How it feels being so close to the world of books, avoiding the first readers of the first texts, feeling the influence of literature, noticing contradictions between male and female writers and sacrificing a lot to be a women writer. Arevik Ashkharoyan, Executive Director of the ARI Literature Foundation talked about these issues and more with German writer Nino Haratishvili.

Arevik Ashkhariyan. “Do you have to sacrifice much to be a writer and did you, yourself sacrificed much?” 

Nino Haratishvili. “Good question. I am thinking about that. I even wrote about that several years ago. I guess, yes. But I question myself, is there anything in my life that I have great passion for, or something that I really, really love, but something that you don’t have to sacrifice for. I don’t know if it is special for literature or being a writer. It’s always the same in life when you are completely into something. It always means that you have to take your time from some different places, persons and so on to keep that thing what you really admire and you are into it. I think yes, I had to sacrifice, also in my personal life.

Some things. The price is even higher when you are a woman writer. It is so. Of course, it’s not easy when you have kids and you have to balance and find a right balance between your personal and working life“.

 

The participation of German writers at the forum was possible due to cooperation with Goethe-Zentrum Eriwan.