Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
CommuniTEA Salon
This salon seamlessly weaves together meditation, cultural exploration, and community discussion, offering participants a “Think & Do” experience where they not only reflect on critical issues but also co-create solutions for a healthier, more connected future.
Tea will be available to blend and sip and heal.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
Mason Exhibitions ArlingtonArlington, VA
Sunday, Mar 22 from 2 pm to 4 pm
Please join us for a guided community meditation and sound bath, centering rest and rejuvenation, ease and uplift and the power of presence
Please join us for what will be an amazing gathering for communal rest, ancestral celebration, love, sound and meditation!
Pulling from the tradition of her celebrated CommuniTEA events, artist and curator Mēlani N. Douglass will host a special guided ancestral meditation in tandem with her new exhibition "The Prescription is Home: A Manifesto." This ancestral meditation seeks to walk us through our ancestors' journeys to pick up tools to use in present day. She will be joined by Brooklyn-based sound healing practitioner ArinMaya, who has been holding sound baths, both virtually and in person, to provide healing and ease for a world she believes is sorely in need of more rest, more joy and more ease.
Together we will hold space for attendees to relax, rest, gather and TEA.
This experience is being offered on a sliding scale of $50-$115. Please see below for more details on how to submit payment.
A few notes:
• After you register here, please send your payment via one of the following payment modules:
– Venmo @arinmayalawrence
– CashApp $ArinMayaLawrence
– Zelle arin.m.lawrence [at] gmail [dot] com
• Be sure to bring a yoga mat, a water bottle and cozy socks
• If you'd like, bring a journal for any thoughts/ideas that may come up for you during the guided meditation or sound bath
If you have any questions, please feel free to email arin.m.lawrence [at] gmail [dot] com. We can't wait to see you soon!
Arlington County Library and Mason Exhibitions Arlington affirm the kitchen as a site of learning, preservation, and connection.
Join us for Bring Your Own Supper Club, spring table celebration. This will be a gathering where each person brings their own dinner for themself and commune en plein air. Feel free to bring extra to share. The library will also provide a short group cooking experience with its portable kitchen, with a local chef.
This is scheduled to be an outdoor event (weather permitting)
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
March 1: Anna.log session
1-4pm
Unplug at HOME. Bring your crochet, knitting, a good book, and we’ll have chill vibes to provide an offline session for your life.
Anna.log to honor Anna Murray Douglass of Anacostia, and her legacy of hospitality.
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
CommuniTEA Salon
March 21: 1-4pm at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
This salon seamlessly weaves together meditation, cultural exploration, and community discussion, offering participants a “Think & Do” experience where they not only reflect on critical issues but also co-create solutions for a healthier, more connected future.
Tea will be available to blend and sip and heal.
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED: First-come, first-served seating. https://arlingtonva.libcal.com/event/16232100
Libraries and exhibitions alike serve as repositories of collective memory. By bringing them together, Arlington County Library and Mason Exhibitions Arlington affirm the kitchen as a site of learning, preservation, and connection.
Join us for Bring Your Own Supper Club, hosted at Mason Exhibitions Arlington.
Lavita Mondie @vitatheveganchef will be utilizing the mobile kitchen to lead us in learning and collective cooking a soup to accompany your meal.
This will be a gathering where each person brings their own dinner for themself--whether from your fridge or picked up on your way to the gallery. Feel free to bring extra to share. The start time is flexible, so please feel free to come when you can. We will provide plenty of seating as well as some fun conversation starters to help you get to know your neighbors and make friends.
While you eat, you can also enjoy the current exhibition on display, "The Prescription is HOME: A Manifesto," a community-sourced, immersive visual arts exhibition by Melani N. Douglass, on view January 23–April 18, 2026.
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED: First-come, first-served seating. https://arlingtonva.libcal.com/event/16232100
Co-work at HOME
February 19-April 15 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Every Thursday (between the above dates): 12-4pm
Come for collaboration, quiet, research, or just new walls to be surrounded by.
The Prescription Is Home, an exhibition that centers home as the first site of consciousness, care, creativity, and community. This photography and socially engaged art installation captures photos from families east of the Anacostia River or with roots there for more than 15 years.
