Role: Translator

Donald Abcarian was born and raised in Fresno, California, where his family was settled since the turn of the century. His earliest influences, including the Armenian language, derived from this milieu. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in philosophy and has pursued a lifelong interest in languages and world literature. He recently completed a new translation of Raffi’s The Fool, probably one of the most influential literary works in the Armenian language (originally published in 1881).

Cambridge (MA) poet Diana Der-Hovanessian got some far-flung publicity recently. Her book, "Selected Poems," was being given out on Minnesota Public Radio to donors of $66 during its recent fund-raisier. Der-Hovanessian said she heard about it from her publisher, Sheep Meadow Press in New York. "I guess it's because of Garrison Keillor; he uses things from my books on `Writer's Almanac,'" she said, referring to his syndicated radio show, which is carried on WGBH in Boston. Keillor often reads the poem "Shifting the Sun." Der-Hovanessian is president of the New England Poetry Club.