Tonight the Zohrab Center is hosting a poetry workshop with Quarter Tone Poets, an initiative directed by poet Raffi Wartanian dedicated to innovative literary expression in Western Armenian and exploring the musicality of language and the linguistic possibilities discovered through music.
On Tuesday, March 3rd, at 7:00pm in the newly renovated Park View Room at the Diocesan Center, New York poet Lola Koundakjian will engage in a conversation on the craft of writing poetry with Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse Arlen and then participants will have a chance to write their own original poetry, guided by prompts while live music is being performed by Raffi Wartanian (oud) and Alexander Sasha Hakobyan (guitar).
On this first day of Lent (Մեծ պահք / Great Fast), the Zohrab Center warmly invites you to attend a six-part online series “Ancient Paths, Living Wisdom: The Practices of Great Lent,” which will help participants incorporate the spiritual practices of the Christian tradition into their daily lives.
Select weeks will be devoted to practices both of a contemplative and active nature, including fasting, charity and service, meditation, gratitude, solitude and silence, and lectio divina (spiritual reading).
The series, hosted by Vemkar, the Diocese’s online ministry platform, will take place every Tuesday in Lent (Feb 17–Mar 24) at Noon ET. Register for the Zoom series here.
We are pleased to announce Literary Lights 2026, our fourth annual reading series showcasing new works of literature by Armenian authors, an initiative of the International Armenian Literary Alliance, co-hosted with the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center.
Each event—held online or in-person—will feature a writer reading from their work, followed by a discussion with an interviewer and audience members.
The exact date for each event and Zoom link registration will be available on the IALA website. Read along with the series by purchasing titles at IALA’s Bookshop storefront.
New York Trilogy by Peter Balakian
An American long poem in three sections by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Peter Balakian that moves between decades of tumultuous life in New York City and explosive parts of the Middle East.
Learn more and purchase here. February 8, 2026, 1:00pm ET.Register here.
Remain in Light: Visions of Homeland and Diaspora by Gassia Armenian
This collection of poems and photographs, edited by Gassia Armenian, endeavors to visualize the contemporary Armenian experience in the homeland and in Los Angeles, home to the largest Armenian population in diaspora.
Kuzmich’s first novel, completed before her passing, is set in Soviet Armenia during the 1970s–80s. The narrative follows Ruzan, a foundling girl raised by a mystical figure known as a fearcatcher. The story examines fate, family, and rebellion, blending historical realism with mythic storytelling.
Rose By the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope by Rebecca Rose Mooradian
Based on the true story of the author’s great-grandmother, this fierce yet hopeful picture book, illustrated by Myo Yim, is about surviving the Armenian Genocide sparkles with hope and heart even amid unspeakable tragedy—perfect for readers of The Proudest Blueand Yuyi Morales’s Dreamers.
Before I Forget: A Memoir (and Then Some) by Aram Saroyan
Aram Saroyan, minimalist poet, author, and son of William Saroyan, reflects on a life shaped by art, fame, and fractured family with a behind-the-scenes view of American cultural life from the 1950s onward, including rare photos and stories of mingling with creative luminaries from Richard Avedon to Marilyn Monroe.
Sarah Ignatius‘ debut novel revolves around a 14-year-old Armenian boy, Arakel, caught up in the genocide, who has to reach out to people of different faiths and backgrounds, whom he at first considers enemies—Turks, Kurds, Bedouins, Arab camel drivers, Germans, and even a wandering dervish—and figure out who to trust in a world of barbaric cruelty, confronting what lies deep within the human heart.
Set for release in August 2026.
You Must Become Field by Perla Kantarjian
You Must Become Field moves with astonishing fluidity from the 1915 arrest of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople to a 2025 Beirut club bathroom, where girls fix each other’s eyeliner between airstrikes. Kantarjian braids genocide’s long aftermath with the urgent present: Lebanon’s economic collapse, the port explosion’s glass rain, Artsakh’s exodus, war in Lebanon – without flattening either into metaphor. Here is girlhood and nationhood, seedless grapes at Tesco, wedding preparations and war, all held in the same devoted attention.
On Thursday, January 29th, the Zohrab Center gave a special presentation of precious items from its archives, special collections, and manuscripts and rare book collection to a group of professional librarians and archivists from the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York.
