MADRID/BARCELONA, Spain — The recent publication of Black Dog of Fate – Los Perros Negro del Destino, published in Spanish by Berg Institute Press in Madrid, was the occasion of Pulitzer Prize winning poet Peter Balakian’s recent reading tour in Madrid and Barcelona. On May 8 Balakian read at the University of Madrid; on May 10 at a well-known center city bookstore, La Buena Vida-Café del Libro; and on May 14 at the University of Barcelona Law School. In Madrid, he was hosted by his publisher Joaquin Gonzalez Ibanez and his translator Professor Rosa Bautista Cordero, and in Barcelona by Professor Rosanna Alija, who teaches at Barcelona University Law School, and attorney and community leader Emma Hagopian.
A feature story by Andrea Aguilar on Balakian was published in Spain’s leading newspaper El Pais on May 14 and gave Balakian an opportunity to discuss the modern history of Armenia and the impact of the Armenian Genocide on twentieth century history, as well as on his own work as poet and non-fiction writer. Balakian told Aguilar “the history of Armenia has played an important role in my work, and I haven’t avoided writing about trauma or violence.”
Winner of the 1998 PEN/Albrand Award for Memoir, and a New York Times Notable Book, Black Dog of Fate has been in continuous publication since its publication in 1997 and has gone through dozens of printings. The Spanish edition of Black Dog of Fate adds to the list of translations of Balakian’s memoir that include German, French, Dutch, Greek, Armenian, Turkish and others. A Tamil translation will appear in India next year.
