Memoir
Light and Momentary Troubles
When I think about it now, it’s fitting that I first met Raya near a railroad. I didn’t know it at the time, but for her, trains hold many memories. They are a symbol of […]
Gyumri
Notes from the Pink City
HDIF aims to turn Armenia into fair trade crocheting nation
With Christmas only three weeks away, crocheted gifts from Armenia are flying off the shelves from Yerevan to Los Angeles. Two tags stick out from many of these hand-knitted gloves with Armenian carpet motifs or […]
News
KIDO: Cultivating Gyumri’s Most Important Resource
I noticed Gor when I first entered the classroom of energetic three and four-year-olds at Gyumri’s new KIDO preschool. Unlike several of the others who shied away from my camera, he leaned in, posing, grinning […]
Community News
Lowell ARS Chapter Delivers Blankets to Mother and Child Clinic
Late last month, Joseph Dagdigian and Vladimir Tchagharyan delivered six large bundles of hand woven blankets for newborns at the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) Mother and Child Clinic in Akhurian, a town next to Gyumri […]
Featured
My friend Hovo
The minute you catch Hovo’s attention, his cheeks wrinkle, his eyes crinkle and his teeth flash into a huge grin. When I first met him, the young server thought I was Russian and greeted me […]
News
Murder Near Russian Military Base Tests Yerevan-Moscow Bond
GYUMRI—Authorities in Armenia have confirmed the arrest of a yet unnamed Russian soldier for the brutal murder of an Armenian woman. The 23 year-old serviceman allegedly accosted 57 year-old Julieta Ghukasyan on the morning of December […]
Poetry
Culture
Aregak Bakery: Making Pastries and Changing Perspectives
Several weeks ago, I sat waiting for a cappuccino inside Gyumri’s new Aregak Bakery. A particularly earnest young barista was working the espresso machine, taking direction from his more experienced counterpart. After frothing and pouring […]