Յովհաննէս Ասպետ

Այս բանաստեղծութիւնը լոյս տեսած է Ֆրանսայի Բանբեր պարբերաթերթի Մարտ-Ապրիլ 2017 թիւին մէջ

ՅԻՇԷՔ Hishek: Armenian Writers on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Tuesday, April 24 at 7 PM - 9 PM

Babycastles, 145 W 14th St, New York, New York 10011

🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲

Alina Gregorian
Christopher Atamian
Aida Zilelian
Lola Koundakjian

🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲

Alina Gregorian is a poet and artist, and author of the chapbooks Flags for Adjectives (Diez) and Navigational Clouds (Monk Books). Some poems can be found in Boston Review, Prelude, BOMB Magazine, among others. Alina lives in Brooklyn, NY and can be found here alinagregorian.com.

Christopher Atamian is a writer and creative producer of Armenian and Italian background and the grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors. He studied comparative literature as an undergrad at Harvard; television and film production at USC Film School and international marketing at Columbia Business School. Apart from creative endeavors and professional activities as a senior executive in leading media companies and consultancies (ABC, Ogilvy & Mather, Hill + Knowlton Strategies), Atamian has concentrated on community activism. He is the former President and a current board member of AGLA New York, and in 2004 founded Nor Alik, a non-profit cultural organization responsible for producing the First New York Armenian International Film Festival. Atamian also co-produced the OBIE Award-winning play Trouble in Paradise in 2006, as well as several music videos and short films. He was selected for the 2009 Venice Biennale on the basis of his video Sarafian’s Desire and received a 2015 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He continues to contribute critical pieces to leading publications such as The New York Times Book Review, The Huffington Post, SCENES Media and The Weekly Standard. His first book of poetry A Poet in Washington Heights was published this year by Nauset Press and awarded the 2017 Tölölyan Literary Prize. He was born and still resides in New York City with his dog Chip.

Aida Zilelian is a New York City writer. Her novel THE LEGACY OF LOST THINGS was released in March 2015 (Bleeding Heart Publications) and was the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. Her stories have been published in over twenty-five journals and several anthologies. She has been featured on NPR, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Kirkus Reviews, among other radio and print platforms. She is also the curator of Boundless Tales, the longest-running reading series in Queens, NY. She recently completed her second novel, The Last Echo Through the Plains. Her short story collection These Hills Were Meant for You was shortlisted in the 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Prize.

Lola Koundakjian is a regular reader in New York City and has appeared in four international poetry festivals. She curates a poetry reading series at the Zohrab Information Center in midtown Manhattan, and since 2006, has promoted Armenian culture with texts, translations and audio for the Armenian Poetry Project. She is the author of The Accidental Observer (2011 USA) and Advice to a Poet (2014 Peru; 2015 USA). Her work has also appeared in journals and anthologies on three continents. www.lolakoundakjian.com

Shahé Mankerian: The Last Mosque (video)

“The Last Mosque” on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/264970774?ref=em-share

The Last Mosque, on the Visible Poetry Project
Animated by Laura N-Tamara
Poem by Shahé Mankerian

Visible Poetry Project pairs 30 poets and filmmakers to collaborate on short films for the month of April - National Poetry Month!

Յովհաննէս Ասպետ։ ԱՍՏՂԻ ՄԸ ՏԱԿ

Ձօնուած Ժօաննային

Յեղ իմ երբեմնի խոհերուս մէջ թախծոտ,
Մենաւոր կայներ կը խորհէի անձկանօք,
Յուշիկ դու եկար իմ մօտը՝ քու խանդոտ,
Սիրող սրտով սփոփելու սրտիս մորմոք:

Մենք աստղի մը տակ եկեր ենք գով գովի,
Անքակտելի սիրով մը սիրեր ենք զիրար,
Դուն ընծայեր ես ինձ քո՛ւ սիրտը կորովի,
Երկնային կայծ մը հրկիզեր է մեզ իրար,

Այն օրէն ի վեր մեր սիրտը ընդմիշտ կ՛այրի:

Յովհաննէս Ասպետ

Poetry reading in Los Angeles

Albert Kapikian: The Foolish Professor (A Double Sonnet)

Now looking up, taking roll, I hear them:
My own two voices (my own forked tongue.)
Am I taking roll or taking names? Starting to lecture
I begin to face them down (my two false choices).

I know there is so little I can convey
yet so much upon which I can insist—
There is the face that can profess
(But that face is false, that face I should resist) 

Yet that face is my form of redress
(Damn all those teachers who taught me what,
not how, to think—!)
I worked hard to get here. So now I get to stress
what I think is right, what I know is wrong. 

(Let them gorge themselves on what I think) 

Let them learn to memorize my song.

My other face is a face to confess
that they cannot find (with a map anyway) 

what I cannot tell them how to possess—
that all I really am
is my syllabus, my opening words
to the class, my ability to inspire others
to the life I have not had—
that I am here to let them go into the places
I cannot map because I cannot, because I could not, 

because I did not learn
how to go—

For now I choose to rule (and play the fool)
As a professor there is nothing I do not know.

This poem appeared in VOLUME 26 2017/2018 of CEAMAG, JOURNAL OF THE COLLEGE ENGLISH ASSOCIATION MIDDLE-ATLANTIC GROUP

Գրիգոր Զօհրապ։ ԶԱՏԿԻ ԱՌԹԻՒ

Անկիւն մ'ունիմ սրտիս մէջ ուր՝
Կ'առանձնանամ ամէն ատեն,
Վերհիշումներ երբոր տըխուր
Երկրէն զիս պահ մը կ'անջատեն։

Հոն` կը կենամ ես ծնադիր
Ինչպէս առաջքը խորանին,
Եւ ուր միայն կը ծաղկի իր
Կէս սուգին մէջ եղրեւանին։

Հոդ շարուած են իրարու մօտ
Մութ փոսերը իմ իղձերուս,
Յիշատակներ` հիմա աղօտ,
Անուններ` զոր չըսէր լեզուս։

Խոլ տենչանքներ, թռիչք անհուն
Զոր ձեռքովըս տուի հողին,
Մեռելներ` զոր ուրիշներուն
Պէս հարութեան յոյսը չունին։


Գրիգոր Զօհրապ