Published in 2024, #Jivjiv Language is Hrayr Varaz’s follow-up to his innovative poetry collection #jivjiv. It is the second volume of bilingual poetry written by queer Armenian poet and linguist Varaz, with cover and illustrations by Amy Kazandjian.
It includes 40 pairs of poems about the joys of the Armenian language, letters, sound bites, and word bits. This volume also includes a long form prose, a sounds (streams) of consciousness written in Armenian while gazing at Jupiter and Saturn during an early morning summer day. All poems and prose are in both Western Armenian and English. The poems also include their corresponding pronunciations in the other language’s alphabet.
Dr. Hrayr Varaz Khanjian is a queer Western Armenian-ist, Yelamu-based (S.F.) twitter-poet, translator, linguist, flower photographer, empath, seks worker, emoji-er, dancemonger, a kweer community flagbearer.
He’s a white non-disabled gay cis-male who writes with spelling freedoms and welcomes odar-words (non-Armenian words) putting aside amot (shame). Hrayr‘s first self-published bilingual poem pair collection #jivjiv #twitterpoem is now in its second printing, with a second volume out at the end of the year. He’s also translated and collaborated on language projects with the Armenian Creatives. Hrayr reads his jivjivs frequently in SF, LA and NY.
To You թը յու
what you write: the spelling, is not wrong
wըթ յու ռայթ տը սփելինկ ըզ նաթ րանկ
write how you speak, pick letters
րայդ հաw յու սփիք բիք լերըզ
delish and delightful to you
տըլիշ ըն տըլայթֆըլ թու յու
Excerpt from “To You”
Purchase your copy through Abril Books.
ISBN: 979-8-9866609-1-2
