Lory Bedikian

Lory Bedikian received her MFA in poetry from the University of Oregon. Her collection of poetry has twice been selected as a finalist in the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition and twice in the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award Competition.She writes the Poetry Matters column for the Armenian Reporter.

Konyalian Grenier’s poetry paints history

Mar 27, 2009: Arpine Konyalian Grenier, in her book St. Gregory’s Daughter, writes a poem “April 24, 1987.” On first glance at the title, we assume the poem must be merely a poem of commemoration, but as we begin to read we see it has a unique approach to remembrance and to healing, Lory Bedikian writes in her Poetry Matters column.  more...

The harvest of Abrahamyan’s poem

Mar 20, 2009: Milena Abrahamyan has written “Eating memories,” which works as a poem related to the concept of exile, but takes a less-traveled path to that end, Lory Bedikian writes in her Poetry Matters column.  more...

Shahé Mankerian tucks childhood into a poem

Mar 14, 2009: Shahé Mankerian’s poem, “We Broke Rulers to Avenge Our Bleeding Knuckles,” takes a straightforward look at how young boys may have felt during their school days, Lory Bedikian writes in her "Poetry Matters" column.  more...

Iknadossian writes her poem letter by letter

Mar 06, 2009: Poetry Matters columnist Lory Bedikian reads Armine Iknadossian’s poem “Mourning Paper.”  more...

The brevity of childhood

Feb 27, 2009: "Poetry Matters" columnist Lory Bedikian reads an “Untitled” poem by Sonia Balassanian that evokes the lost magic of her childhood.  more...

Nigoghos Sarafian’s definition of wealth

Feb 20, 2009: "Poetry Matters" columnist Lory Bedikian discusses a poem by Nigoghos Sarafian, “Wealth.”  more...

Arthur Armin’s poetic questions

Feb 06, 2009: “Poetry Matters” columnist Lory Bedikian discusses “The Exiles,” a poem by Arthur Armin.  more...

Literary wishes for the New Year, part 4

Jan 30, 2009: In the final installment of her "Literary wishes for the New Year," Poetry Matters columnist Lory Bedikian speaks to poets Peter Balakian, Diana Der-Hovanessian, and Gregory Djanikian about institutional support for Armenian-American writing.  more...

Literary wishes for the New Year, part 3

Jan 23, 2009: Continuing her literary wishes for 2009, Poetry Matters columnist Lory Bedikian looks at the efforts of other groups to support writers.  more...

Literary wishes for the New Year, part 2

Jan 10, 2009: What resources contemporary poets and writers of Armenian descent need to better succeed in the arts? Poetry Matters columnist Lory Bedikian explores the possibility of increasing or creating resources that would be beneficial to aspiring and established writers.  more...

Literary wishes for the New Year, part 1

Jan 08, 2009: "Poetry Matters" columnist Lory Bedikian acknowledges the resources available to contemporary poets and writers of Armenian descent as she prepares to offer her wish list of further resources.  more...

A Myriad of Wishes for the New Year

Dec 19, 2008: Last December I featured thepoem "Thankfulness" by Jacques Hagopian and compared the religious, as well asspiritual, quality of the poem to those poems I had studied from poets such asHerbert and Hopkins. Hagopian's poem seemed a perfect place to close the old year and to start the new.  more...

“How Lovely Are Thy Branches”

Dec 18, 2008: At this time of year I usually take out our two-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree and spin a strand of small colorful lights around it, while decorating it with a few old souvenir key chains that make quite unique tree ornaments.  more...

The humble bread of Gosdan Zarian

Nov 23, 2008: In this installment of Poetry Matters, Lory Bedikian, longing for simplicity in the celebration of the holidays – starting with Thanksgiving – reads Gosdan Zarian’s “My Song.”  more...

Abril Bookstore celebrates 30 years with “Abrink” weekend event

Nov 14, 2008: A full-scale celebration of Armenian culture is planned for Nov. 22–23 including Armenian dance lessons, a comedy performance, theatrical sketches, a sing-along event, a film screening, panel discussions, a stage reading, an Armenian miniature-art workshop, a storytelling performance, a lecture about Armenian architecture and monuments. The celebration will mark the 30th anniversary of Abril Bookstore. In an interview with Lory Bedikian, organizer Arno Yeretsian said, “We agreed that we didn’t want to do some fancy banquet where we would spend tons of money on food and other luxurious expenses.” So they planned a cultural extravaganza in keeping with the nature of their business.  more...

