BELMONT, Mass. — The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will host an in-person event with Dr. Peter Balakian, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, titled “From Manhattan to Der Zor,” in which he will read from and discuss his newly published book New York Trilogy, on Thursday, November 6, at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern), at the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building, 395 Concord Ave.
Dr. Balakian’s appearance is co-sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association Boston Chapter and the Belmont Public Library.
In an inventive, elliptical language, New York Trilogy explores one man’s journey from the late 1960s to the twenty-first century, as he moves through a series of experiences centered in New York City and the surrounding New Jersey Palisades. Throughout this long poem in three parts, the protagonist’s life is impacted by historical events including the Armenian Genocide, the bombing of Hiroshima, the Vietnam War, the AIDS epidemic, the attacks of September 11, the US war in Iraq and the climate crisis.
Comprised of three multi-sequence poems originally included in Peter Balakian’s collections No Sign, Ozone Journal and Ziggurat, the sections of New York Trilogy come together to form a poetry that embraces interior and aesthetic experiences, celebrates human intimacy, and bears witness to history. The historical power and psychological depth of Balakian’s work expands on the tradition of the American long poem with a lyrical narrative that weaves intimate personal moments into the vastness of shared history.
Balakian is the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities in the department of English at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. He is the author of many books, including The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response, winner of the Raphael Lemkin Prize; Black Dog of Fate, winner of the PEN/Albrand Award for Memoir; and Ozone Journal, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
For more information about this program, contact NAASR at hq@naasr.org.
