March 2010
My essay “Waiting for Tables”, about Turkish and Armenian neighbors in Sunnyside, Queens, is in the March 2010 issue of the Brooklyn Rail. Here is the link to read it online: http://www.brooklynrail.org/2010/03/local/waiting-for-tables
As always, Me as her again, my memoir exploring Armenian and queer women’s identity, can be purchased online in many of the usual places, but support Aunt Lute Books, the independent press who published it and many other amazing books by women, by purchasing it directly from them: http://auntlute.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Upcoming reading
The Greek-American Writers’ Association and
Gartal, an Armenian Literary Reading Series
present
Nancy Agabian
Nicholas Samaras
Mehmet Uca
Saturday December 19
6-8 pm
Cornelia Street Cafe
between W 4th and Bleecker
West of 6th Ave in Greenwich Village
Subway: ACEBDFV to W 4th St
212 989-9319 for reservations and info
$7 cover includes a drink
Fall 2009 Update
October 17 marks a year since Me as her again came out. If you’ve had a chance to read it, consider writing a review on Amazon. It’s fun and will make you a part of the Armenian literary scene.
So much has happened in the last year; I’ve done readings and given talks to large groups of people about Armenian culture, history and Armenian women’s lives. And this continues, as I prepare to give a reading at an Armenian Writer’s Conference at UCLA, November 6-8.
I’ve recently returned to working on my book on my year in Yerevan. My essay America/Armenia/Angelina, just published by Perigee, an online literary journal, gives a taste of the style and content I’m working with.
And on November 2, I’ll be reading with Our Side, the creative nonfiction workshop on cultural identity that I started last summer. We’re celebrating the launch of our new chapbook, details below.
“Our Side”, a Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop on Cultural Identity
presents a publication launch reading of their new chapbook
Monday, November 2, 7 pm
Little Theater
LaGuardia Community College Performing Arts Center
31-10 Thomson Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
Subway: 7 to 33rd/Rawson or EVGR to Queens Plaza
Free Admission
Chapbooks will be available for donations of $5 to $10
During the summer of 2009, thirteen writers of all levels and with roots all over the world came together in Our Side to write about the worlds they live in, past and present. In this ten-week workshop, they helped each other create memoirs, narratives and personal essays which address issues of emigration, dislocation from homeland, assimilation to a new land, maintenance of cultural identity, and transnationalism.
Spearheaded by Our Side member Beatriz Gil (editor/designer), they produced a publication of their work, which they will present for the first time to the public.
Upcoming Workshop Reading
I’m really proud and excited that Our Side is reading. It’s been a privilege to work with everyone in this amazing and talented group. Please come to our reading to hear moving stories and new ideas on cultural identity:
During the summer of 2009, thirteen writers of all levels and with roots all over the world came together in Our Side to write about the worlds they live in, past and present. After ten weeks of reading and discussing the work of contemporary writers, experimenting with writing exercises, and engaging in group feedback, they will read to the public the results of their work. Their memoirs, narratives and personal essays will address issues of emigration, dislocation from homeland, assimilation to a new land, maintenance of cultural identity, and transnationalism.
The free public reading takes place at 1:00pm on Sunday, August 16, 2009, at TOPAZ ARTS, located at 55-03 39th Avenue in Woodside, Queens.
Subway directions: #7 train to 61 St. or the R, V, G trains to Northern Blvd.
Details and directions are available at www.topazarts.org.
Some News
Info on two readings and a summer workshop, below:
May 2
3 pm
“Waiting for Tables” (flier: waitingfortables)
Topaz Arts
55-03 39th Avenue, between 55th and 56th Sts.
Woodside, NY 11377
Subways: 7 to 61st Street, or R to Northern Blvd.
Free admission, refreshments, and q-and-a
http://www.topazarts.org
“Waiting for Tables” is made possible in part with funds from the Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Queens Council on the Arts.
May 5
7:00 pm
Lambda Literary Award Finalists reading
LGBT Community Services Center
208 W. 13th Street, between 7th and 8th Aves
New York, NY 10011
Subway: 1,2,3,9 to 14th Street; A,C,E to 14th Street
Free reception at 6:00 pm, before the reading
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/index2.html
I’ll read from “Me as her again”, a finalist for a Lammy award in LGBT Nonfiction. Featuring other finalists, including: Daniel Allen Cox, Bill Konigsberg, Bob Morris, Shawn Stewart, Ruff, Vanda, Meri Weiss, Martin Wilson, Chavisa Woods, Magdalena Zurawski, and others. Hosted by Kathleen Warnock, playwright and curator of the legendary “Drunken Careening Writers” series at KGB bar.
