Lola Koundakjian reading in October in New York City

2 Horatio reading 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

6:00 - 8:00 pm 

Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library

Willa Cather Room 

http://www.nypl.org/locations/jefferson-market

425 Sixth Avenue (between 9th & 10th Streets)

New York, NY, 10011

Joan Cappello

Sheila Rabinowitch

Bonnie Jean Emanuel

Cami Zinzi

Kate Lutzner

Catherine Wald

Miriam Starc

Scott Hightower

J. Gerard Chalmers

Sherry Stuart-Berman

Joanna Brown

Maja Lukic

Linda Hillman Chayes

Lola Koundakjian

Diane Schenker

David Zoffoli

Rebecca Rogan

Sarah Jewell

David Groff

Heather Sellers

Lindsay Gacad

Elaine Sexton

Coriel Gaffney

Lynn Patmalnee

2 Horatio will be printed in a limited edition of 100 copies, available for sale for $5

U.S. edition of Advice to a Poet to be released soon

The long-awaited U.S. edition of Advice to a Poet by Lola Koundakjian is set to be released next fall. The trilingual edition contains a prose poem written by Ms. Koundakjian, translated into English by her mother Aida, and to Spanish by Óscar Limache. The book contains illustrations by Yelena Bryksenkova.

The book was initially published during the fall of 2014 by Amotape Libros in Lima, Peru.

The U.S. edition will be available in major bookstores in the United States and a book launch will be organized in the greater New York City area in the near future. 

Commemorating the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-2015

Tuesday May 26, 2015 7:00pm 

Commemorating the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-2015

Armenian-American writers commemorate the lives of Armenian writers who were deported, killed or survived the Armenian Genocide by reading a selection of their work.

With Lola Koundakjian, Alan Semerdjian, Aaron Poochigian, Sweta Srivastava Vikram, Aida Zilelian, Alina Gregorian, Arto Vaun, George Wallace, and Arthur Nersesian.

St. Mark's Bookshop

136 East 3rd St (at Ave A)

New York, NY 10009

(212) 260-7853

stmarksbooks@gmail.com

MTA: F to 2nd Ave, M14A to 3rd St.

Interview on CilvilNet

Interview with Maria Titizian for Civilnet.

Published on Feb 11, 2015

Poet Lola Koundakjian’s poems have been published, translated and read in many different countries. She recently took part in the 30th International Poetry Festival in Quebec. Lola spoke to CivilNet about the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, about the fate of writers, poets and intellectuals in 1915 and the work she continues to pursue through poetry.

Lola Koundakjian: Awakening

Click on the link to hear the audio recording of Awakening, read by the author,

There is a moment before you realize you are awake,
a split second, before the gentle whisper from the heater,
before the need for a glass of water,
or the removal of the sweater the cold night made you wear.


A moment, when your mind is occupied by a picture,
before grey cells remember tomorrow's agenda, or
realize that morning is quite far off
and the coffee is not already made.


A pause before the regurgitation of last night's program,
the excellent book turned into a bad film,
the zests of the salad at dinner time,
the fruity flavors of that red zinfandel.


Before the body overrules the mind to get up, or
turn in bed and return to oblivion,
end the interregnum, ignore it completely,
or take pen to paper and record it gently.




This poem has appeared in the Fall 2013/Spring 2014 issue of Big City Lit

Reading at the Zohrab Information Center, NYC

An Evening of Poetry 

Nancy Agabian, Alan Semerdjian, Lola Koundakjian

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014 at 7:00PM

Donation $5. Free for students with ID

Diocese of the Armenian Church

630 Second Avenue

New York, NY 10016

A reception will follow the program

For further information go to

www.zohrabcenter.org

"Viennoiseries et poésies" at Suite Soixante, Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Photo by Doris Paris

Festival International de la poésie à Trois-Rivières: programme du dimanche 12 octobre 2014

12 h : Dîner-poésie. Restaurant Le Manoir, 1147, rue Hart, 819 373-0204. Poètes : Brian Johnstone (Écosse), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Jean Portante (Luxembourg), Claudio Pozzani (Italie).

17 h : Apéro-poésie. Café Bar Zénob, 171, rue Bonaventure, 819 378-9925. Poètes: Rafaël Courtoisie (Uruguay), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Gérard Cartier, Gérard Noiret (France).    

