A hundred years ago, the small country of Armenia within the Ottoman Empire became the site of continuous border conflict, political intrigue and sporadic wars between the Turks, the Persians and the Tsarist Russians. Early in the twentieth century, these regional conflicts erupted into bitter political and ethnic "cleansing" that decimated the country and nearly destroyed the population living there. The causes and magnitude of the ethnic killing that took place during and after World War I are still debated and disputed in Turkey and Armenia today. In times of calamity or economic distress,...
A hundred years ago, the small country of Armenia within the Ottoman Empire became the site of continuous border conflict, political intrigue and spor...
What is The Tchaikovsky about? When I describe it to friends and readers, I find myself reciting two distinct summaries. The first is as follows: The Tchaikovsky is about a little girl who is a virtuoso on the violin and wants to play the most difficult composition every written before a critical audience with a world class orchestra. When I tell people that, they advise me to make the story more interesting and up to date. Perhaps the girl is a zombie, a blood-sucking serial killer, or a space alien in disguise. They want to know what's with this girl and whether there is action, sex and...
What is The Tchaikovsky about? When I describe it to friends and readers, I find myself reciting two distinct summaries. The first is as follows: The ...
This is a Caucasus tale 200 years old. It is derived from oral history given by grandfathers to children to remember a world long gone. Unlike most European tales, it does not have a 'happily ever after' ending; it is not like the tales mothers tell their sleepy eyed darlings as they drift off to happy dreams. Tales told in the Caucasus by Armenians, Circassians, Georgians, Kurds and Turks are not like the Pablum tales of Westerners with singing birds, talking animals that are furry and cuddly or kind beautiful sprites that cobble shoes and grant wishes while you sleep. Tales told in the...
This is a Caucasus tale 200 years old. It is derived from oral history given by grandfathers to children to remember a world long gone. Unlike most Eu...