Join the International Armenian Literary Alliance for the third installment of Literary Lights 2026, featuring the editor and poetry contributors of the landmark anthology, Remain in Light: Visions of Homeland and Diaspora. Event host and contributor Shahé Mankerian will be joined by editor Gassia Armenian and fellow Los Angeles-based poets, Tina Demirdjian, Arminé Iknadossian, Arthur Kayzakian, and Raffi Joe Wartanian.
The free and virtual event, cosponsored by the Fowler Museum at UCLA, will take place on May 17, 2026, at 10:00 AM Pacific | 1:00 PM Eastern | 9:00 PM Armenia Time.
Remain in Light endeavors to visualize the contemporary Armenian experience in the homeland and in Los Angeles, home to the largest Armenian population in the diaspora. The first wave of immigrants came to California in the late 1800s; the second was spurred by the Armenian genocide of 1915. Further Armenian migrants, from Soviet Armenia, the Middle East, Iran, and other countries, continue to find solace, pride, and connection in the traditions, customs, religion, language, and memories they brought with them.
Sossi Madzounian, Ara Mgrdichian, and Ara Oshagan, three diaspora-born Armenian artists living in Los Angeles, share their perspectives on the life of their people in the old world and the new, illuminating the evolving social fabric of Armenian life: survival in the homeland, the immigrant experience in diaspora, and the rebirth of Armenian Americans on new soil. This book pairs their photographs with poems by LA-based poets Tina Demirdjian, Arminé Iknadossian, Arthur Kayzakian, Shahé Mankerian, and Raffi Joe Wartanian. The volume is a tribute to all these artists, and to Armenians across the globe.
Literary Lights 2026 is our fourth annual reading series showcasing new works of literature by Armenian authors, cohosted with the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center. Each event—held online or in-person—will feature a writer reading from their work, followed by a discussion with an interviewer and audience members. Read along with the series by purchasing Remain in Light and more titles at our Bookshop.org storefront.