A presentation of a literary miscellany “Southern Caucasus” passed off in Yerevan

A presentation of the second issue of a literary miscellany consisting of works by writers of Southern Caucasus was held on March, 19, in Yerevan. It is a kind of dialogue among the writers residing in the zones of conflicts and its mission is to help soften the present-day tension.

The miscellany published in Russian with the support of international organization “International Alert” integrates both well-known and young prose writers and poets from Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The goal of the project including works devoted to traditions, culture and the present life of the region is to provide a broader access to literature of Southern Caucasus, its coordinator Areg Bayandur said during the presentation.

“By means of literature the writers are trying to create a culture of dialogue and culture of peace, overcome the isolation of the peoples from one another which emerged as a result of the conflicts”, he added.

According to him, the issue of the miscellany “Southern Caucasus” is a peacemaking project aimed at rapprochement between the peoples of the Caucasus who drifted apart as a result of specific political collisions which destroyed cultural and informational communications.

“Certainly literature alone cannot settle the conflicts but we hope that these works will help reduce hatred and strengthen the feeling of mutual respect”, representative of “International Alert” Juliet Schofield said.

The miscellany is the only literary platform where the writers of Southern Caucasus meet”, Nadezhda Venediktova, copy editor of the miscellany from Abkhazia, considers.

“The chance to come to know one another’s achievements is very important for the writers of Southern Caucasus for in this way a new regional stratum is being created. It may be called a kind of a refined dialogue”, she said in her interview to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent and added that it was necessary to involve more young authors into the project.

The project functions in order to eliminate isolation among the peoples of Southern Caucasus from one another, writer from Georgia Guram Odisharia considers.

Writers from Armenia, Georgia and Abkhazia took part in the presentation. The project will be continued. Publishing the third issue of the miscellany is planned for September, then the fourth one will follow.