Among the numerous initiatives launched to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide is a reading of Armenian literary works on a grand scale, organized by two cultural institutions in Germany.
The initiative will honor the memory of Armenian intellectuals rounded up and killed on April 24, 1915, by presenting public readings of their works and those of later writers.
Dr. Rolf Hosfeld, director of the Lepsiushaus, and Ulrich Schreiber of the International Literature Festival Berlin, presented the initiative to representatives of the international press, Asbarez reported.
The call issued by the organizers reads, in part, as follows: “In remembrance of the victims and in association with the demand for international recognition of the Genocide, we are calling for a worldwide reading on 24 April 2015, with literary texts from Armenian authors, among them Siamanto, Komitas, Yeghishe Charents, William Saroyan, Hovhannes Shiraz, Paruyr Sevak, Hakop Mntsuri, Silva Kaputikian and Hrant Dink.”
Since the first signatories Rolf Hosfeld, Konrad Kuhn, Ulrich Schreiber and Hasmik Papian endorsed the call, more than 400 others from 65 countries have added their names. Among the signatories are Nobel Prize winners Elfried Jelinek, Mario Vargas Llosa, John M. Coetzee, Herta Müller, Orhan Pamuk, as well as Elif Shafak, Alberto Manguel, Breyton Breytenbach, and John Ashbury.
