Armenian Poets Celebrated in National Literary Magazine

BROOKLYN—Eleven Armenian writers from around the globe are featured in a specially curated section of the current issue of Hanging Loose, the oldest independent literary journal in the country.

Every semi-annual issue—roughly a hundred pages of work by American and international writers—turns over about twenty percent of the magazine to a guest editor, who selects poets and poems for that special section, sometimes with a particular theme.

In this issue—Hanging Loose number 119, just out— distinguished Armenian-American poet Alan Semerdjian is guest editor. In the introduction to his selection of work by Armenian and Armenian-American poets, titled Through the Darkest Corridors, he says this:

Wherever we are, there is Armenia. And wherever Armenia is,
there is the ghost of the Genocide hovering near it, inextricably
tied. May we all learn from that which haunts us, and may it be-
come our greatest folio of instruction.

Thus the section focuses on the continuing impact of the Armenian Genocide, as it affects contemporary writers’ lives, memories, and art. All the poems are in English, though some are translations from Armenian. For those, the original Armenian language versions appear on facing pages—a proud first for Hanging Loose.

Poets and translators featured in the magazine include Diana Arterian, Peter Balakian, Lory Bedikian, Tamar Marie Boyadjian, Tatev Chakhian, Gregory Djanikian, Sarah Giragosian, Silva Kaputikyan, Karén Karslyan, Margarit Ordukhanyan, and Marine Petrossian.

Information about purchasing the magazine can be found on the Hanging Loose Press website: https://www.hangingloosepress.com