Finding Zabel Yesayan…in Michigan

An Armenian writer, activist, and feminist, Zabel Yesayan is one of the most prominent Armenian intellectuals of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. As a member of an Armenian fact-finding delegation, she witnessed the bloody massacres of Adana in 1909. After surviving the genocide, she immigrated to Soviet Armenia and died during the Stalinist Great Purge. She is now remembered in “Finding Zabel Yesayan,” a documentary by Lara Aharonian and Talin Suciyan, which is scheduled to be shown in Southfield, Mich., on March 23.

The film follows the turbulent life of Yesayan and is based on family archives, novels, documents, photographs, and reflections on her life and work. It is in English; there is also an Armenian version of the film with English subtitles.

The 40-minute documentary will be shown at the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School. A panel discussion will follow, featuring Suciyan, a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich; Edmond Azadian, literary critic and publicist; and Prof. Kevork Bardakjian, Marie Manoogian Professor of Armenian Language and Literature at the University of Mihigan, Ann Arbor, and president of the Society of Armenian Studies. The discussion will be moderated by Ara Sanjian, the director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Talin Suciyan is an Istanbul Armenian journalist who lived in Armenia from 2007-08. She is currently based in Munich, where she is pursuing her graduate studies. She has contributed regularly to Agos (from 2007-2010) and other Turkish newspapers. She has also contributed to the Armenian Weekly’s special magazine issue.

Born in Lebanon and raised in Montreal, Lara Aharonian completed her graduate studies in comparative literature and women’s studies. Eight years ago, she repatriated to Armenia and founded the Women’s Resource Center of Armenia, “a feminist organization working with and for women.” She is an outspoken advocate of women’s rights and empowerment.

Light refreshments will follow the panel discussion. The lecture is cosponsored by the Armenian Research Center, University of Michigan-Dearborn, the AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School, and the Cultural Society of Armenians from Istanbul.

The event will take place at 7:45 p.m. on March 23 at the AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School’s Multipurpose Room, 22001 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, Mich.

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Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian was the editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2014 to 2016. She served as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2010 to 2014. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk and Turkey. She earned her B.A. degree in Political Science and English and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts (Boston).