GLENDALE—The Glendale Library, Arts & Culture is hosting a conversation with Nancy Kricorian and Shahé Mankerian to discuss her latest book, “The Burning Heart of the World.” The event will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 7 to 8 p.m., in Central Library’s Auditorium, located at 222 East Harvard St., Glendale, CA 91205.
In vivid, poetic prose, Nancy Kricorian’s “The Burning Heart of the World” tells the story of a Beirut Armenian family before, during, and after the Lebanese Civil War. Returning to the fabular tone of “Zabelle,” her popular first novel, Kricorian conjures up the lost worlds and intergenerational traumas that haunt a family in permanent exile. Leavened with humor and imbued with the timelessness of a folktale, “The Burning Heart of the World” is a sweeping saga that takes readers on an epic journey from the mountains of Cilicia to contemporary New York City.
Publishing to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War and the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Nancy Kricorian, whose grandparents were genocide survivors, delivers “The Burning Heart of the World” (Red Hen Press; April 1, 2025),a vivid, poetic, heartbreaking novel filled with rich historical knowledge and cultural insights that inform her characters making them jump off the page and into our hearts and minds.
Nancy Kricorian, who was born and raised in the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts, is the author of four novels about post-genocide Armenian diaspora experience, including “Zabelle,” which was translated into seven languages, was adapted as a play, and has been continuously in print since 1998. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Guernica, Parnassus, Minnesota Review, The Mississippi Review, and other journals.
She has taught at Barnard, Columbia, Yale, and New York University, as well as for Teacher & Writers Collaborative in the New York City Public Schools and for the Palestine Writing Workshop in Birzeit. She has been the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Gold Medal from the Writers Union of Armenia, and the Anahid Literary Award. She lives in New York City.
Shahé Mankerian is the principal of St. Gregory Hovsepian School and the Director of Mentorship at the International Armenian Literary Alliance. History of Forgetfulness has been a finalist at the Bibby First Book Competition, the Crab Orchard Poetry Open Competition, the Quercus Review Press Poetry Book Award, and the White Pine Press Poetry Prize.
Known as the “Jewel City,” Glendale is the fourth largest city of Los Angeles County. With a population of more than 200,000, Glendale is a thriving cosmopolitan city that is rich in history, culturally diverse, and offers nearly 50 public parks, and easy access to a municipal airport. It is the home to a vibrant business community, with major companies in healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, retail, and banking.
Founded in 1907, the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department includes eight neighborhood libraries including the Brand Library & Art Center, a regional visual arts and music library and performance venue housed in the historic 1904 mansion of Glendale pioneer Leslie C. Brand, and the Central Library, a 93,000 square foot center for individuals and groups to convene, collaborate and create. The department also serves as the chief liaison to the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission which works to continually transform Glendale into an ever-evolving arts destination. Glendale Library Arts & Culture is supported in part through the efforts of the Glendale Library Arts & Culture Trust. For more information visit the website, or contact Library, Arts & Culture at (818) 548-2021 or via email at LibraryInfo@GlendaleCA.gov.
Be The Change is the Library’s promise to build collective understanding of systemic racism, elevate the voices and stories of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), and inspire our community to be the change through lectures, exhibits, and programming.
