Karabakh Diary by Alan Whitehorn

Zangak Publishing House in Yerevan has published Karabakh Diary: Poems from the Diaspora/ՂԱՐԱԲԱՂՅԱՆ ՕՐԱԳԻՐ. ԲԱՆԱՍՏԵՂԾՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐ ՍՓՅՈՒՌՔԻՑ, by Armenian Canadian poet and professor Alan Whitehorn. The bilingual (English and Armenian) collection of poems, translated by Hermine Navasardyan, reflects “the shifting conditions and moods relating to the events of the 2020 Karabakh War and its aftermath.” In co-operation with the Atken Armenian Foundation, most copies of the book will be donated to university and public libraries, institutes, schools, government libraries and academics, both in Armenia and worldwide.

From the publisher: “This bilingual collection of personal and political poems expresses in diary form the author’s reflections on the existential threats and crises confronting Armenians in the contemporary era. He outlines both the fears and hopes about Karabakh, Armenia and the South Caucasus. The poems span the years from 2005 to 2021 and focus on the lead up to, turbulent times during, and the post-war period of the 2020 Karabakh War. The poems explore the dangers, dynamics and grim prospects of peace in the historic conflict-ridden region. The author also suggests a difficult, but possible way forward.”

Navasardyan wrote in her introduction, “I would like to express my gratitude to Alan Whitehorn, from those living in Armenia, especially in Artsakh, whose words are shattered, souls are closed, hearts are bloodied, churches are captured, houses are destroyed and looted, to raise the long-suffering Karabakh issue poetically.” You can read Navasardyan’s and Whitehorn’s introductions in entirety here.

KARABAKH DREAMS

Tonight,

I am dreaming of the mountains of Karabakh.

 Tomorrow,

what will I see?

ՂԱՐԱԲԱՂՅԱՆ ԵՐԱԶՆԵՐ

Այս երեկո 

Ղարաբաղի լեռները երազեմ: 

Վաղն

ի՞նչ կտեսնեմ:

Alan Whitehorn is an Armenian-Canadian poet and professor emeritus of political science and a Diaspora member of the Writers’ Union of Armenia. He is author of a number of books including The Armenian Genocide: Resisting the Inertia of Indifference (coauthor); Ancestral Voices: Identity, Ethnic Roots and A Genocide Remembered; Just Poems: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide; Return to Armenia/Veradardz depi Hayastan; and The Armenian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide (editor). 

You can purchase Karabakh Diary from Artbridge Bookstore Café in Yerevan, Armenia.