Prelacy Honors Peter Balakian

Prelacy Honors Peter Balakian

NEW YORK—The Pashalian Hall at St. Illuminator Cathedral was filled with the faithful of the New York metropolitan area on June 27, to honor writer Peter Balakian, the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Peter Balakian addressing the crowd

The evening’s program was guided by the master of ceremonies, Dr. Herand Markarian, who first spoke about the significance and importance of the Pulitzer and the great joy felt by Armenians worldwide when the winners were announced.

Prof. Khachig Tololyan presented Balakian and his work with a cogent and challenging analysis that whetted the appetite for more knowledge of poetry and especially the work of this poet.

Master of ceremonies, Herand Markarian addressing the crowd

 

Before reading excerpts from his “Ozone Journal” that was honored with the Pulitzer, Balakian thanked Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan for the remarkable evening and expressed his appreciation to all of the attendees.

Archbishop Oshagan closed the evening by thanking Markarian, Tololyan, and Balakian. His Eminence noted that as he was listening to the poetry readings he felt the Armenian spirit in every verse, even though the words were in English.

Khachig Tololyan presenting Balakian and his work

The remarkable evening ended with a reception that offered the opportunity for the attendees to meet and congratulate Balakian.

Below is a video from the event.

Source: Armenian Weekly Mid-Atlantic