Bring the family for some quality time at the house opening reception and housewarming. Come through for a game of spades or dominoes. Catch up with friends old and new. Learn more about how homes have been a central part of community organizing and progress for communities and families east of the river. Welcome to SE where homes function as collective spaces for gathering, safety, progress, and change.
What to expect:
Card and game tables
Red cups for adults blue cups for kids
Games, music, and conversation
Time to experience the exhibition at your own pace
Come as you are. Stay while you can.
Welcome home.
Join Mason Exhibitions for at the opening reception and housewarming for Prescription is HOME: a Manifesto. Melani N. Douglass will provide an artist talk and discussion with the families featured in the exhibition.
It’s not a housewarming without a little family competition! We’ll have a spades tournament, and a table ready for those who are interested in learning.
A live DJ and light refreshments will assist in bringing the community together to warm this HOME exhibition.
The exhibition will always have board and table games available.
Becoming the Unaine is a collaborative exhibition by photographer Liz Louise Johnson and linguist Tereua Miracle Oliphant Kaintoka. Johnson lived in Kiribati for eighteen months between 2013 and 2014, and after returning to the United States, studied Kiribati language and culture in a university course taught by Kaintoka, an i-Kiribati scholar. It was the first university-level course dedicated entirely to the culture and language of the small island nation of 112,000 people. Johnson was in the very first classroom, and Kaintoka was the very first professor. It was in this classroom learning about dialects and rituals that a seed was planted, one that would grow, years later, into the beginnings of this project.
Years later, the two reunited and returned to Kiribati to create a project that allowed them to step into a shared circle: a love of the Kiribati people and language, and the common ground of womanhood. It was in this space that Becoming the Unaine was created.
The project centers on the translation of the Kiribati word unaine: a respected elderly woman of wisdom. Johnson and Kaintoka recreated chronologically the arc of womanhood starting with pregnancy and continued through menarche, and marriage. It weaves together one lived life through 16 women at different ages.
From curation to practical application, how can visual art spaces enhance immersive experiences for all patrons? What are the latest trends and limitations in accessibility tools? How can curators both support and serve as advocates for accessibility in the visual arts? Speakers will discuss practices for integrating assistive technologies and other techniques that advance accessibility in the visual arts, ensuring galleries are welcoming and inclusive.
Speakers:
Alissa Maru
Associate curator, Exhibition Manager, Mason Exhibitions Arlington George Mason University
Korey Singleton
Deputy ADA coordinator for Accessibility and ATI Manager. Assistive Technology institute George Mason University
Register with QR code on the flyer!
Join us at Mason Exhibitions Arlington on October 25, 5-7pm for a Poetry Reading with Holly Mason Badra and Zhawen Shali.
Authors Holly Mason Badra (Sleeping in the Courtyard) and Zhawen Shali will read from their books and discuss cultural and artist production and erasure/appropriation in relation to Kurdish communities. The authors will also respond to artworks in the exhibition.
Questions should be emailed to Alissa Maru (amaru@gmu.edu)
The Kurdish experience is often marked by oppressive measures like militarized displacement, linguicide, genocide, gender-based violence, imprisonment by the state for cultural and artistic expression, and exiled artists, writers, and activists. Kurdish identity is built upon the rubble, yes, but also within abundance, too. Within this kaleidoscopic reality, Kî me Ez asks our Kurdish artists to take on this existential question: Who Am I?
The collection’s theme grows out of the poem “Kî me Ez” by Cegerxwin, which contemplates Kurdish identity. Moving beyond stereotypical ideas and monolithic understandings, Kî me Ez seeks to offer a depiction of the multifaceted experiences and narratives that exemplify Kurdish existence.
Best of Film at Mason is a showcase of recent notable and award-winning student films from George Mason University’s Film and Video Studies. This year’s program captures student work ranging from introductory production, documentary filmmaking, advanced fiction filmmaking, and senior thesis films. A live Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening.
