Available in English for the first time, Modern Armenian Drama presents seven classic works from the Armenian stage. Spanning over a century (1871–1992), the plays explore such diverse themes science and religion, socioeconomic injustice, women's emancipation, and political reform through the medium of all the major European dramatic genres. Nishan Parlakian and S. Peter Cowe provide a comprehensive introduction to the history of Armenian drama, giving a valuable overview of its importance and development in Armenia, as well as a brief biography for each playwright. A preface to each play helps in placing the work within the context of historical and cultural issues of the time. Like the plays of Ibsen and O'Neill, the plays presented in this anthology are considered modern classics. They have an enduring quality and appeal to audiences who see them today. The editors have collected translations of the best examples of Armenian theater from its renaissance in the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

David Lynch is an anomaly. A pioneer of the American 'indie' aesthetic, he also works in Hollywood and for network TV. He has created some of the most disturbing images in contemporary cinema, and produced startlingly innovative work in sound. If the consistency of his 'vision' suggests he might be approached as an auteur, defining that vision raises many questions. The essays in this collection push toward a fuller account of the cultural and technological contexts within which his works developed during the 1980s and 1990s, and of his intense engagement with the creative and working practices of the industry. They offer an up-to-date range of theoretically divergent readings that demonstrates not only the difficulty of locating stable interpretative positions for Lynch's work, but also the pleasure of finding new ways of thinking about it. Films discussed include Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, and Mulholland Drive.

Although ancestral voices have inspired many Armenian American writers of poetry and fiction in the twentieth century, their expression through drama has been limited. The first of its kind, this anthology is a collection of plays by notable Armenian Americans. Written in English largely by artists of Armenian extraction during the latter part of the twentieth century, the plays reflect the outrage of the Armenian Genocide, the forced transplantation that created the Armenian Diaspora, and the desire to maintain the newly established democratic homeland. Including a range of authors from William Saroyan to more contemporary voices, this anthology represents the writers that have stimulated cutting-edge contemporary drama from the mid-twentieth century to the present. The collection includes farce, comedy, tragicomedy, and tragedy (and sometimes blends of all of these). The plays reflect the shared experiences of Armenian family life in Armenia, Turkey, and America. The themes include the joy of freedom to practice their faith and ethnic customs, the turmoil of acculturation, and the feared loss of identity through assimilation. The editor has provided headnotes for each play and an extensive introduction tracing the history of Armenian American drama in the United States.

"Passed down by word of mouth through the magic of live performance art for a millennium and a half till its scholarly transcription in the late 19th century, the Armenian epic Daredevils of Sasun presents a rich legacy of accumulated folk wisdom. This monograph is an introduction to the epic, maintaining a balance between the needs of a scholarly and more popular readership. Contextualizing his subject within the epic production of Western Europe, the Slavic lands, Anatolia and the Caucasus, and Central Asia, the author not only provides a summation of research on the epic, but is cogent in defining his own positions, probing new areas, and approaching some old from a new perspective."--BOOK JACKET.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Armenian Literature" (Comprising Poetry, Drama, Folk-lore and Classic Traditions. Translated into English for the First Time) by Anonymous. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.