Hrag Vartanian

Why o why did this happen? The Republic of Armenia has declared a state of emergency because of the post-election protests. The government has closed TV, websites, radio, leaflets, everything. OneWorld Media has some great reporting on the topic and so does ArtMika at Unzipped Armenia.
Even ArmeniaNow.com is reporting by law only official news, as [...]

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The ancient Armenian tradition of khachkars (literally meaning “cross-stone” in Armenian) has made its way to America and woven its way into Armenian communities around the world.
Los Angeles, where 400,000 people of Armenian heritage reside, is a particularly rich field for the seeds of this art form to grow. Unfortunately, people still mistakenly assume [...]

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Last night (Sun. Feb. 17 at 6pm), New York’s Gartal book reading series continued with all the authors of (An)daratsutian Mej [In the (Un)space] at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village. The book is published by the Women’s Resource Center of Yerevan, Armenia.Gartal founder and visionary, Nancy Agabian, hosted the special trilingual reading with [...]

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Ok, now some shameless self-promotion for a great new podcast.
Those interested in global Armenian cultural issues should check out Hye Eli, a new podcast by Tamar Hayatayan Armen of Vancouver, Canada, which has the deliciously wonderful tag line “a Mirror for Armenians.”
I was kindly asked to contribute an essay for the latest podcast on Garine [...]

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One year after Hrant Dink’s assasination, people are still gathering around the world to remember his dedication to truth and justice.
He was killed by a nationalist movement eager to silence him, but his death only succeeded in making him a martyr. I will miss Hrant’s kindness of spirit and generosity to a young writer like [...]

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