Tag Archives: Jerusalem

Oh, Jerusalem, in the snow…

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Taline Voskeritchian

To get to Jerusalem from Amman, you would have to get to the Jordanian security checkpoint at King Husseyn (Allenby) Bridge, cross the bridge itself (a mere few minutes of a bus ride the last time I did it!), pass … Continue reading →

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The Valise–a family memoir

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Taline Voskeritchian

      ~~”The Valise” was published in the fall 2011 issue of American Literary Review.  Since then, the publication has gone digital, and the essay is not available in print or on the ALR website.   You can read it … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenians, Cities and towns, Languages and readings, Ordinary places, Palestinians, Those we Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

…little town of Bethlehem….

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Taline Voskeritchian

This evening, all across what used to be called the Holy Land, Christmas celebrations will be held in ancient, weathered churches.   The most emblematic of these celebrations will, no doubt, be the one held in the Church of the Nativity … Continue reading →

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Reading Karsh: The excluded and the included…

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Taline Voskeritchian

At first, the most striking thing about the exhibition, Yousuf Karsh: Celebrating Humanity, is how familiar these photographs are to a certain generation that grew into maturity in the 1950s and early 1960s.  The exhibition is at the Armenian Library … Continue reading →

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The tears of Jerusalem

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Taline Voskeritchian

Tear gas has an acrid, corrosive taste. Onions are the antidotes which are most commonly used here.  You hold the onion close to your nostrils and inhale.  If you’re lucky and there’s a grocery store nearby, the shopkeeper will pour … Continue reading →

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At Checkpoints

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Taline Voskeritchian

The word itself may sound innocuous, but checkpoints are neither points nor places where people are checked for this or that possible infringement. Checkpoints are military zones–formless, ugly– where the mechanisms of humiliation try to turn human beings into tiny … Continue reading →

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Cupped hands

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Taline Voskeritchian

Every place here—from the checkpoints, to the classrooms, to the streets—is a mixture of two contradictory impulses.  On the one hand, everything matters here, and matters deeply for the entire population is in a state of double occupation.  Every action … Continue reading →

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The high price of bargains

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Taline Voskeritchian

A friend calls me from Costco.  Her voice, unclear as it is on the cell phone, is full of excitement. “I am at Costco,” she says. “There are these–“ I know what’s coming next. I have been in that situation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, well enough, Armenians, Cities and towns, Ordinary places | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment