Albert Kapikian: The Photoengraver

for Zareh Kapikian (1898-1989) and

in memory of Albert Zaven Kapikian (1930-2014)

The ferries weren't running

to the island, Ellis Island,

because of the wind. So turning

from the river

we were

finally granted

a glimpse

of the photoengraver

here–

The city

appeared as if in a negative

of a line drawing

before us. The overlapping

plates of shadows

cleansed the sensitive

to light

sensitized metal

of the skyscrapers

glinting against the copper

metal screen

of the sky. So

this is what he saw

you said

this is what your grandfather saw

when he arrived–

the slow, sweeping shadows

only the painstaking

could manage to see–

those shadows

those same shades

now moving alongside the office buildings

and disappearing

into the pressing

clouds


Albert Kapikian, our winner for the adult category, lives in Maryland.

Riva Martin: The Armenian Journey

Unforeseen harvest of a nation

Once firm in holy ground

Weaned out in strategic rows

Trampled upon without sound

No warning or response, just deception

Persecutors ‘twould seem hell bound

Insensitive to pain and sorrows

Heard over unjust battlegrounds

Forced into a violent migration

No explanation—dumbfound

Floods of tears did echo

To those who yet had drowned

Fear and silenced devastation

Mourning the motionless mounds

Lead to invisible gallows

Driven, sun-leather browned

Robbed, ripped of earthly possession

The loss of men profound

Lives destroyed in desert meadows

For months ceased to surround

Children were no exception

Many thousands orphan-crowned

The loss of heritage would grow

Native tongue a foreign sound

Enemies fostered compassion

As did allies, some newfound

Both in times a hero

For new life would abound

Scattered by destruction

Seeds on foreign ground

To history it bestows

A story quite renowned

Riva Martin, our college age category winner, is from New Milford CT and attends Paul Smith's College. She writes "I wanted to thank you for hosting this poetry competition.  I had never even heard of the Armenian Genocide before now. It is a wonder that I was never taught about, or in the least, informed, of such a historical event in world history.  Inspiring it is. "

Serena Marguerite Hajjar: My Նէնէ

black սուրճ, fresh off the stove,

            sitting in tiny white ceramic cups,

their flowery designs more delicate, more fragile

than the china itself.

women sitting cross-legged on the weary green couch,

their bubbling chatter filling the room with gusto.

scenes from a Turkish soap opera

flickering endlessly on the screen,

keeping them company, feeding their gossip.

“Նայիր, Սիրինա, այս աղջիկը քեզի կը նմանի”

ձեռագործ laying under the glass of tables everywhere;

            more lace resting on her lap,

            silently waiting to be weaved

            by her seasoned fingers

into impossible patterns of diamonds and flowers.

thin, golden glasses balancing on the tip of her nose,

            the day’s edition of L’Orient le Jour sprawled before her,

            eyes scanning for the latest happenings.

պլղուր and բադադես, my favorite duet,

            simmering quietly in the tired kitchen,

            leftover manaeesh from this morning

            still exhaling its zesty aroma.

“Հայտէ, Նէնէ-ին համար բան մը նուաքէ”

loose, ivory keys rattling under my fingers,

            sighing a familiar -

if slightly off-key - melody,

perhaps an elegy by Babajanian,

maybe a dance by Khachaturian,

and she, harmonizing and humming along.  

a dollop of Armenian, a dash of broken French,

            a sprinkling of Arabic,

            a hint of Turkish,

            mixing with her unique intonation,

forging her personal dialect,

the voice of love,

            the voice of my Նէնէ.

Serena Marguerite Hajjar, our winner in the teen-ager category, lives in Lexington MA and attends Lexington High School

Winners of the 2013 Arthur Halvajian Poetry Competition

On behalf of the board of the Armenian Student's Association and the Armenian Poetry Project, congratulations to the winners of the 2014 Arthur Halvajian Poetry Competition.

Serena Marguerite Hajjar, Lexington, MA 

Riva Martin, New Milford, CT 

Albert K. Kapikian, Silver Spring, MD

ASA Announces 2013 ‘Arthur Halvajian’ Poetry Competition

WARWICK, R.I.—The Armenian Students Association of America (ASA), Inc. this month announced that it will sponsor the Armenian Poetry Project’s (APP) annual Arthur Halvajian Memorial writing competition. This is the fourth year that the ASA, Inc. has sponsored the competition named in memory of Halvajian, a longtime member and trustee of the ASA, Inc., who passed away in 2010.

The deadline for submissions is Feb. 28, 2014. Winners will be announced in March 2014.

“We are happy to continue our support of the Armenian Poetry Project in honor of Arthur Halvajian, who first built our relationship with the project,” said Brian Assadourian, chairman of the ASA, Inc. Board of Trustees. “We are encouraged by the hundreds of individuals, from elementary and high school students to college students and post-graduates, who participate in the competition. Their involvement shows that the Armenian community continues to value and promote creative writing, which has been a hallmark of the rich cultural tradition of the Armenian nation throughout the centuries.”

The Armenian Poetry Project, led by Lola Koundakjian, is a research and documentation site of 19th-21st-century Armenian poets and poetry. Whether it is through its website/blog, Facebook, or iTunes presence, which features podcasts of recited works, the APP brings together writers from all walks of life across the world.

The competition is open to individuals with one or more parents with at least partial Armenian heritage. All Armenian residents of the United States and Canada are invited to submit their work, in English or Armenian (preferred), for the competition. Entries should be e-mailed to ArmenianPoetryProject@gmail.com, with the subject heading “Halvajian ASA/APP Poetry competition.” Individuals may only submit one poem for the competition. 

The competition groups submissions into three categories: students (ages 12-17), college age (ages 18-22), and adult (ages 23 and older). A top prize will be awarded for each of the categories in the amounts of $50 (students), $100 (college age), and $250 (adult).

Each poem must be accompanied by the author’s full name, age, home address and telephone number, school name, and sponsoring teacher’s telephone number. Those in the college age category need not include a sponsoring teacher. Those in the adult category need not include school information.

The Armenian Students’ Association of America, Inc. encourages educational pursuits by Armenians in America and the raising of their intellectual standards, provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to deserving Armenian students, develops fellowship among them, cultivates in them the spirit of service in the public interest, and acquaints them and the entire American community with Armenian culture.



To learn more about the Armenian Poetry Project, visit http://armenian-poetry.blogspot.com.