FRANKFURT, Germany — Armenia was present again this year at the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), the most important such exhibition worldwide, with a new, expanded display. The enlarged stand provided ample space to showcase new titles, in Armenian as well as foreign language translations. And on Friday, October 17, the third day of the five-day fair and the first open to the public, Armenia presented a new book to visitors.
An estimated 200,000 people came to the fair this year. In addition to the pavilions hosting 4,000 publishers from 90 countries, as well as the guest country — this year, the Philippines — the FBF offers exhibitors the opportunity to let authors talk about their latest creations in open foyers located between the large pavilions.
The new release presented by Arevik Ashkaroyan of the ARI Literature Foundation, Last Night on Earth: War through Women’s Gaze: Stories from Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine, is a graphic essay, a format which has been rapidly gaining popularity. The authors are Armenian Ani Asatryan, Georgian Ekaterine Togonidze, and Ukrainian Vira Kuryko. Illustrators Astghik Harutyunyan, Luka Lashkhi, and Sofia Pokorchak, from the three countries, respectively, were chosen through a competition. They, as well as editor Mikheil Tsikhelashvili were present at the round table.
The book is the product of the EU Creative Europe Programme, a consortium of partners from the three countries. This project, dedicated to development of the comic genre, is titled Visual Stories from Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. Open to comics artists and writers, it seeks to develop the genre through seminars and training sessions in all aspects of the production process, from writing and illustration, to financing and marketing. This book, as its title shows, aims at depicting the experience of women in war, their role in it and how it impacts their lives.
“The River of People,” by Georgian writer Ekaterine Togonidze, was, as illustrator Luka Lashkhi said, “inspired by real people, and shows what chaotic lives they had to lead in times of war.” The author’s aim was to present “a slice of life” in wartime.
Ukrainian illustrator Sofia Pokorchak also stressed that her country’s contribution was based on real life events. Entitled, “Last Night on Earth,” it tells the story of a woman whose husband was on the front lines. At intervals, she would travel from the city to see him at a meeting point near the front. That was safe at the time, a year or so ago, but now the front lines have changed and it is no longer possible to meet there, because the entire area has been reduced to ruins.
