![Show Menu](styles/mobile-menu.png)
![Page Background](./../common/page-substrates/page0002.png)
Editor's welcome
Welcome to
Trafika Europe 4 – Armenian Rhapsody
.
Mountainous Armenia, historically the first Christian
nation, struggles today between east and west, amid some
pitfalls of modern freedoms. Nearly one third of its present-
day population of three million spends years at a stretch
abroad in Russia, while another eight million Armenians
are spread out in a diaspora spanning some 18 other
countries, notably France, Iran and the United States.
In this light, we can’t speak of any definitive Armenian
literary culture. We’re offering only a smattering here, just
a glimpse, of some writers in today’s Armenia. Some are
looking backwards for inspiration, some forwards now (two
here with pregnancy); some, perhaps, are flatlining within –
there is also sweetness there.
Fiction writer Armen of Armenia offers an update on a
popular Armenian folk story with his “The Return of Kikos”;
for the benefit of English-language readers, we’re prefacing
it with the original tale of Kikos here. Poet Anahit
Hayrapetyan gives us intimate snapshots of her pregnancy –
including literally. We’ve also got moving fiction by Nara
Vardanyan and Sargis Hovsepyan, and new poetry by
Marine Petrossian. Special thanks to the latter also for
helping us assemble this issue; Marine was a featured poet