Լօլա Գունտաքճեան։ Ի՞նչ ընեմ…

This poem has appeared in the December 2013 issue of Horizon Weekly's Literary insert.

Reading at CONFLUENCIA, in Connecticut

Lola Koundakjian will be amongst the four poets reading in the Confluencia series. Thursday, November 21, 2013 at the Naugatuck Valley Community College, - Playbox Theater -750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT. RSVP: 203.575.8044

Reading in Ramallah, West Bank

Lola Koundakjian participated in the Mamilla International Poetry Festival, October 25-27, 2013, which was held at the Mahmoud Darwish Foundation, in Ramallah.

New work published on The Enchanted Verse site.

Lola Koundakjian's poem Caffé Reggio has appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of the Enchanted Verse.

September 29, 2013 reading in Washington Heights, New York City

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 5 pm 

Hudson View Gardens Lounge

Pinehurst Avenue and West 183rd Street

Peter Cameron

Meg Kearney

Lola Koundakjian

reading from their work

followed by a discussion with the audience

THIS READING'S THEME:
how a writer considers audience, what role audience plays, and how and when writers get pigeon-holed to a type

open to the public; suggested donation $7, but hey, wine & light food is included

BLOOM: literary readings & discussions in a heartbreakingly beautiful 1924 Tudor lounge. Pleasant as a tea party, but with booze and cutting-edge writing.


complete fall schedule, contact information, and gorgeous website:
bloomreadings.org


Sponsored by HVG Community Affairs Committee

For more information: bloomreadings@gmail.com

Reading at Word Up Bookstore in Washington Heights, New York

Praise from author Sarah Van Arsdale

When Lola Koundakjian read out loud her first writing exercise in a neighborhood class, I knew instantly that here was a pro. A ringer! Granted, nowhere did we say the class was only for beginners, but still she stood out. I haven't heard much of her work, but what I have heard has shown me that here is a real talent, and a truly terrific reader. 

Closing ceremony at Festival Internacional de Poesía, Lima

Armenia @ FipLima 2013

2nd reading in Lima, Peru

International Poetry Festival, Lima, PERU

Lola Koundakjian has been invited to read her poetry at the International Poetry Festival in Lima, Peru. The young festival, now in its second year, will run from July 4-7, 2013 in various venues throughout Lima. One hundred fourteen poets representing 30 countries have been invited to participate. Lola will be reading her work in the original Armenian, followed by a local poet repeating her work in its Spanish translation.

A reading with the Zvartnots String Quartet, in New York City

Lola Koundakjian will be reading alongside the Zvartnots String Quartet, in a special program.

Sunday June 9, 2013, 1:30 PM

Holy Cross Church of Armenia
580 West 187th Street
New York, NY 10033

Zvartnots String Quartet members are: Cecee Pantikian, violin, Nikita Morozov, violin, Aleksandr Nazaryan, viola, and David Bakamjian, cello.

Special guests: Solange Merdinian, soprano, and, Lola Koundakjian, poet.

An Evening of Poetry at the Zohrab Center, March 13, 2013

Nationally-acclaimed poet Gregory Djanikian will read from his works at the Zohrab Center of March 13 at 7:30PM.

 Three distinguished American-Armenian poets will read from their works in a literary evening on Wednesday March 13, 2013 at the Zohrab Center in New York. Abraham Terian, Lola Koundakjian, and Gregory Djanikian will read from their work in English and Armenian.

Dr. Abraham Terian, a native of Jerusalem, is Professor Emeritus of Armenian Theology at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. An internationally renowned Armenologist and theologian, his poetry represents an significant aspect of his creative output, if less well known than his scholarly writings.

Lola Koundakjian is an internationally regarded and published poet whose work has been translated into Ukrainian and Spanish.

Gregory Djanikian, Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and a native of Alexandria Egypt, has been called “a gardener of the human spirit.” His work has been published in several collections and has appeared in a number of magazines and journals.