Kaju Katli – Sujay Khona
Ghosted – Chole Salaman
Anonymous Voices – Marco Duran
When the Rain Stopped – Meghan Colovos
Grit – Chrys Salman
Scarecrow – Jax Azad
The Lovely Inconvenience of Having Too Many Pants Pockets – Kai Morales
A Mourning In Chinatown – Ali Ali
Dust Bunny – Natalia Melnikova
The Lick – James Bah
Breakfast for Dinner – Dominique Dargan
Pas de Deux – Madison Koren
Join us on October 17, 6-8pm for an Interdisciplinary Discussion about Kurdish history and identity.
In this interdisciplinary talk, three Kurdish PhD Scholars across Mason will talk about their research, making connections to the artwork in this show. Join moderator Holly Mason Badra and panelists Arash Saleh, Golzar Salih, and Omer Pacal for a chance to think more about Kurdish experiences across disciplines.
Questions should be directed to Alissa Maru (amaru@gmu.edu)
The Kurdish experience is often marked by oppressive measures like militarized displacement, linguicide, genocide, gender-based violence, imprisonment by the state for cultural and artistic expression, and exiled artists, writers, and activists. Kurdish identity is built upon the rubble, yes, but also within abundance, too. Within this kaleidoscopic reality, Kî me Ez asks our Kurdish artists to take on this existential question: Who Am I?
The collection’s theme grows out of the poem “Kî me Ez” by Cegerxwin, which contemplates Kurdish identity. Moving beyond stereotypical ideas and monolithic understandings, Kî me Ez seeks to offer a depiction of the multifaceted experiences and narratives that exemplify Kurdish existence.
Golzar Salih is a PhD student in Sociology, with a concentration in globalization. Her research critically explores the intersections of gender justice and human rights, with a particular focus on the lived experiences of war, trauma, sexual violence, enslavement, and displacement among women in Kurdistan and the Yazidi community. Drawing on feminist and postcolonial theory, Golzar’s work examines the impacts of global power structures on marginalized populations. She is deeply committed to advancing scholarship that bridges academic research with social justice and community engagement.
Arash Saleh is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at George Mason University, specializing in Comparative Politics with a focus on authoritarian durability. His research explores the resilience and adaptability of authoritarian regimes in the face of political, economic, and societal pressures. Originally from Iran, Arash earned his Bachelor’s degree in Law before pursuing advanced studies in the United States. At George Mason, he has served as a Teaching Assistant for the past two semesters, contributing to undergraduate learning while deepening his expertise in political science.
Omer Pacal is getting his Ph.D. in Sociology at George Mason University where he holds a position as a Graduate Research Assistant. He holds an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. His areas of interest are Market formation, Peasants and Politics, State and Violence, and Political Movements in the Middle East.
Join us on Saturday, October 4, 4-7pm for the Arlington Art Walk! At Mason Exhibitions Arlington, we will enjoy live music by Reis DeBruyne and Julian Mirran and have henna applied deq symbols by Zine Uruc amongst the exhibition Kî me Ez? featuring Pedram Baldari, Sener Ozmen, Sahar Tarighi, Beizar Aradini, Huner Emin, and Nuveen Barwari.
Questions about the event should be directed to Alissa Maru at amaru@gmu.edu
The Arlington Art Walk is a self-guided tour connecting local galleries, artist studios and cultural events. Extended gallery hours will allow visitors to explore and appreciate Arlington’s celebrated art scene and vibrant network of galleries.
Enjoy a variety of activities, including Mason Exhibitions, Fred Schneider Gallery, Made in Arlington Market at MoCA, Mason Plaza activities and entertainment at Northside Social Arlington.
Live music: outside the gallery
Julian Mirran is a Kurdish-American musician and producer living in Washington DC.He has recorded and mixed releases for multiple bands in the local punk scene. He is working as an instrumentalist and songwriter for several bands. Julian makes solo material under the name Neishe and specializes in extreme and avant-garde music.
Reis DeBruyne has spent over a decade exploring Earth’s sonic palettes through dedication to learning, quieting self-doubt, and listening with his heart. His soundscapes pose questions with feelings - tensions between staying awake and dreaming. As a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist he incorporates aleatoric, folk, and spiritual punk rock. His collaborative works includes conversations with Mojdeh Rezaeipour (Black Velvet, The Tower), Nick Natalie (Implicit Bias), and Tvameva (Upakrama).