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May 16
Deadline (extended) to apply for “Our Side”. Flier here: our-side-writing-workshop
a creative nonfiction workshop on cultural identity
June 6 — August 15, 10 Saturdays, 10 am — 12:30 pm
Sliding scale ($10 – $200 for the series, that’s $1 – $20 per session) FREE for the unemployed
Topaz Arts
55-03 39th Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
Subways: 7 to 61st Street, or R to Northern Blvd.
http://www.topazarts.org
Our Side is a new workshop for writers of all levels to write in English about the worlds they live in, past and present. For the first five weeks, we will read work by Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, Edwidge Danticat, and others; then we’ll discuss the issues these writers address on emigration, dislocation from homeland, assimilation to a new land, mainten-ance of cultural identity, and trans-nationalism. These discussions will prompt writing exercises to explore our own experiences with migration and views of cultural identity. For the following four weeks, we’ll read to the group our writing to receive feedback and help polish it into memoirs or personal essays. During the last meeting, we’ll prepare for a reading of our work on August 16.
Our Side is made possible, in part, by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
For info on how to apply and other details, please see flyer: our-side-writing-workshop
Events for April and May
Me as her again is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Nonfiction!
This is quite an honor as the other finalists in the category include books by Michelle Cliff and Jane Rule. The award will be announced May 28.
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Upcoming readings in San Francisco:
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
5:30-6:30pm
UCSF Parnassus Campus
Room HSW 302
(Health Sciences West)
This program is being co-sponsored by the Staff Subcommittee of
the Chancellors Advisory Committee on LGBT Issues, SWANABAQ
(Southwest Asian/North African Bay Area Queers) & Aunt Lute Books
Attendance credit given toward the UCSF LGBT Wellness Program
Thursday April 9, 2009 With Mahru Elahi
Modern Times Bookstore 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 7:30 PM FREE ________________________________________________
In New York:
“Waiting for Tables,” a reading of new work
“Waiting for Tables” is an essay-in-progress about the histories of the Armenian and Turkish communities in Sunnyside and Woodside, Queens. This is a first person account about life and death, stories of immigration, and neighborhood diplomacy:
May 2 Topaz Arts 55-03 39th Avenue Woodside, QueensSubway directions: #7-train to 61 St. or the R, V, G trains to Northern Blvd.
Details and directions are available at www.topazarts.org.
The project is made possible in part with funds from the Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Queens Council on the Arts.
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This summer, I’ll teach a writing workshop on cultural identity at Topaz Arts: Our Side
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Late breaking news: The Agos Literary Supplement, Kirk, is on women’s books and authors. Melissa Bilal did an interview with me, on page 9. The supplement is in Turkish but a few pages are in Armenian in the back: http://www.agos.com.tr/kirk5/Default.html
Events for January and February
Here are some readings and performances in support of Me as her again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter, a memoir by Nancy Agabian and published by Aunt Lute Books. Please visit Recent Posts (at the bottom of this page) and other pages for more info on the book and the author.
Thursday, January 13
8pm
Theater Saint Gervais, 5, rue du Temple
Geneva, Switzerland
reservations and info: 022 908 2020
In the frame of the project “Wounded Memories”, the Theatre Saint Gervais Geneva and Utopiana present
Water and Wine
A performance on identity in relation to tradition, composed of narrative excerpts from Me as her again, monologues on the author’s experiences in the Armenian Apostolic church, and self-invented rituals. With the participation of Anne-Shlomit Deonna (in Franch) and Anna Barseghian (in Armenian).
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
12- 1 pm
International Seminar Series
Illinois State University
Bone Student Center’s East Lounge, 3rd Floor.
Normal, IL
For more info: http://www.internationalstudies.ilstu.edu/events/
Contact info: Te-Yu Wang, tywang@ilstu.edu, 309 438-7880; Alison Bailey, baileya@ilstu.edu, (309) 438-8638
“Me As Her Again: Creative Nonfiction on Feminist Armenian Identities and Genocide”
Nancy Agabian will discuss her work as a creative nonfiction writer to explore issues of Armenian identity. In particular, she will describe her recent process of writing “Me as her again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter”, a memoir of her search for self, which involved researching and imagining her grandmother’s survival of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The book also braids together the various feminist identities of her family, including her sister, aunts, mother and self; their stories provided a base on which Agabian was able to weave her own story, and thus her identity as a queer, feminist artist.
The Seminar Series is organized by the Unit for International Linkages, Office of International Studies and Programs, and the Women’s Studies Program. Free and open to the public. Free pizza is also provided.
Friday, February 13, 2009
7 pm
reading at
Borders Books
200A N. Greenbriar Dr.
Bloomington, IL
309.888.4246.
Contact: schance@bordersstores.com
Free!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
7 pm
reading at
Sunday Salon
Stain Bar
766 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(L to Grand, then walk 1 block West)
Contact: Krista 718/387-7840
http://www.sundaysalon.com
Free!
Me as her again: News
New York Book Party, October 26, 2008
The fall 2008 tour in support of Me as her again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter went pretty well, with readings in New York and L.A. Check out more scenes from the coast to coast audiences on the Photos page.
