Infidelities: Armenian Studies Otherwise at the University of Pennsylvania invites you to the Launch of a novel in translation from Armenia, and a Reading of another from the Armenian American Diaspora
"Armenia" cannot lean toward existing theories. It cannot be comfortably located in the generally recognized lineaments of contemporary imperialism and received postcolonialism. It has been too much in the interstices to fit such a location. Its history is diversified, with many loyalties cross-hatching so small a place, if indeed it is more a place than a state of mind over the centuries. — Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Other Asias
Join Infidelities in celebrating the launches of these two feminist novels from the Armenian transnation—
Written as a literary experiment, A Book, Untitled puts an imagined 1926 meeting between two Armenian feminist literary giants of the early twentieth century—Shushanik Kurghinian and Zabel Yesayan—in conversation with the contemporary narrator’s efforts to unearth their fragmented and nearly erased stories. Excavating these narratives from the censorship of Stalin’s regime and the patriarchal lens that structures the Armenian literary canon is no easy task; documents have been redacted, authors are uncited, texts have been left unfinished. And yet, through these aporias, Book urges its readers to reimagine the past so that the present might be lived otherwise.
In The Fear of Large and Small Nations, bisexual feminist writer and teacher Natalee—aka Na—flees the conservative fearmongering of George W. Bush’s America in favor of reclaiming her cultural roots in post-Soviet Armenia. When she falls for a charismatic younger man and returns with him to New York, Na becomes trapped in an abusive web of codependency, bound by intergenerational trauma and political ideals. Written in the form of gripping short stories interspersed with intimate journal entries and blog posts, The Fear of Large and Small Nations is a revelatory, unflinching examination of what is lost in the tightrope journey between two cultures ravaged by violence and colonialism—and what is gained when one woman seizes control of her story and, in turn, her self-determination.
This event will be moderated by the award-winning Armenian American author Micheline Aharonian Marcom, and hosted as a part of the Infidelities: Armenian Studies Otherwise conference. Open to the public. Registration Required.
A second reading of A Book, Untitled will take place at the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Research and Information Center at 630 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016 on Wednesday, March 29th, 7PM ET through the Literary Lights Reading Series, hosted by the International Armenian Literary Alliance. This event is in-person only, and will not be livestreamed. The Fear of Large and Small Nations's reading with Literary Lights will be held in September.
Location: LGBT Center, 3709 Spruce St., Philadelphia