Festival International de la poésie à Trois-Rivières: programme du samedi 11 octobre 2014

10 h : Viennoiseries et poésie. Suite Soixante, 60, rue des Forges, 819 841-0090. Poètes : Sergio Badilla (Chili), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Herménégilde Chiasson, Prix du Gouverneur général-1999 (Nouveau-Brunswick).

20 h : Grande Soirée Québecor de la Poésie : dédiée, aux poètes décédés au cours de l’année et spécialement à : Ahmed Fouad Negm (Égypte), Vasco Graça Moura (Portugal), Ronald Léger (Acadie/Québec), Micheline Lafrance (Québec). Maison de la culture, 1425, place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville. Entrée gratuite pour fêter les 30 ans du FIP. Laissez-passer obligatoire disponible entre 11 h et 18 h : 819 380-9797 ou billetterie@v3r.net ou 1 866 416-9797 (sans frais). Poètes : Rafaël Courtoisie (Uruguay), Jacques Rancourt (Québec/France), Raymond Bozier, Gérard Cartier, Gérard Noiret (France), Sergio Badilla (Chili), Sara Cohen (Argentine), Fredrik Ekelund (Suède), Achour Fenni (Algérie), Luisa Futoransky (Argentine/France), Brian Johnstone (Écosse), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Herménégilde Chiasson, Prix du Gouverneur général-1999, (Nouveau-Brunswick), Julie Bruck, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-2012 (Québec/USA), Anthony Phelps, Prix Jaime-Sabines/Gatien-Lapointe-2014 (Haïti/Québec), Louise Desjardins, Pierre Nepveu, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1997 et 2003, Michel Pleau, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-2008, André Roy, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1985, Catherine Poulin, Prix Piché de poésie de l’UQTR-2014, Michaël Trahan, Prix Émile-Nelligan-2013, Roger Des Roches, Prix Athanase-David-2013, Mathieu Croisetière, Prix de littérature Gérald-Godin-2014, Prix de poésie Radio-Canada-2014, Denise Desautels, Grand Prix Québecor du FIP-2014 et Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1993 (Québec).

Meeting students at CGEP Shawanigan

Shawinigan, le jeudi 9 octobre 2014 – La poésie était à l’honneur au Carrefour de l’information le mercredi 8 octobre. Trois poètes étaient sur place pour livrer leur poésie et échanger avec les étudiants du Collège Shawinigan.
Sous le signe de la diversité culturelle, les trois poètes ont livré leur création dans leur langue d’origine. Cette année, le Collège Shawinigan avait l’honneur d’accueillir les poètes Silvia Castillero du Mexique, Luisa Futoransky de l’Argentine et Lola Koundakjian de l’Arménie.

Festival International de la poésie à Trois-Rivières: programme du vendredi 10 octobre 2014

12 h : Dîner-poésie. Restaurant Le Lupin, 376, rue Saint-Georges, 819 370-4740. Poètes : Jacques Rancourt (Québec/France), Brian Johnstone (Écosse), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Denise Desautels, Grand Prix Québecor du FIP-2014 et Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1993 (Québec). N.B. Apportez votre vin.

15 h 30 – 16 h 30 : Poèmes en langue anglaise. Galerie d'art Le Réfectoire, Musée des Ursulines, 734, rue des Ursulines, 819 375-7922. Poètes: Jacques Rancourt (Québec/France), Brian Johnstone (Écosse), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Julie Bruck, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-2012, David Groulx, Beatriz Hausner (Ontario).

18 h : Souper-poésie. Restaurant Il Circo Pâtes et Passion, 1140, rue Saint-Prosper, 819 374-0008. Poètes : Sergio Badilla (Chili), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Pierre Nepveu, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1997 et 2003 (Québec), Flavia Rocha Loures (Brésil). N.B. Apportez votre vin.

Festival International de la poésie à Trois-Rivières: programme du jeudi 9 octobre 2014

12 h : Dîner-poésie. La p’tite Brûlerie, 363, rue Laviolette, 819 375-6890. Poètes : Sergio Badilla (Chili), Achour Fenni (Algérie), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA).

13 h 30 - 15 h : Atelier d’écriture : Je crée avec les poètes ! Artiste : Pascal Lareau, Silex. Galerie d’art Le Réfectoire, Musée des Ursulines, 734, rue des Ursulines, 819 375-7922. Poèmes : Rose Eliceiry. Poètes : Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Brane Mozetic (Slovénie), Gérard Noiret (France), Éric Charlebois (Ontario), Nora Atalla (Égypte/Québec), Pierre Nepveu, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1997 et 2003 (Québec).