Zohrab Center Director Dr. Jesse Arlen led the tour together with Zohrab Center archival assistant Linda Smith and Arshile Gorky Foundation’s associate director Anna McCormick-Goodhart.
Dr. Jesse Arlen spoke about the history of the Armenian Church and Diocese, the Zohrab Center, and the Center’s impressive research library, highlighting its manuscripts, hmayils (prayer scrolls), and early print books in the collection.
Anna McCormick-Goodhart spoke about Arshile Gorky and the Mooradian collection, currently in process, which comprises the papers and estate of Vartoosh and Karlen Mooradian, Gorky’s sister and nephew.
You can view a photo slideshow below, for a peak into the treasures from the Zohrab Center that were on display.
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The special collections of the Zohrab Center are open to researchers and the interested public. To learn about each collection, visit this page of our website and click on each collection title to view the collections’ finding aids.
We are looking forward to hosting a poetry workshop with Quarter Tone Poets, an initiative directed by poet Raffi Wartanian dedicated to innovative literary expression in Western Armenian and exploring the musicality of language and the linguistic possibilities discovered through music.
On Tuesday, March 3rd, at 7:00pm in the newly renovated Park View Room at the Diocesan Center, New York poet Lola Koundakjian will engage in a conversation on the craft of writing poetry with Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse Arlen and then participants will have a chance to write their own original poetry, guided by prompts while live music is being performed.
Whether you are an experienced poet or interested in experimenting with writing and creative expression, you won’t want to miss this one of a kind event.
The Padus-Araxes Association has opened the application for their renowned Summer Intensive Course of Armenian Language and Culture, which will take place August 3rd–August 19th, 2026 for the 41st time in Venice, Italy. Zohrab director Dr. Jesse Arlen will be among the faculty of teachers this summer.
The course offers four levels, from complete beginners to advanced courses in Armenian linguistics, literature, performing arts, history, and other special topics. Alongside the courses are offered optional lessons in Armenian dance and duduk, in addition to presentations on special topics of interest, evening concerts, and sightseeing tours in Venice.
Classes are held on the beautiful grounds of the seminary of the Patriarchate of Venice, in collaboration with the Patriarchate’s “Studium Generale Marcianum” Foundation.
The halls of the Seminario Patriarcale di Venezia, where classes are held.
The Seminario Patriarcale di Venezia, where classes are held.
The staircase of the Seminario Patriarcale di Venezia, where classes are held.
Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in the Armenian Divine Liturgy at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross in Venice and participate in the liturgy and receive a private tour of the Mekhitarist Congregation at the monastery of San Lazzaro.
The Divine Liturgy at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
The Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of San Lazzaro
Don’t miss the unforgettable experience of studying Armenian in the beautiful and historic city of Venice!
Joining Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse Arlen as readers were his father, mother, and one of his sisters.
During the evening, San Luis Obispo poet laureate Kevin Clark – Cal Poly’s professor emeritus of English and former co-director of the university’s Creative Writing Program – reflected on Tenny’s poetry, placing her work in the tradition of Yeats, Eliot, and Rilke, all of whom, like Tenny, yearned after the ineffable dimension of Being and sought to put words to it.
Paul McCullough – teacher of literature at the San Luis Obispo Classical Academy – also offered reflections, calling Tenny’s poetry an invitation to a way of “iconic seeing” that sees “all things in God, all things shining with the original light of their creation.”
A recording of the moving program is available to view on YouTube:
On Wednesday, October 27th, the Zohrab Center’s Lily E. Jelalian intern Luiza Ghazaryan (NYU ’26) presented original research at the NYU Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars Program Research Symposium, entitled “Handwritten Memory: Manuscripts and Literary Journals of Armenian Migrants.”
Luiza Ghazaryan with her poster, entitled “Handwritten Memory: Manuscripts and Literary Journals of Armenian Migrants”
Conducted under the supervision of Zohrab Center director, Dr. Jesse S. Arlen, and Zohrab Center special projects coordinator and research associate, Arthur Ipek, Luiza surveyed and described 9 manuscript journals and diaries of Ottoman Armenians from the late 19th and early 20th centuries kept in the special collections of the Zohrab Center library.