The Audacity of Calling

Nov 14, 2008: After big events, or small celebrations, large obstacles or tiny tribulations, I go to poetry. I go to poetry as one would go to a big brother or sister, and I sit and listen with eager ears, with humbled eyes. Since my younger days, I have always turned to the books on my shelf, to favorite poets to see if their poems in some way could mirror what I'm feeling or going through. Perhaps it's a way to ensure that we are not alone in our emotions or reactions, and that we can relate to something larger than ourselves.  more...

Good things can come in small poems

Nov 07, 2008: The first poem by Aram Saroyan that I was introduced to appeared in The Discovery of Poetry, the text we used in one of the first poetry courses I took in college.  more...

Kherdian’s hometown poems

Nov 01, 2008: Whenever I have found out about an Armenian poet either from Armenia or somewhere in the diaspora, it has usually been through an Armenian bookstore or through other Armenian writers and publications.  more...

The moral of Toumanian’s poem

Oct 25, 2008: The poem that appears in this column, translated by Gerald Papasian, was first published in Sojourn at Ararat: Poems of Armenia, a book of translations which was done for the purpose of putting together the play "Sojourn at Ararat." While the performance of these poems was not the sole concern of the translator, it did play a small part in how the translations were rendered. The book came later but it is now, unfortunately, out of print. While we wait for it to make its comeback, we can hear this translation among others, luckily on CD today.  more...

Poetry Matters: Shards of Love from Shiraz

Oct 15, 2008: Lory Bedikian reviews Hovhannes Shiraz' poem, “Your Eyes,” which is a love poem with a twist.  more...

I saw what Charents saw

Oct 11, 2008: The poem that appears in this column, translated by Gerald Papasian and Nora Armani, was first published in Sojourn at Ararat: Poems of Armenia, a book of translations which was done for the purpose of putting together the play "Sojourn at Ararat." While the performance of these poems was not the sole concern of the translator, it did play a small part in how the translations were rendered. The book came later but it is now, unfortunately, out of print. While we wait for it to make its comeback, we can hear this translation among others, luckily on CD today.  more...

Ageless Missag Medzarents

Oct 04, 2008: Whenever I think of John Keats – one of the masters of English poetry – or more precisely, whenever I read his amazing odes, which are now looked upon as some of the most important pieces in poetic history, I can’t help but think of Missag Medzarents as well, Lory Bedikian writes in her column, "Poetry Matters."  more...

Identity and community seen through the lens of Ara Oshagan

Oct 04, 2008: Ara Oshagan's newest exhibit, "Identity and Community," includes photos from two of his recent projects: the Armenian and Ethiopian communities of Los Angeles. Lory Bedikian speaks to Oshagan about the exhibit.  more...

Letters to a young, Armenian poet: Letter Four

Sep 27, 2008: The following letter, the fourth among four, is inspired by the well-known published Letters to a Young Poet, written by Rainer Maria Rilke, the great German poet. Rilke was known to receive letters from young people and in the one set referred to above, from 1903 to 1908, he wrote a series of letters to a young, beginning poet answering questions on poetry and life. The idea of writing these letters has been borrowed as a starting point for discussion between a poet and beginning poets or artists who may need support in their callings.  more...

Letters to a young, Armenian poet: Letter three

Sep 20, 2008: The following letter, the third among four, is inspired by the well-known published Letters to a Young Poet, written by Rainer Maria Rilke, the great German poet. Rilke was known to receive letters from young people and in the one set referred to above, from 1903 to 1908, he wrote a series of letters to a young, beginning poet answering questions about poetry and life. The idea of writing these letters has been borrowed as a starting point for discussion between a poet and beginning poets or artists who may need support in their callings.  more...

Letters to a young, Armenian poet: Letter one

Sep 06, 2008: The following letter, one among four, is inspired by the well-known published Letters to a Young Poet, written by Rainer Maria Rilke, the great German poet. Rilke was known to receive letters from young people and in the one set referred to above, from 1903 to 1908, he wrote a series of letters to a young, beginning poet answering questions about poetry and life. The idea of writing these letters has been borrowed as a starting point for discussion between a poet and beginning poets or artists who may need support in their callings.  more...

Happy Birthday, Mr. Saroyan

Aug 30, 2008: I relish my used Samuel French copy of The Time of Your Life by William ­Saroyan that is part of my limited collection of plays. I've gone back to it so many times over the years, that the spine is now tattered and the edges frayed. The book sometimes falls open to the first scene of Act Two, within which the characters of Joe and Mary sitting at Nick's Saloon guess at each other's names, and this dialogue lasts for a page and a half. The scene continues with a simple and straightforward conversation touching on Joe's innocent drunkenness and Mary's melancholy.  more...