A video tribute to Zahrad's "The Woman Cleaning Lentils"

At APP we love the way poetry cross-pollinates the visual arts, film, dance and theatre.

The Woman Cleaning Lentils was selected for dissemination in APP in 2006, just a few months before Zahrad's death after a long and fruitful life as a poet.

Here's a presentation of "The Woman Cleaning Lentils" by the Hamazkayin State Theatre which was established in 1991 by the celebrated Armenian actor, Sos Sargsyan.




Զահրատ- ՈՍՊ ՍՏԿՈՂ ԿԻՆԸ

Ոսպ մը - ոսպ մը - ոսպեր - ոսպ մը - քար մը - ոսպ մը - ոսպ մը - քար մը

Կանաչ մը - սեւ մը - կանաչ մը - սեւ մը - քար մը - կանաչ ոսպ մը

Ոսպ ոսպի քով - քար ոսպի քով - յանկարծ բառ մը - բառ ոսպի քով

Յետոյ բառեր - ոսպ մը - բառ մը - բառ բառի քով - յետոյ խօսք մը

Ու բառ առ բառ խօլ բարբառ մը - հինցած երգ մը - հին երազ մը

Յետոյ կեանք մը - ուրիշ կեանք մը - կեանք կեանքի քով - ոսպ մը - կեանք մը

Դիւրին կեանք մը - դժուար կեանք մը - ինչու դիւրին - ինչու դժուար

Բայց քով քովի կեանքեր - կեանք մը - յետոյ բառ մը - յետոյ ոսպ մը

Կանաչ մը - սեւ մը - կանաչ մը - սեւ մը - ցաւ մը - կանաչ երգ մը

Կանաչ ոսպ մը - սեւ մը - քար մը - ոսպ մը - քար մը - քար մը - ոսպ մը։




Կարդաց՝
Դավիթ Հակոբյանը
Դերերում՝
Դավիթ Հակոբյան
Նարեկ Բաղդասարյան
Հարություն Սարգսյան
Տաթև Ղազարյան
Սերգեյ Թովմասյան
Արմինե Անդրեասյան
Մարիա Սեյրանյան
Միշա Հակոբյան
Սարգիս Շողունց

Armenian Authors Reading Aloud

Amaras Art Alliance is sponsoring a new online experimental project called “Armenian Authors Reading Aloud” initiated by Sharisse Zeroonian. The goal is to have writers and poets of Armenian ancestry from around the world make videos of themselves reading their own work, which Amaras will share online. Interested individuals may contact us via this email: Amaras@AmarasOnline.com
Guidelines:

Please record yourself aloud from your own manuscript as a video clip, the length of which should not exceed 5 minutes.

The language the work is read in should be that of the language in which it was written.

You may submit more than one clip for longer pieces, but each clip should not exceed 5 minutes.

Video clip format should be one acceptable for Youtube (ex. MP4 generally works well).

Send the finished product to Amaras@AmarasOnline.com along with a brief description of the material, a title and a short biographical statement.

We will review your clip and, at our discretion, will post it to our Youtube channel, Facebook Page, and website.

Thank you.

Alan Semerdjian: Children of Genocide (poem with music and video)

https://vimeo.com/407827624


GRANDCHILDREN OF GENOCIDE
Alan Semerdjian, In the Architecture of Bone, Genpop Books, 2009


The audio track, "Grandchildren of Genocide", is the first from a poetry and music collaboration between Vancouver-based guitarist Aram Bajakian and New York City writer/musician/educator Alan Semerdjian.

We think of bombfields and big when we think of genocide. We think of mass cleansing. We think in holes. We think the whole page. We think what’s under it, what they’ve been covering up. We think there might have been people
in those whole pages.
We think of chambers when we think of genocide. We think
of people crying. We think of people climbing. We think of people climbing and crying, crying and climbing. We think of both people climbing and people crying. We think in chambers.
We think in those horrible chambers when we think of genocide. Those horrible 20th-century chambers.
When we think of genocide, we don’t think of mountains and deserts. We don’t think of bazaars. When we do think of them,
we don’t think of young democratic people and pomegranates.
We don’t think of young democratic people with pomegranates
at bazaars when we think of genocide. We don’t think of them next to our grandfathers. We don’t think next to them.
Then there are young democratic people who don’t eat pomegranates and don’t think of genocide. We don’t think of them either.
We don’t think of them when we think of genocide, but we do think of moustaches. We don’t think of long and lovely moustaches,
but we think of moustaches when we think of genocide.
When we think of genocide, we think of families. We think
of faces of families, but we don’t think of birth. When we think
of birth, we don’t think about babies. But we do think of mothers.
When we think about genocide, we do think about mothers.
But we do think of mothers, but we don’t think of women.
We don’t think of women dancing.
We don’t hear the music when we think of genocide.
These things we think about and do not hear when we think about genocide.
And we don’t think of civil war as genocide. We hear about it. We don’t call in enough with such information.
We think about reconciliation, but we don’t
think about reconciliation when we think about genocide.
We don’t study the memorials, we don’t explain the play in papers, we don’t shake hands and make up. When we think of genocide, we do other things with our hands.

