ASA Announces Winners of 2014 Halvajian Poetry Competition

WARWICK, R.I.—The Armenian Students’ Association, Inc. (ASA Inc.) congratulates Katia Khanlian, Emily Hagopian, and Gegham Mughnetsyan, who were recently named the winners of the 2014 “Arthur Halvajian Memorial” Armenian Poetry Competition. The competition was organized and sponsored by the ASA Inc., with support from the Armenian Poetry Project. The competition ran from fall 2014 through spring 2015.

“Congratulations to the 2014 winners and thank you to those who helped make it possible by contributing to the organizing and selection committee’s efforts,” said Brian Assadourian, chair of the ASA Inc. Board of Trustees.

Gegham Mughnetsyan of Washington, D.C., won the $250 prize in the 23-plus age group for his entry, “Hayrenee Meghekee.” New Jersey resident Emily Hagopian took home the $100 prize in the 18-22 age category for her entry, “Never Forget.” Katia Khanlian, a student at the A&M Hovsepian School in Pasadena, Calif., won the $50 prize in the 12-17 age group for her entry, “To My Clueless Sister.”

Receiving honorable mentions in the 12-17 age group included Vahe Demirdjian of California (for “Thirty Ticks”) and Sipan Kouchian of California (for “Deep into Darkness”).Yeva Aleksanyan of Colorado (“Hayreneekees“), Kevork Kalayjian of New Jersey (“Beedee“), and Anna Gharabaghtsyan of California (“Vakhi Maheh“) all received honorable mentions in the 23-plus age group.

The Armenian Poetry Project, led by Lola Koundakjian, is a research and documentation site of 19^th– to 21^st-century Armenian poets and poetry. Tsoleen Sarian of Massachusetts, Christopher Janigian of Rhode Island, and Haig Hovsepian of Washington, D.C., rounded out the organizing and selection committee. Alice Movsesian, a member of the ASA Inc. Board of Trustees, served as the liaison to the group.

To learn more about the Armenian Poetry Project, visit http://armenian-poetry.blogspot.com. Winning entries from the 2014 competition, as well as those from previous years, can be viewed online by visiting the “ASA-APP Poetry” section of the ASA Inc.’s website at www.asainc.org.

The Armenian Students’ Association, Inc. encourages educational pursuits by Armenians in America and the raising of their intellectual standards, provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to deserving Armenian students, develops fellowship among them, cultivates in them the spirit of service in the public interest, and acquaints them and the entire American community with Armenian culture.