Thursday, May 23, 2013
7 – 10 pm
22 N. 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249
Keynote speakers: Nancy Agabian and Maria Mähl
Appetizers: (Armenian-style) mezze and pomegranate martinis will be served
A silent auction: featuring art and books by prominent Armenian talents
The primary goals of our first benefit event will be to establish an emergency fund to help LGBT people in need in Armenia and the diaspora, and to continue to support AGLA-NY’s activities for the following year. Notably, a portion of the funds raised will be used to establish the George Stambolian Memorial Scholarship for LGBT students or those of Armenian descent.
George Stambolian was a scholar of French literature and became an early proponent of LGBT literature in academia and within the U.S. at large. Born in 1937 to an Armenian American family in Racine, Wisconsin, he attended Dartmouth College, then earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. Soon after, he become an expert and beloved professor of French literature at Wellesley College, and a noted figure in the literary scene of New York City, where he lived. In the late 1980s and early 90s, he edited the groundbreaking anthology series Men on Men and helped to establish LGBT literature as a genre and field of study during the gay rights movement. Stambolian was known for his quick wit, wry sense of humor and his remarkable humility. Like many in his generation, his life was cut short by AIDS, in 1991. AGLA-NY honors his legacy by establishing a scholarship in his memory.
Nancy Agabian is an author and a professor at NYU and Queens College. Her memoir, Me as her again, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and a William Saroyan International Writing Prize. Agabian has served as co-President of AGLA NY in 2005 and 2006 and currently sits on its Board of Trustees. She was a student of George Stambolian at Wellesley College and will speak about his legacy.
Maria Mähl is a Human Rights Advocate who currently works at the UN on women’s security and peace building and SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) rights.
The general public may RSVP at http://aglany.org/benefit-2013/ or send checks payable to AGLA-NY, c/o GOS, 181 N. 11th Street, Suite 302, Brooklyn, NY 11211.
Since 1998, AGLA NY has been providing space for lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender Armenian Americans, their partners, and their allies to come together as a community. The forum to network fosters their visibility and strengthens their cultural and ethnic ties to queer and Armenian communities. We seek to inform these communities, as well as the general public, about issues of importance to LGBT Armenians.
AGLA NY Member Christopher Atamian will present his recent translation of the book titled The Bois de Vincennes/Vinseni Andaruh by Nigoghos Sarafian. Reception to follow. Free.
Feed
