Category Archives: From My Files

…past writings

From my Files: Paradjanov’s Home of the Imagination

Posted on March 1, 2011 by

~~Over the years, I have penned some half a dozen pieces of writing about Sergei Paradjanov, the great Soviet-era film-maker, collage artist, and political trouble-maker and renegade. Below is a review I wrote for artsMedia, a Boston news magazine which … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenians, Cinéphilia, From My Files, Ordinary places, Those we Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From my Files: Central Square Post Office, Cambridge,MA

Posted on January 28, 2011 by

[This post was originally published in the “Boston Harbors” column of the January 2001 issue of arts/Media magazine, which has since ceased publication. This is a slightly revised version. Some of the information here may be dated, though.] On the … Continue reading →

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From my files: Mapping Boston @ the Boston Public Library

Posted on December 31, 2010 by

This review of the exhibit “Mapping Boston” appeared in the April 2000 issue of artsMedia, a Boston-based magazine of the arts, which has since ceased publication.  The construction of the BPL Courtyard has been completed for a while now, and … Continue reading →

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From my files: Hagop Oshagan: December 9, 1883-February 17, 1948

Posted on December 9, 2010 by

The Armenian novelist, literary critic, dramatist, and historian of literature Hagop Oshagan (1883-1948) stands at the juncture where Western Armenian culture ends and that of the Armenian diaspora begins. His life and literary output straddle the rural world of his … Continue reading →

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From my Files: Aleppo–sublime city of vernacular beauty

Posted on November 28, 2010 by

Note:  I wrote this article in 2005 after yet another visit to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.  I tried unsuccessfully at first to place it with an US publication. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, US … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenians, Breaking Bread, Cities and towns, From My Files | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

From my Files: Translating Darwish

Posted on August 10, 2010 by

(This post originally appeared in The Nation, February 11, 2002, under the title “Lines Beyond the Nakba.” It’s a review-essay of  The Adam of Two Edens, a collection from Mahmoud Darwish, edited by Munir Akash.  Syracuse University Press.) ~~~ Mahmoud … Continue reading →

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Darwish: If You Were Not the Rain, My Love

Posted on August 5, 2010 by

  If you were not the rain, my love, then be the tree Saturated and bountiful, be the tree. And if you were not the tree, my love, then be the stone Saturated and moist,  be the stone. And if … Continue reading →

Posted in From My Files, Languages and readings, Palestinians | 1 Comment