18 h : Tapas et poésie. Restaurant Le Sacristain, 300, rue Bonaventure, 819 694-1344. Poètes : Brian Johnstone (Écosse), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Éric Charlebois, David Groulx (Ontario).

Festival International de la poésie à Trois-Rivières: programme du Mercredi 8 octobre 2014

13 h 30 – 15 h : Rencontre de poètes. Carrefour de l’information du Collège de Shawinigan, 2263, avenue du Collège, Shawinigan. Poètes : Silvia Castillero (Mexique), Luisa Futoransky (Argentine/France), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA). Réservé aux étudiant(e)s.   

17 h - 18 h 30 : Apéro-poésie. Café Bar Zénob, 171, rue Bonaventure, 819 378-9925. Poètes : Sara Cohen (Argentine), Fredrik Ekelund (Suède), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Lisa Carducci (Québec/Chine), Stefan Psenak (Ontario), Louis-Philippe Hébert (Québec).

18 h 30 : Souper-poésie. Restaurant Le Castel des Prés, 5800, Gene-H.-Kruger, 819 375-4921. Poètes : Fredrik Ekelund (Suède), Lola Koundakjian (Arménie/USA), Herménégilde Chiasson, Prix du Gouverneur général-1999, (Nouveau-Brunswick), Jean-Paul Daoust, Prix du Gouverneur général-poésie-1990 (Québec).

http://www.fiptr.com

Rendez-vous à Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada

Festival international de la poésie, 3-12 octobre, 2014

Lola Koundakjian, poète et traductrice, est l'auteur d'une collection de poèmes en arménien intitulé L'observateur accidentel. Née au Liban, elle habite New York depuis 1979. Publié sur quatre continents, Lola lit sur scène régulièrement dans la région new yorkaise en compagnie d’autres auteurs et de musiciens. Elle a participé aux festivals internationaux de Medellín (Colombie), Lima (Pérou) et Ramallah (Palestine). Son deuxième manuscrit a été choisi comme finaliste du prix Orange en Arménie; elle a récemment gagné un prix littéraire au Liban. Lola a traduit en anglais l’œuvre de poètes arméniens modernes d’Istanbul, dont Irma Adjemian et Zahrad. Son œuvre a été traduite en français, en espagnol et en ukrainien. Elle organise depuis 25 ans des soirées dédiées aux poètes arméniens et dirige le Projet de Poésie Arménienne en ligne depuis 2006.

Reading in Stamford, CT

Curley’s Poets / 2014

Lola Koundakjian

Curley’s Diner in Stamford

62 West Park Place, Stamford, CT, (203) 348 2020

July 29, 2014, 7:30 p.m.

Lola Koundakjian is the author The Accidental Observer and editor of the Armenian Poetry Project. She has read at international poetry festivals in Colombia, Peru, and Palestine. Next October she will be at the Trois-Rivières poetry festival in Canada.

Her work has been translated into French, Spanish and Ukrainian.

She has won two grants from the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and most recently the Naji Naaman literary prize in Lebanon, her birth country.

For more on Ms. Koundakjian, please visit www.lolakoundakjian.com

All are welcome.

Naji Naaman's Literary Prizes 2014

Lola Koundakjian is amongst 67 new literary prize winners in the Naji Naaman's Literary Prizes 2014. Chosen amongst 1681 participants in competition representing 58 countries, Ms. Koundakjian won in the category of Creative Prizes for her poems A trip to Egypt and Sunday Morning.

Since 2002, Naji Naaman's Literary Prizes are awarded to "authors of the most emancipated literary works in content and style, aiming to revive and develop human values."

FACE OUT: NoMAA Literary Grantees

FACE OUT: NoMAA Literary Grantees

Thursday, June 12, 2014 

7–9pm

In celebration of the Uptown Arts Stroll, tonight's reading features literary grantees from throughout all the years since the founding of Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance. Readers include Dina Di Donato, Ellen Hagan, Lola Koundakjian, Veronica Liu, Sheila Maldonado, Paquita Suárez Coalla, Arlaina Tibensky, and more.

Introduced by NoMAA executive director Sandra García Betancourt.

