Apo Torosyan presents his documentary film, Voices

The Watertown Free Public Library is hosting the first of several presentations from Filmmaker’s Collaborative on Thursday, May 22nd at 7 PM.

A gripping documentary film of four interviews with survivors of the Armenian and Greek genocide, Voices tells the stunning tale of a million and a half people who were tortured, starved, and murdered by the Turkish government from 1915 to 1923. The presentation will include a question and answer session with director Apo Torosyan. Sponsored by the Filmmakers Collaborative and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

In Voices, Apo interviewed three survivors of the Armenian Genocide and one survivor of the Greek Genocide. These mass murders of innocent civilians between 1915 and 1923 in Turkey claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenian and 1 million Greek and Assyrian citizens. The Turkish government still has not officially recognized these crimes against humanity.

Readers’ Cafe Book Club Meets Wednesday

Catch up on your reading with the Readers’ Cafe Book Club.  Their latest pick is One Thousand White Women: The Journals of Mary Dodd by Jim Fergus.  The novel is a fictional story based on a true event.  Using a document style format, One Thousand White Women tells the tale of a woman who travels West in the late 19th century, and marries the chief of the Cheyenne nation.

The book club meets this week on May 14th at 7 PM in the Readers’ Cafe.  The club meets once a month to discuss excellent light reads.  You can find more information here.

Linda Merlino and Belly of the Whale

We have a lot of events going on in May, and one of the first one’s coming up is Linda Merlino’s author talk.  Merlino’s first book, Swan Boat Souvenir, was set in Boston and enjoyed a lot of local success.   Her newest book Belly of the Whale (April 2008), is also already highly recommended by reviewers.

The novel is about a young woman with breast cancer, Hudson Catalina, and the day she gives up hope – only to be taken hostage by a murderer more deadly than her disease.  Joann DiFabio of Identity Magazine says that Belly of the Whale “…is smartly crafted with the perfect combination of sympathy, suspense, and sentiment.”

So come to the library on May 5 at 7 PM to meet Linda Merlino and hear her read from Belly of the Whale.