For the full album, please visit

amerge.bandcamp.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!

A video treat for Christmas, enjoy!

Hrand Nazariantz, "Tre Poemi". Poeta bilingue armeno. Tre poemi tradusse dall'armeno. C. Giardini1924

Hrand Nazariantz, armeno di Costantinopoli, intellettuale di spicco della sua comunità, fugge dalla sua città, dal suo sobborgo di Uskudar costellato di moschee ma anche di chiese e sbarca a Bari sospintovi dalla Storia come un battello senza vela dal moto delle onde. È il 1913. La temperie che lo porta a queste rive è drammatica, ed è una persecuzione a un tempo etnica e politica. Del suo popolo non è il solo che fugge e non è il primo. L’esodo degli armeni dall’Impero Ottomano è cominciato dalla fine del secolo precedente, in un doloroso e costante stillicidio e riguarda soprattutto intellettuali come lui e la classe abbiente della comunità armena in Turchia. Per l’esule, Bari, per quanto piccola e marginale, diventa l’unica possibile “altra” Istambul-Costantinopoli, dentro una tensione al ritorno durata tutta la vita. E qui, oggi, riposa: nella Necro- poli di Bari, in un loculo anonimo che reca solo nome, data di nascita e morte, e la definizione di “Poeta”.

Nell`introduzione "Noi siamo armeni" del poeta sovietico armeno Paruyr Sevak. (for the Armenian original, please click here)

Prima parte

recitati da Lia Careddu e Marco Spiga con Irma Toudjian al pianoforte 

Mercoledì 17 ottobre 2012, ore 21 Minimax, via De Magistris 12 , Cagliari

Seconda parte
recitati da Lia Careddu e Marco Spiga con Irma Toudjian al pianoforte 

Lory Bedikian reading from her book

Click to hear Lory Bedikian introducing her work and reading from her book.

Ռաֆայել Պատկանեան։ ՕՐՈՐՈՑԻ ԵՐԳ

Click here to view the award winning video by Irina Patkanian, great-great-granddaughter of the poet Rafayel Patkanian, aka Kamar-Katiba.




Արի՛, ի՛մ սոխակ, թո՛ղ պարտէզ մերին,
Տաղերով քուն բե՛ր տղիս աչերին.
Բայց նա լալիս է. դու, սոխակ, մի՛ գալ.
Իմ որդին չ՛ուզէ տիրացու դառնալ։


Ե՛կ, աբեղաձա՛գ, թո՛ղ արտ ու արօտ,
Օրորէ՛ տղիս, քնի է կարօտ.
Բայց նա լալիս է. դու, ձագուկ, մի՛ գալ,
Իմ որդին չ՛ուզէ աբեղայ դառնալ։


Թո՛ղ դու, տատրակի՛կ, քու ձագն ու բունը,
Վուվուով տղիս բե՛ր անուշ քունը.
Բայց նա լալիս է, տատրակի՛կ, մի՜ գալ,
Իմ որդին չ՛ուզէ սգաւոր դառնալ։


Կաչաղա՛կ ճարպիկ, գո՛ղ, արծաթասէր,
Շահի զրուցով որդուս քունը բեր.
Բայց նա լալիս է, կաչաղա՛կ, մի՛ գալ.
Իմ որդին չ՛ուզէ սովդաքար դառնալ։


Թո՛ղ որսըդ, արի՛, քաջասի՛րտ բազէ,
Քու երգը գուցէ իմ որդին կ՛ուզէ․․․
Բազէն որ եկաւ` որդիս լռեցաւ,
Ռազմի երգերի ձայնով քնեցաւ։


Ռաֆայել Պատկանեան


CRADLE SONG


Come, nightingale, leave our garden,
With your songs bring sleep to my son's eyes;
But now he cries, don't come, nightingale,
My child doesn't wish to be a deacon.


Come, monk-child, let hill and valley
Rock my son, he's in need of sleep;
But now he cries, don't come, O monk-child,
My child doesn't with to be a monk.


Turtledove, leave your young and your nest,
And with your cooing bring gentle sleep to my son;
But now he cries, don't come, O turtledove,
My son doesn't wish to be a mourner.


Magpie, silver-loving, thieving, clever one,
Bring sleep to my son with a story of profit;
But now he cries, don't come, magpie,
My son doesn't wish to be a dealer.


Come, brave falcon, quit your prey,
Maybe my son will favor your song...
When the falcon appeared my son fell still,
And slept to the sound of battle songs.


Rafael Patkanian


Armenian poetry, old and new : a bilingual anthology / compiled and translated with an introd. by Aram Tolegian.

Detroit :  Wayne State University Press , 1979.