Aiwa Thrive

Nancy Kricorian

THRIVE is an AIWA project dedicated to highlighting individuals who are doing remarkable things in their personal and professional lives to better themselves and those around them. These individuals are inspiring, dynamic, innovative and interesting. Today, we feature AIWA Thrive: Nancy Kricorian, writer.

Nancy Kricorian, writer.

Location: United States

Occupation: Writer

LinkedIn

 

April 1, 2025

Nancy Kricorian, who was born and raised in the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts, holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University and is the author of four novels about post-genocide Armenian diaspora experience, including Zabelle, which was translated into seven languages, was adapted as a play, and has been continuously in print since 1998. Her latest novel The Burning Heart of the World is focused on Armenians of Beirut before, during, and after the Lebanese Civil War. Her poems and essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Guernica, Parnassus, Minnesota Review, The Mississippi Review, Mizna, The Markaz Review, Witness, and other journals. She has taught at Barnard, Columbia, Yale, and New York University, as well as with Teachers & Writers Collaborative in the New York City Public Schools. Kricorian has also been a literary mentor with We Are Not Numbers since 2015. She has been the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Gold Medal from the Writers Union of Armenia, and the Anahid Literary Award, among other honors. She lives in New York City.

Q: What is your life philosophy?

The only recognizable feature of hope is action.

~ Grace Paley

Q: What is your hope for the future?

The voice of the people is louder than the roar of the cannon.

~ Armenian proverb 

Q: What is your favorite thing about being Armenian/Armenians?

Manti.

Q: How has Armenian culture shaped / influenced you?

My favorite Armenian authors—Diana Der Hovanessian, William Saroyan, Leon Surmelian, and Zabelle Yessayan—have provided inspiration for my own literary projects. 

Q: Final Thoughts.

Let’s sit crooked and talk straight.

~ Armenian proverb