Libretto for the Desert

Dedicated to the Victims of War and Genocide

By: Sona Van

Narrated by: Beata Pozniak

Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In A Libretto for the Desert, Sona Van's subject is the Armenian genocide, also known as the Great Catastrophe. Van's parents and grandparents were driven into exile due to this horrific event. Her poems reflect a personal connection to this history as well as the universality of loss, persecution, and intolerance.

©2019 Sona Van (P)2019 Skyboat Media, in association with Beata Poźniak, Discordia Global Media who holds the copyright.

Critic reviews

“Beata Pozniak’s accented, dramatic narration conjures a faraway desert land. Sona Van’s abstract meditation on the Armenian genocide of 1915-1917 is dedicated to the victims of all wars and atrocities. Plumbing the depths of pain, Pozniak’s narration is intense, breathy, and emotional, and is augmented by background sounds of desert winds and distant, echoing Middle Eastern music. Pozniak’s artful pauses, varied tempo, and voice full of emotion convey the weight of the horrific events of the genocide and their effects on individuals. The work employs the Armenian genocide as its focus but also touches upon other wars and suffering, including the more recent events in Iraq.” (AudioFile)

It should never happen again...

Story of interrupted happiness by force and violence, unique illustration of women’s power and strength. Rather than that this book brings up the fact of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 in many different languages in the form of art and emotions.....

The way Sona Van talks about unspeakably terrible and broken lives is amazing.....Bravo

Stunning, Beautiful, Passionate

This is a stunning, very powerful audiobook. Sona Van’s poems, which are mostly about the Armenian genocide, but also reference victims of other wars and genocidal horrors, including Darfur, Iraq, and Rwanda, are intimate, honest, at times brutal, and above all deeply sympathetic and intensely moving. Beata Pozniak’s smoky, deeply expressive voice is perfectly suited for these dramatic poems. Her powerful, intense, compassionate performance of Sona Van’s words deepens the listener’s understanding and appreciation of this significant work. I especially admired how certain images- sand, wind, a bridal veil- reoccur throughout the work, but are always slightly different and more weighted with meaning each time. After hearing the story of the author’s aunt’s tragic history, the poem “I am the Bride of the Desert” becomes especially dramatic and haunting in Pozniak’s interpretation of the poet’s voice. The narrator’s nuanced performance is supported by the moody, atmospheric score. In a world that seems at times utterly riven by war and despair, the words of the witnesses are more important than ever, and this is a beautiful testament to, and for, the survivors.

A Powerfully Resonant Voice

Narrator Beata Pozniak gives a stunning performance of this intensely evocative book of poems about the Armenian Genocide and the horrors of war. The poetry takes one on a journey to a desert seen through the eyes of a woman tortured by fear and grief.

"help me, o muse
can't you see-
the screams muffled in the dust
won't turn into songs
the medusa of countless bones in the sand
won't turn into an epic poem "

Pozniak perfectly captures the voice of the poet in portraying a range of pain, sorrow and hope. She gives the listeners a haunting sense of unease that intensifies the poetic experience.

Very strong

Touching poetry about exile, loss of homeland, persecution and suffering. It is still universal subject. Beata Pozniak makes this message even more profound with her voice and interpretation. Very good reception.

Powerful and Emotional story.

A perfect depiction of struggle and survival with chilling details of a true and perfect description of audacious attempt to eliminate Armenians. Nevertheless, this book is a manifesto of survival of an Armenians who endured such reckless crimes committed by Turkes.

i love it

This story has been penned down with unadulterated brilliance.
"there are two kinds of thorns in the desert
those that prick your feet
and those that prick your memory and . . . the rest"

With such and economy of words, she envokes an escalating train of thought.
Her narrative style brings out the pain and loss to picture.