Word Up
2113 Amsterdam Avenue
New York NY 10032
(347) 688-4456

A Reading of Queer, Crossed and Hidden Histories from Multiple Diasporas

Gartal presents

The Part of You That is Me:

A Reading of Queer, Crossed and Hidden Histories from Multiple Diasporas

Sunday, May 11, 2014

6 – 7:30 pm

Bowery Arts + Science

308 Bowery

New York, NY 10012

Subways: F to 2^nd Ave; B,D,F,M to Broadway-Lafayette; 6 to Bleecker Street; N, R to Prince St.

http://www.boweryartsandscience.org/

$10 admission

Featuring:

Danielle Abrams

Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán

Lola Koundakjian

Alan Semerdjian

Hosted by Nancy Agabian

https://www.facebook.com/events/262316063935285/

Sponsored by the Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association of New York

http://aglany.org/2014/04/30/gartal-the-part-of-you-that-is-me/

Inspired by the recent stories from Turkey of hidden Armenians in family trees, the readers for Gartal: The Part of You That Is Me will be sharing stories, poems and nonfiction on hidden and shared histories – from various cultures and identities, queer and otherwise.

Artists' Bios:

Danielle Abrams is a an artist and writer who has performed at art museums and performance spaces including the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Jewish Museum, Bronx Museum of Art, Queens Museum of Art, The Kitchen, WOW Performance Cafe, Dixon Place, and the Roger Smith Hotel. She has also lectured at conferences including Open Engagement (Portland, OR), Intervene! Interrupt! (UC Santa Cruz), and the Creative Time Summit (NYC). Abrams has been awarded grants and fellowships from the Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Urban Artist Initiative.  She teaches writing and art at York College and College of Staten Island (CUNY) and at in the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program at Goddard College.

Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán is the author of Antes y después del Bronx: Lenapehoking and South Bronx Breathing Lessons, and editor of an international queer Indigenous issue of Yellow Medicine Review: A Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art, and Thought. His work appears in 180 publications in 20 nations in the Américas, Africa, the Arab world, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Pacific. Bamboo Ridge Editors’ Choice Award Winner, he has been awarded 12 artist residencies, including Yaddo, Vermont Studio Center, and James Merrill House; and Fine Arts Work Center, Lambda Literary Foundation, and Macondo Foundation scholarships. He is completing Yerbabuena/Mala yerba.

Lola Koundakjian is the author of the Armenian/English poetry collection The Accidental Observer, which includes translations in Spanish. She was an invited poet at the 20th Festival Internacional de Poesía, Medellín, Colombia in July 2010. In 2013, she was invited to the Second Festival Internacional de Poesía, in Lima, Peru, and the first Mamilla International Poetry Festival in Ramallah, West Bank. Next October she will be reading her work at the 30^th international poetry festival at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. Lola has organized evenings dedicated to the Dead Armenian Poets’ Society since her university days, and has curated the online Armenian Poetry Project since 2006. www.lolakoundakjian.com

Writer, musician, and award-winning educator Alan Semerdjian’s poems and essays have appeared in several print and online publications and anthologies including Adbusters, Diagram, and Ararat. He released a chapbook of poems called An Improvised Device (Lock n Load Press) in 2005 and his first full-length book In the Architecture of Bone (GenPop Books) in 2009. His songs have appeared in television and film and charted on CMJ. Alan has performed and read all over North America. He currently teaches English at Herricks High School in New Hyde Park, NY, writes a monthly column, music reviews, and other kinds of prose for LI Pulse, and resides in New York City’s East Village.

Since 2002, Gartal ("to read" in Western Armenian) has been an independent forum for both established and emerging writers of Armenian descent and/or multicultural writers dealing with related themes to read their poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and dramatic texts to the public. Coordinated by writer Nancy Agabian, Gartal brings together, via the dual acts of reading and listening, diverse Armenian constituencies, from the progressive to the traditional. A particular effort is made to give voice to stories that haven't been widely heard, including those of mixed race, various religions, different economic backgrounds, and queer Armenians. For more information, email nancyagabian@gmail.com.

Since 1998, the purpose of AGLA NY has been to provide space for lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender Armenian-Americans, their partners, and their allies to come together as a community. The forum to network fosters our visibility and strengthens our cultural and ethnic ties to the queer communities and Armenian communities to which we each belong. 

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