Luiza chose one such handwritten journal to make the focus of her poster presentation, a collection of love poems penned by Harutyun G. Iskenderian between 1905–1906.
Luiza Ghazaryan’s poster based on her research and translation of the poems of Harutyun G. Iskenderian
Born around 1887 in Everek (Kayseri [Կեսարիա, Caesarea], Turkey), Harutyun was a freshman at St. Paul’s Institute in Tarsus during the 1905-1906 academic year. During this time, he composed an 87-page manuscript of love poems in Western Armenian, dedicated to his beloved Ms. Marine Dadourian. Luiza translated these poems from Western Armenian into English and situated them within the context of late Ottoman Armenian life and education in the provinces.
“Through my translations of Haroutune Iskenderian’s poetry, I have revealed the ways in which he conveyed sentimental expressions of wisdom, love, and devotion. Immersing myself in the author’s writings and their historical context—that is, Iskenderian’s Kayseri—made me realize how communities and educational institutions more than a century ago fostered an appreciation for literature in the hearts of students. To help me better understand this context and the author’s identity, I also made use of archival material, with school reports, photographs, and historically relevant correspondences with the US that dealt with the liminal space between life in the provinces and the Armenian Genocide,” said Luiza.
Luiza Ghazaryan is a Biology major at NYU (class of 2026), who is also pursuing minors in Creative Writing and Chemistry. She began working at the Zohrab Center in summer 2023, as a Lily E. Jelalian summer intern, a program generously funded by Dean Shahinian and has continued at the Zohrab Center since that time.
We congratulate Luiza on her research and achievements!
If you missed the online book launch of Tenny Arlen’s groundbreaking book of poetry, you can now watch the recording on YouTube.
100 friends, family, colleagues, and literature enthusiasts gathered to hear the book presented by Zohrab director Dr. Jesse Arlen, Prof. Hagop Gulludjian (UCLA), Arthur Ipek (NYU), and Dr. Susan Barba (NY Review of Books).
You’ll hear from Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse Arlen about how the book came together, background on Tenny’s life and works, and what is included in this new edition.
Learn from Prof. Hagop Gulludjian about how Tenny and her literary accomplishments revolutionized the method of language instruction at UCLA, leading to the “creative literacy” method that has inspired hundreds of students after her to make their own attempts at producing and creating in Armenian.
You’ll also hear perceptive literary analysis and close readings from Arthur Ipek (Zohrab Center / NYU) and Susan Barba (NY Review of Books).
Published via Tarkmaneal Press (New York), To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? is now available for purchase through the NAASR Bookstore and on Amazon and will be available in Abril Bookstore (Los Angeles) soon.
Thank you to the sponsors and co-sponsors of the event!
Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse Arlen, co-translator of the recently published bilingual edition of his late sister poet Tenny Arlen’s volume To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? (Կիրքով ըսելու՝ ինչո՞ւ հոս եմ), will be joined in conversation with Susan Barba, Hagop Gulludjian and Arthur Ipek in the final installment of the Literary Lights 2025 reading series, a joint venture between the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA), the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), and the Zohrab Center.
The virtual event, co-sponsored by UCLA’s Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies, Promise Armenian Institute, Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History and University of Michigan’s Center for Armenian Studies, will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at 9:00 AM Pacific | 12:00 PM Eastern | 9:00 PM Armenia time. Register for the Zoom here.
To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? is a bilingual (Armenian and English) edition of Tenny Arlen’s poetry, an extraordinary body of work written in a language she began learning only a few years before her passing in 2015. In addition to containing everything from the 2021 Armenian publication, the bilingual edition also contains a foreword by Jesse Arlen, three new writings by Tenny Arlen discovered among her papers, images of some of the manuscripts of her poems, and a new afterword by Arthur Ipek, which was recently awarded the Society for Armenian Studies “Best Conference Paper Prize” for 2024–2025.
Published via Tarkmaneal Press (New York), To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? is now available for purchase through the NAASR Bookstore and on Amazon.
