18 10 2008- Novelist Antonia Arslan to Visit Univ. of Rhode Island for Lecture, Film Screening

Special Announcment
Antonia Arslan, Armenian-Italian award-winning novelist, will visit the University of Rhode Island in Kingston on Monday, October 20, to present Skylark Farm, the English translation of her novel La masseria delle allodole (2004), based on the true story of her family's experiences in the 1915 Armenian genocide. Kirkus Reviews called the book "An Armenian Schindler's List."

A reception for Arslan, sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Atrium of Swan Hall (formerly Independence Hall), 60 Upper College Road, Kingston.

Following the reception, Arslan will speak at 7 p.m. in Swan Hall auditorium.

Her lecture, "From Tragedy to Rebirth: Skylark Farm, a Novel about the Culture and the Survival of the Armenian People," will be given in English. Siobhan Nash-Marshall, the Mary T. Clark Chair of Christian Philosophy at Manhattanville College, will provide an introduction on the genocide.

The following night, Tuesday, October 21 at 8 p.m., the University will screen The Lark Farm, the film adaptation of Arslan's book. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, considered two of the most important Italian directors of the 20th/21st centuries, directed the film, which has not yet been released in the U.S. Arslan will be available for a question and answer session after the screening.

The events are free and open to the public. Copies of Skylark Farm will be on sale and available for signing by the author.

Directions to the building can be found at http://www.uri.edu/home/visitors/finder/index.php.
More information about NAASR is available by calling 617-489-1610, e-mailing hq@naasr.org, visiting www.naasr.org, or writing to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

NAASR,