Deq henna tattoo: Inside the gallery
Zey from Tattoo Zine will be doing deq tattoos in henna with set symbols from 4-7pm inside the gallery.
Tying into the culture of the Kurdish regions, Mason Exhibition Arlington will have tattoo artist Zey Uruc from Tattoo Zine onsite with a few symbols to choose from.
The deq motifs are often inspired by beings, designs, and patterns seen in nature - like the sun, moon, stars, and even wheat. They all have important and symbolic meanings.” Deq differs greatly from modern conceptions of tattooing. While today individuals often get tattoos for decoration or to memorialise events, people, or beliefs, deq is traditionally done to request abundance, protection, blessings, or fertility from God.
Join us on Thursday, September 11, 2025 from 5-8pm for a Virtual Artist Talk with the artists of Kî me Ez?, on view at Mason Exhibitions Arlington September 5 - October 25, 2025.
The exhibition features work by Pedram Baldari, Sener Ozmen, Sahar Tarighi, Beizar Aradini, Huner Emin, and Nuveen Barwari.
Questions about the event should be directed to Alissa Maru at amaru@gmu.edu
Join Mason Exhibitions and the George Mason University School of Art on Saturday, August 9, 9am-1pm for a Community Stage Sk8 Session at Powhatan Springs Skatepark in Arlington, VA.
The session will be facilitated by a longtime local artist and skater, Ben Ashworth. This is an open invitation to all artists and creators to join us in turning Powhatan Springs Skatepark into a community stage!
This session is aligned with current art exhibition, The Invisible Skate Theory, on view at Mason Exhibitions Arlington until August 16, 2025.
Skateboarding has always existed on the fringe of cities, of systems, and tradition. The Invisible Skate Theory explores the community built in these edges, creating new spaces and paying homage to those that paved the way. Where they’ve long been left out yet continue to pay it forward.
Rooted in the DMV’s growing skate scene and expanded through digital platforms like Instagram, this exhibition centers the often-unseen networks of connection, care, and co-creation that hold today’s skateboarding culture together.
It tells the story of how skaters without industry access have made their own maps finding each other through meetups, zines, pop-up events, and social media. It highlights pivotal moments like the 2024 arrival of Bolivia’s all-female skate collective, Imilla Skate, to Washington, D.C. brought by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. That cross-cultural exchange continues to ripple across communities and coasts.
This exhibition also looks at the imbalance that persists: women are skating, but they are still underrepresented in leadership, industry, and visibility — especially outside of major hubs like NYC and LA. In the DMV, that gap is being closed not by big brands, but by organizers, artists, and everyday skaters doing the work on their own terms.
The Invisible Skate Theory poses the question of how this connection can expand further through the shared moments in this exhibition. While celebrating the behind-the-scenes labor, friendships, and the powerful force of finding a place to belong. It’s about movement, across cities and communities, and what happens when those movements align.
Join us on Friday, August 8, 8-10pm at the FUSE Conference Center on the Mason Square Campus (3401 Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22201)
"Can I Kick It?" is an engagement where films are musically scored live with hip-hop and other genres, led by DJ 2-Tone Jones. To incorporate the skateboard-forward exhibition at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, Invisible Skate Theory, we'll be screening Skate Kitchen.
Skate Kitchen is about Camille's life as a lonely suburban teenager changes dramatically when she befriends a group of girl skateboarders. As she journeys deeper into this raw New York City subculture, she begins to understand the true meaning of friendship as well as her inner self.
Come enjoy along community and learn the deeper threads that the culture of skateboarding provides in our culture.
This event is in partnership with University Life Arlington.
Shred hard or play hard? Don’t ditch your gear — fix it up and make it yours.
Bring your ripped jeans, hoodies, or whatever needs love. We’ll show you how to turns rips into art with upcycled fabric, sashiko thread, and visible stitchwork that shows off your creativity.
No experience needed — just bring something to mend and your good vibes.
