{"id":12345,"date":"2026-08-22T08:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dpir.am\/?p=12345"},"modified":"2026-08-22T08:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:03:55","slug":"international-cultural-project-this-morning-that-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dpir.am\/?p=12345&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"International Cultural Project \u201cThis Morning, That\u00a0Night\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The international cultural project This Morning, That Night<\/em><\/strong> stands as a testament to a profound love for the Armenian language, Armenian culture, devotion to the Armenian nation, and patriotism. Conceived by French-Armenian painter, poet, and publisher Gevorg Ayvazyan<\/strong>, together with Knarik Nersisyan<\/strong>, Head of the School of Fine Arts at the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex<\/em>, the project is one of those rare initiatives whose true significance lies not only in the pages of the book it produced, but also in the remarkable journey that brought the book into being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This publication is far more than the outcome of a year\u2019s work. It is the culmination of three years of cultural cooperation between Armenia and France, built upon mutual trust, creative dialogue, and a shared artistic vision. The foundations of this collaboration were laid during the Art Festival<\/em> of the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex, where, through the initiative and coordination of Knarik Nersisyan, numerous international artists were welcomed to Armenia. Within this vibrant creative environment, a partnership emerged with the French cultural initiative MENK<\/strong>, through which Gevorg Ayvazyan first came to Armenia. What began as a single visit soon developed into an enduring creative friendship, and that friendship ultimately evolved into the idea that has now taken shape as This Morning, That Night<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very beginning, the project was sustained by two complementary creative directions that came together in remarkable harmony. Guided by his artistic vision and literary sensibility, Gevorg Ayvazyan undertook the selection and presentation of contemporary Armenian poets from the Diaspora. At the same time, Knarik Nersisyan coordinated the Armenian side of the project\u2014bringing writers together, overseeing its literary and organizational development, building creative partnerships, and guiding the initiative from concept to realization. The convergence of these two distinct yet inseparable roles gave birth to a book that deserves to be regarded not merely as a literary anthology, but as an inspiring example of successful international cultural collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The significance of this undertaking also rests upon a distinguished historical tradition. More than a century ago, the first major effort to introduce Armenian poetry to the English-speaking world was made by Alice Stone Blackwell<\/strong>. In 1896, and later in the expanded 1917 edition published in Boston, her landmark anthology Armenian Poems<\/em> offered English readers their first substantial encounter with the richness of Armenian classical poetry, bringing together the voices of Grigor Narekatsi, Sayat-Nova, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Avetik Isahakyan, Siamanto, and many other distinguished poets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than one hundred years later, that same aspiration finds a new expression in This Morning, That Night<\/em>. If Alice Stone Blackwell sought to introduce the world to the treasures of Armenian classical poetry, this project opens a window onto the voices of contemporary Armenian poets, presenting them to an international readership in several languages. Times have changed, circumstances have changed, yet the underlying vision remains remarkably constant: to ensure that the voice of the Armenian poet continues to be heard far beyond the borders of Armenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book unfolds before the reader as a rich mosaic of contemporary Armenian poetry. Within its pages, Eastern and Western Armenian poets meet; voices from Armenia converse with those of the Diaspora; different generations and diverse artistic sensibilities stand side by side. What unites them is more than a shared language. They are bound together by a common creative responsibility toward the experiences, memories, aspirations, and hopes of contemporary life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The editors and compilers of this volume never set out to assemble a definitive canon of the \u201cbest\u201d contemporary Armenian poets. Such an ambition would, perhaps, have been impossible from the outset. At this very moment, an unknown young writer may be composing a first poem in a remote Armenian village or in Glendale, California. Years from now, that poet\u2019s voice may well become an indispensable part of modern Armenian literature. For this reason, This Morning, That Night<\/em> should not be read as a final selection, but rather as an honest, authentic, and compelling portrait of Armenian poetic expression in our own time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volume brings together works by the following contemporary Armenian poets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n