Cover Art for To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? (New York, NY: Tarkmaneal Press, 2025) designed by Meghan Arlen
“Hauntingly beautiful poems… A sparkling mind, mature and sophisticated well beyond her youthful years. I remember Tenny as among a handful of the most brilliant students I have encountered throughout my life.” – Sebouh David Aslanian, UCLA Professor and Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History
“While respecting the classic writers, Tenny was not a slave to their style or ideas, but with that same self-confidence which was the hallmark of all her endeavors, she fashioned her own instrument to be the vessel of her thoughts. As in their own time, Zahrad and Khrakhuni opened a new path for Armenian poetry, Tenny’s creative work marks a new phase in the literary history of the Diaspora… Tenny has become a pioneer by her literary path.” – Peter Cowe, Narekatsi Professor of Armenian Studies at UCLA
“To describe Tenny Arlen as a trailblazer would be to bestow that term upon the artist without exaggerating its definition.” – David Garyan, poet, journalist, and editor of LAdige literary journal
Tenny Arlen(1991–2015) is the author of the posthumous collection of poetry Կիրքով ըսելու՝ ինչո՞ւ հոս եմ (Yerevan: ARI Literature Foundation, 2021), and has been celebrated as a pioneer and trailblazer for Armenian diasporan literature as the author of the first full-length volume of creative literature published in Armenian by an American-born writer. A bilingual (Armenian and English) facing-page edition of the volume was published in 2025 by Tarkmaneal Press, with newly discovered poems and a new afterword. She earned her B.A. in Comparative Literature from UCLA in 2013, where she studied Western Armenian with Dr. Hagop Gulludjian.
Dr. Jesse S. Arlenis the director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center at the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America and a postdoctoral research fellow in Armenian Christian Studies at Fordham University. He earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages & Cultures from UCLA in 2021, and his primary research area is premodern Armenian religious literature. He has taught Classical Armenian and Modern Armenian in various settings, from universities and seminaries to Armenian community organizations. He is also a published author of poetry and critical and creative prose in Western Armenian. In 2024 with Matthew Sarkisian, he co-founded Tarkmaneal Press, which to date has published 3 books: a bilingual edition of an early–eighteenth-century Armenian prayer scroll (2024), Odes of Saint Nersess the Graceful (2024), and Tenny Arlen’s To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? (2025).
Susan Barba is the author of two poetry collections, Fair Sunand geode, which was a finalist for the New England Book Awards and the Massachusetts Book Awards. She is a co-editor, with Victoria Rowe, of I Want to Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian, and the editor of American Wildflowers: A Literary Field Guide, which won the 2023 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Her poems and prose have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, Poetry, The New Republic, PN Review, and elsewhere. She earned her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, and she has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo. She works as a senior editor for New York Review Books.
Hagop Gulludjianis a Senior Lecturer of Armenian Studies at the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, and the inaugural holder of the Kachigian Lectureship in Armenian Language and Culture. He holds a doctorate of Letters and an MBA. He has researched and published on medieval Armenian poetry and Diaspora Armenian literature, heritage language and language vitality, as well as on interactions between virtuality, culture and diasporas. He has an extensive background in publishing and IT, having co-founded Argentina’s Internet2 Consortium and having assisted both private and government entities on technology policy issues.
Born in New York,Arthur Ipekis a graduate student and special projects coordinator and research associate at the Krikor Zohrab Information Center. After graduating from Townsend Harris High School, he went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in psychology and linguistics, as well as a master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from the Graduate Center of the City University of ew York. Currently, he is pursuing a second masters at New York University, focusing on social and consumer psychology. In addition, he has been active as a literary scholar for close to a decade, focusing on making Armenian literature accessible for a wider general literature. He has presented papers at conferences held at the University of Michigan, UCLA, and most recently NAASR, and published articles and poems in the Armenian-language press such as the Istanbul-based newspapers Marmara and Jamanak and the Beirut-based Hamazgayin Pakine literary journal.
Tenny Arlen
Dr. Jesse S. Arlen
Susan Barba is the author of two poetry collections, Fair Sunand geode, which was a finalist for the New England Book Awards and the Massachusetts Book Awards. She is a co-editor, with Victoria Rowe, of I Want to Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian, and the editor of American Wildflowers: A Literary Field Guide, which won the 2023 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Her poems and prose have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, Poetry, The New Republic, PN Review, and elsewhere. She earned her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, and she has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo. She works as a senior editor for New York Review Books.
Hagop Gulludjian
Born in New York,