The workshop will be held in conjunction with the Invisible Skate Theory—an exhibition on belonging, visibility & skateboarding culture—and will be led by GMU alumna Alison Davis-Holland (she/her) along with other volunteer Mend-tors with Art on the Mend. Alison founded Art on the Mend to make it easy for individuals and communities to create and connect in welcoming, engaging “third spaces” (spaces besides home and work). Alison is a DC- and Virginia-raised artist, cartographer, geographer, writer, master naturalist, and a lifelong sampler of art classes. Her studies include Japanese textile art like sashiko, boro, and kimono printing, as well as embroidery, drawing, painting, mixed media, metal sculpture, jewelry, and stained glass.
Visit https://artonthemend.org to subscribe and get more information on this new volunteer-led initiative launching mending programs throughout our community.
Join Mason Exhibitions and the George Mason University School of Art on Saturday, July 26, 9am-1pm for a Community Stage Sk8 Session at Powhatan Springs Skatepark in Arlington, VA.
The session will be facilitated by a longtime local artist and skater, Ben Ashworth. This is an open invitation to all artists and creators to join us in turning Powhatan Springs Skatepark into a community stage!
This session is aligned with current art exhibition, The Invisible Skate Theory, on view at Mason Exhibitions Arlington until August 16, 2025.
Skateboarding has always existed on the fringe of cities, of systems, and tradition. The Invisible Skate Theory explores the community built in these edges, creating new spaces and paying homage to those that paved the way. Where they’ve long been left out yet continue to pay it forward.
Rooted in the DMV’s growing skate scene and expanded through digital platforms like Instagram, this exhibition centers the often-unseen networks of connection, care, and co-creation that hold today’s skateboarding culture together.
It tells the story of how skaters without industry access have made their own maps finding each other through meetups, zines, pop-up events, and social media. It highlights pivotal moments like the 2024 arrival of Bolivia’s all-female skate collective, Imilla Skate, to Washington, D.C. brought by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. That cross-cultural exchange continues to ripple across communities and coasts.
This exhibition also looks at the imbalance that persists: women are skating, but they are still underrepresented in leadership, industry, and visibility — especially outside of major hubs like NYC and LA. In the DMV, that gap is being closed not by big brands, but by organizers, artists, and everyday skaters doing the work on their own terms.
The Invisible Skate Theory poses the question of how this connection can expand further through the shared moments in this exhibition. While celebrating the behind-the-scenes labor, friendships, and the powerful force of finding a place to belong. It’s about movement, across cities and communities, and what happens when those movements align.
Join Mason Exhibitions on Saturday, June 21, 7-10pm at Mason Exhibitions Arlington for a Reception for The Invisible Skate Theory.
Skateboarding has always existed on the fringe of cities, of systems, and tradition. The Invisible Skate Theory explores the community built in these edges, creating new spaces and paying homage to those that paved the way. Where they’ve long been left out yet continue to pay it forward.
Rooted in the DMV’s growing skate scene and expanded through digital platforms like Instagram, this exhibition centers the often-unseen networks of connection, care, and co-creation that hold today’s skateboarding culture together.
It tells the story of how skaters without industry access have made their own maps finding each other through meetups, zines, pop-up events, and social media. It highlights pivotal moments like the 2024 arrival of Bolivia’s all-female skate collective, Imilla Skate, to Washington, D.C. brought by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. That cross-cultural exchange continues to ripple across communities and coasts.
This exhibition also looks at the imbalance that persists: women are skating, but they are still underrepresented in leadership, industry, and visibility — especially outside of major hubs like NYC and LA. In the DMV, that gap is being closed not by big brands, but by organizers, artists, and everyday skaters doing the work on their own terms.
The Invisible Skate Theory poses the question of how this connection can expand further through the shared moments in this exhibition. While celebrating the behind-the-scenes labor, friendships, and the powerful force of finding a place to belong. It’s about movement, across cities and communities, and what happens when those movements align.
Join Mason Exhibitions and the George Mason University School of Art on Saturday, June 7, 9am-1pm for a Community Stage Sk8 Session at Powhatan Springs Skatepark in Arlington, VA.
The session will be facilitated by a longtime local artist and skater, Ben Ashworth. This is an open invitation to all artists and creators to join us in turning Powhatan Springs Skatepark into a community stage!
This session is aligned with current art exhibition, The Invisible Skate Theory, on view at Mason Exhibitions Arlington until August 16, 2025.
