No Other Words by Karén Karslyan is an experimental collection of haikus composed exclusively of the words from Yeghishe Charents’ “My Sweet Armenia.” Through the haikus crafted with the technique of constrained writing, Karslyan engages in a dialogue with Charents, at times poking fun, and at times raising profound questions about contemporary matters, identity, recent wars, and love.
Karén Karslyan (b. 1979) is a poet, visual artist, translator, holds a PhD in English and is the chairman of the Writers for Peace Committee of PEN Armenia. He is the author of six books including, Lezvi Tsayrin (On the Tip of the Tongue), a collection of poetry (Granish, 2022); and Aterazma, a typographic film-novel (Inknagir, 2016). His Armenian translation of Lust by Kathy Acker was published by Inknagir in 2015. His writing has been featured in anthologies across multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French. His performative lectures of Aterazma have been hosted by Coimbra University (2018) and the University of Michigan (2022). His visual art includes flipbooks and video art pieces that have been exhibited at film and art festivals. He is the recipient of the Granish Best Short Story Award (2024) and Best Poetry Award (2021), as well as NPAK’s Young Artists Award (2004). In 2003, he was recognized as Armenia’s “Scandalous Writer of the Year” by Public TV. Born and raised in Armenia, he now lives in Wisconsin.
Day/Time: Sunday, January 26, 2025 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