Media news:
- The book was reviewed in The Armenian Reporter by Shusan Avagyan on December 6 in the Arts & Culture section. (Online article here. ) Shushan described the book as “an utterly queer memoir” in her headline, and amazingly, this fairly conservative newspaper ran it (and on page 2!)
- Karine Chakarian also interviewed me and wrote a fine article on my work in general for the October 25th issue of The Armenian Reporter (on p. A9 of the general section, under Community News. Archived issues of TAR are available here.)
- Hrag Vartanian kindly did a nice interview of me on his very cool blog, “on art, culture, photography, writing and ideas.”
Call For Responses
People keep emailing or calling with their very astute thoughts and ideas about the book. And people keep asking me about these responses. I have found it interesting to hear the variety of topics and passages that people are most struck by, whether Armenian or not Armenian. So if you’ve read the book, consider posting a review or response on this page, under Comments, as a way to contribute your thoughts and to read what others are thinking.
Save the Dates:
On January 13th and 14th, I’ll be performing my piece Water and Wine, on the role of women in the Armenian Apostolic Church, in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Theatre St. Gervais. “Water and Wine” is composed of narrative excerpts from Me as her again, monologues on my experiences in the church, and self invented rituals, including cross-dressing. Utopiana, who first invited me to perform in Armenia, is co-presenting the performance for Mémoires blessées, or Wounded memories, a month long series of readings, exhibtions, concerts, and conferences, “dedicated to the memories injured, with the culminating day of memory, January 27, organized with the Department of the Education of the Canton of Geneva.” (The quote is from Google’s translation of the theatre’s webpage.) See the St Gervais postcard.
On February 11th, 12th and 13th I’ll be bringing Me as her again to the heartland with three readings in Bloomington, Illinois. And in New York I’ll read on February 15th at the Sunday Salon. I’ll post the info in the next month or so as the dates approach.
Where to Buy
As always you can purchase Me as her again through Aunt Lute Books, independent bookstores, and Amazon. (I just received word there is some glitch with the Aunt Lute website. They’re working on it, but in the meantime, you might try deleting your cookies or calling them directly at 415 826-1300 and speak with their wonderful staff.)
Happiness and peace and prosperity for the end of this unusual year and into the next. Remember to tell an Armenian “Merry Christmas” or “Soorp Dznoont” on January 6.
sirov,
Nancy
Me as her again
Me as her again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter is now officially in print, as of October 1! I just completed a couple of readings in L.A., (see the Photos page) at Beyond Baroque and Abril Bookstore, which both carry Me as her again — support independent bookstores, please! Books will also be available at all NYC readings and events, coming up. See details below.
From the back cover:
Untangling knots of personal identity and family history, Nancy Agabian deftly weaves a narrative alternately comical and wrenching. Moving between memories of growing up Armenian and American in Walpole, Massachusetts, and her later experiences at Wellesley College, then Hollywood and, finally, Turkey, Agabian offers an illuminating meditation on the sometimes bizarre entanglement of individual desire (sexual and otherwise) in the web of family life and history. At the heart of this unraveling is a grappling with the history of trauma and upheaval experienced by her paternal grandmother, who survived the Armenian Genocide, and the legacy of that wounding experience for Agabian and her extended family.
You can also order it from Amazon, but I recommend buying directly from the publisher, Aunt Lute Books. Please give your support to an amazing multicultural, nonprofit women’s press: http://www.auntlute.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=auntlute&Product_Code=MH&Category_Code=.
New York:
October 7
7 pm
KGB
85 East 4th Street, NYC 10003
between 2nd Ave and Bowery
Subways: F to 2nd Ave
http://www.kgbbar.com
October 26 — Book Party!
Sponsored by the Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association
3 – 4:30 pm
LGBT Community Center
Room 410
208 W. 13th Street, NYC 10011
between 7th and 8th Aves
Subways: 123 or ACE to 14th Street
212 620-7310
http://www.aglany.org, http://www.gaycenter.org
$1-$5 donation
November 2
7 pm
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street
between Stanton and Rivington
Subways: F to 2nd Ave
212 777-6028
http://www.bluestockings.com
November 12
6 pm
Gartal, an Armenian literary reading series
with Milena Abrahamyan, Christopher Atamian and Aida Zilelian-Silak
Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia Street, NYC 10014
between Bleecker and W 4th
Subways: ACEBDFV to W 4th
212 989-9319
http://corneliastreetcafe.com
http://armeniandrama.org/GARTAL.php
Los Angeles:
October 10
7:30 pm
Also performing with Ann Perich of Guitar Boy, for a reunion show
Beyond Baroque
681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
310 822-3006
http://www.beyondbaroque.org
October 13
7:30 pm
Abril Books
415 E. Broadway Ave. Suite #102
Glendale, CA 91205
(818) 243-4112
http://www.abrilbooks.com