Skateboarding has always existed on the fringe of cities, of systems, and tradition. The Invisible Skate Theory explores the community built in these edges, creating new spaces and paying homage to those that paved the way. Where they’ve long been left out yet continue to pay it forward.
Rooted in the DMV’s growing skate scene and expanded through digital platforms like Instagram, this exhibition centers the often-unseen networks of connection, care, and co-creation that hold today’s skateboarding culture together.
It tells the story of how skaters without industry access have made their own maps finding each other through meetups, zines, pop-up events, and social media. It highlights pivotal moments like the 2024 arrival of Bolivia’s all-female skate collective, Imilla Skate, to Washington, D.C. brought by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. That cross-cultural exchange continues to ripple across communities and coasts.
This exhibition also looks at the imbalance that persists: women are skating, but they are still underrepresented in leadership, industry, and visibility — especially outside of major hubs like NYC and LA. In the DMV, that gap is being closed not by big brands, but by organizers, artists, and everyday skaters doing the work on their own terms.
The Invisible Skate Theory poses the question of how this connection can expand further through the shared moments in this exhibition. While celebrating the behind-the-scenes labor, friendships, and the powerful force of finding a place to belong. It’s about movement, across cities and communities, and what happens when those movements align.
Join us at Mason Exhibitions Arlington on Thursday, May 1, 6-8pm!
Current Arlington County Poet Laureate Courtney LeBlanc and Poets Laureate Emeritae Katherine E. Young and Holly Karapetkova read their work and discuss the role of the Poet Laureate in building community through the literary arts.
Holly Karapetkova is Poet Laureate Emerita of Arlington County and the recipient of a 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Her most recent book of poetry, Dear Empire, was co-winner of the 2024 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize and winner of the 2024 Willliam Meredith Poetry Award and was published by Gunpowder Press.
Book Synopsis:
Dear Empire is co-winner of the 2024 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize and winner of the 2024 William Meredith Prize for Poetry. The poems in this collection offer an unflinching look at the Empire in which we all dwell. Karapetkova writes with a passionate, urgent voice, compelled to call out injustice wherever she sees it, tackling issues of race, white supremacy, and other forms of personal and historical empire. More information (including blurbs) located here: https://gunpowderpress.com/product/dear-empire-poems-by-holly-karapetkova/
Katherine E. Young is the author of Woman Drinking Absinthe and Day of the Border Guards (2014 Miller Williams Arkansas Poetry Prize finalist) and editor of Written in Arlington. She translates poetry and prose by Russian-language writers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. She served as the inaugural Poet Laureate for Arlington, Virginia (2016-2018).
Book synopsis:
People and Trees by Akram Aylisli, translated by Katherine E. Young (Plamen Press, 2024)
Set in the mountains of Azerbaijan just after World War II, Akram Aylisli’s People and Trees chronicles the wrenching transformation of traditional Azeri society under Soviet rule. Private land is collectivized; mosques are converted to silk factories or bulldozed to build “palaces of culture.” The young narrator, Sadyk, fantasizes about striding hand-in-hand with a beautiful girl into the bright, socialist future he’s seen on the movie screen. The village women, meanwhile, navigate religious, economic, and social upheaval, including famine and the loss of an entire generation of men to war. Drawing on the rich folklore traditions of the Caucasus mountains, this timeless collection of “tales” is the work that put Azerbaijan’s greatest living author on the international literary map.
Courtney LeBlanc is the author of four full-length collections, most recently, Her Dark Everything. She is the Arlington County Poet Laureate and founder and editor-in-chief of Riot in Your Throat, an independent poetry press. She loves nail polish, tattoos, and a soy latte each morning. Find her online at www.courtneyleblanc.com.
Book synopsis:
Her Dark Everything by Courtney LeBlanc: Part elegy to a friend who died by suicide, part love poem to a friend who continues to survive, Her Dark Everything is a collection that will pull you through the darkest depths until you feel the light against your skin. It will make you grieve for who have lost the battle against the beast that is depression while simultaneously making your grateful for those who stay and fight. In equal measures dark and light, soft and sharp, Her Dark Everything will roost in your heart permanently.