Conversation and refreshments will follow the reading, along with the opportunity to purchase the authors’ books. The poetry evening is open to the public. A $5 donation per person will support the work of the Zohrab Center. Students with ID will be admitted free of charge.

 

The Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center is a resource and research facility housed at the Diocesan Center in New York.

630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016

For information on the Zohrab Center, contact its director, the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, at
(212) 686-0710.

 

http://zohrabcenter.org/2013/02/13/an-evening-of-poetry-at-the-zohrab-center/

Reading in Minneapolis, MN - Cancelled appearance

Due to the blizzard expected over New York City from Friday, February 8 through Saturday, February 9th, Lola Koundakjian will not be able to fly out in time to make it to Minneapolis, MN.

___________________
On Saturday, February 9 at 7 p.m. at Open Book Lola Koundakjian will join other authors from the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and around the country to celebrate the publication of the twenty-sixth issue of the only literary journal around dedicated to Arab American literature.

Journals will be available for purchase. And, of course, there will be a reception afterward! Co-sponsored by the Loft Literary Center.

AUTHOR READINGS BY

Andrea Assaf

Tami Mohamed Brown

Yahya Frederickson

Amir Hussain

Lola Koundakjian

Christina Najla LaRose

Shahé Mankerian

Sahar Mustafah

And more!

Artwork in this issue by Syrian artist Ismail Al Rifai

Saturday, February 9, 2013

7:00 p.m.

$5 General • $3 Students, Seniors, and Loft Members

Open Book • 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis 55415

Mizna's journal is supported by the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board. State Arts Board funding is made possible through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State's arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008

The Next Big Thing - January 16, 2013

I have been tagged by Liberian poet, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, to give this interview for an expanding blog project called The Next Big Thing.  She is the author of several poetry collections, Where the Road Turns, The River is Rising, Becoming Ebony, and Before the Palm Could Bloom. You can read her interview by clicking on this link.   

 Patricia Jabbeh Wesley (L) and Lola Koundakjian (R) at the International Poetry Festival 

in Medellin, Colombia. July 2010

TNBT:    Where did the idea come from for the book? 

Lola: For about 20 years I was a visual artist and clay was my medium. After making the leap to writing, I started working on my first manuscript -- similar to preparing for an exhibit. That first manuscript wasn’t picked up, which was good and bad simultaneously. Good because I needed more time to work on my craft, and bad because I needed to have something at my readings.

TNBT:  What genre does your book fall under?

Lola: Poetry

Cover of my first poetry collection, published in 2011

TNBT: What languages do you write in?

I write in both English and Armenian, and I have a few of pieces in French.

TNBT: What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Lola: I just got the news that my second manuscript was chosen (Jan 15, 2013) as a finalist at the Orange Book Prize in Armenia. It’s bilingual -- Armenian and English -- and entitled Advice to a Poet. It evolves around a young author’s experiences, and a muse who drops in once in a while. I would like Jake Gylenhaal to play the author, and Salma Hayek to be the muse. For my other poems, I’d like Anouk Aimee to play me.

TNBT:  What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Lola: Advice to a Poet is for those who need reassurance that with time, with the right experiences and continuous hard work, our writing improves.

TNBT: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Lola: It followed a lengthy conversation with a poet overseas, who is about 10 years younger than me.

TNBT: How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Lola: Two days.

TNBT: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Lola: It has tongue-in-cheek passages to remind some of us to keep our sense of humour, and how to enjoy every moment of life. And, every stanza is beautifully illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova.

A plate from my manuscript, Advice to a poet. 

Illustration by Yelena Bryksenkova

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Lola: If I win the Orange prize, they will publish 500 copies of it. Before I found out about this competition, I started sending the manuscript to various publishers in the United States. I hope to win, and negotiate a North American edition in the near future.

  

The Writers I will be tagging include:

Shahe Mankerian, California

Armine Iknadossian, California
Vasyl Makhno, New York