Pulitzer Prize Poetry Winner
Ozone Journal
by Peter Balakian
Summary
The title sequence intercuts memories of 1980s New York with a journey through the Syrian desert searching for the bones of Armenian Genocide victims. Balakian writes in a long, associative line that lets distant histories vibrate inside contemporary scenes of art, illness, and friendship. The book argues that personal memory is always entangled with the unfinished mourning of history.
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Historical Context & Significance
Balakian is a master of the historical sequence, showing how distant tragedies vibrate in the modern landscape.