Raffi Wartanian
Raffi Wartanian 
| |
|---|---|
| Name in Armenian | Raffi Joe Wartanian |
| Birthplace | Baltimore |
| Lived in | Baltimore, Glendale |
| Resides in | Glendale |
| Education | Columbia University |
| Languages | Armenian, English |
| Ethnicities | Armenian |
| Dialects | Western Armenian |
Raffi Joe Wartanian is a writer, musician, and educator who teaches writing at UCLA and currently serves as the inaugural Poet Laureate in the City of Glendale, California. He is a 2025-2026 Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets to support poetry programming with communities impacted by the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and an արդ եւս | in view Grantee with the Gulbenkian Foundation to cultivate a Western Armenian poetry community at the intersection of language and folk music. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, University of Texas Press, Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, Lapham’s Quarterly, Outside Magazine, and elsewhere; and his poetry has appeared in The Los Angeles Press, No Dear Magazine, The Poetry Lighthouse, Ararat Magazine, and beyond. Raffi has taught writing to veterans at the Manhattan VA, incarcerated writers at Rikers Island, youth in Armenia, and undergraduates at Columbia University, where he earned an MFA in Writing. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from The Fulbright Program, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, and Humanity in Action. For Pacific Standard Time ART, Raffi collaborated with creative technologists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on “Earth Speaks,” an interactive poetry installation fueled by planetary data for the group showcase Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination exhibited at the Brand Library & Art Center from September 2024 to January 2025.
A multi-instrumentalist, composer, lyricist, and singer-songwriter, Raffi has performed internationally and released two full-length albums of original music. His latest work of instrumental compositions, Critical Distance, has been described as “absolutely fresh,” “poignant,” and “sophisticated,” catching the ear of Oscilloscope Laboratories who tapped Raffi to compose film trailer music for the indie hit “The Tale of King Crab.” In 2023, tracks from Critical Distance were used to soundtrack a production of William Saroyan’s Pulitzer-winning drama “The Time Of Your Life” (dir. Jennifer Chang) staged by the UCLA Department of Theater. Live, Raffi has shared the stage with the likes of Future Islands, Amir ElSaffar, and Kelly Bell Band. He has also performed on stage and in the studio with Grammy Award-winners Mary Youngblood and MB Gordy, along with writing music and lyrics for vocalist Eileen Khatchadourian, who performed Raffi’s compositions in London, Berlin, Istanbul, and Beirut.
Raffi is the proud grandson and great-grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, the son of Armenian parents from Lebanon, and, with his siblings, the first generation in his family to be born in the United States, in the great city of Baltimore. Raffi founded Letters for Peace in 2017, and currently serves on the advisory board of the International Armenian Literary Alliance.
Raffi Joe Wartanian Named Glendale’s First Poet Laureate
03/28/2023
GLENDALE, CA— Raffi Joe Wartanian is the City of Glendale’s first Poet Laureate. The position serves as an ambassador for Glendale’s rich culture and diversity, promoting the art of poetry. As Poet Laureate, Wartanian will develop a project that engages community members of all ages in poetry writing, performance, and poetry appreciation; write a poem that celebrates Glendale’s rich culture and diversity; and read poetry aloud at special events throughout the City.
Following a grassroots call from a citizen of Glendale, the request of Mayor Ardy Kassakhian, and the approval of the City Council, Glendale Library, Arts & Culture created the City’s first Poet Laureate program and requested applications from resident poets. The selection panel was comprised of Arts & Culture Commissioner Sevana Zadorian, Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson, Poet and Founder of The Los Angeles Press Linda Ravenswood, and Poet and Instructor at Glendale Community College Julie Gamberg.
Raffi Joe Wartanian was selected as Glendale’s first Poet Laureate in recognition of his accomplishments in poetry and his vision for the “Glendale Poet Laureate as someone who can utilize writing to promote self-expression, find common ground across communities, and foster solidarity that celebrates diversity while embracing individuality.” His poems have appeared in No Dear Magazine, h-pem, Ararat Magazine, Armenian Poetry Project, and The Armenian Weekly and performed live with the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and International Armenian Literary Alliance. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Outside Magazine, Lapham’s Quarterly, The Baltimore Sun, Miami Herald, and elsewhere. His hybrid piece “A Letter to My Great-Grandson” is forthcoming in the anthology “We Are All Armenian: Voices from the Diaspora” (University of Texas Press, March 2023). Raffi currently teaches writing with UCLA Writing Programs, and his work has received grant and fellowship support from the Fulbright Program, Humanity in Action, and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation. In 2017, Raffi collaborated with Abril Books, the Lakota People’s Law Project, and In His Shoes to launch Days of Solidarity: Celebrating Armenian and Native American Survival, a multi-day performance and workshop that united Armenians and indigenous American tribes in Glendale. Raffi currently serves on the advisory board of the International Armenian Literary Alliance and advises the Tumanyan International Storytelling Festival.
“We are thrilled to have Raffi Joe Wartanian serve as our City’s first Poet Laureate,” said Mayor Ardy Kassakhian. “Wartanian’s work reflects the diversity and intricacies of our city and residents. His experience as an educator and organizer, leading creative writing workshops for incarcerated writers, veterans, and youth affected by war through Letters for Peace, a conflict transformation workshop he created, make him a great first Poet Laureate for Glendale.”
https://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/8740/16
Prelude to a Symphony of Change
By Raffi Wartanian "The Armenian Weekly", Volume 73, No. 32, August 11, 2007
"And this continent is Africa." I drew Sudan and circled the Darfur region. The chalkboard wobbled. The nails supporting its corners shook as I carved the chalk into its worn and crumbling surface. The wood under my feet came loose again, and I kicked it back into place. "Can anyone name this country or region?"
Their baffled stares startled me. How could they not know? This is Armenia! The acts perpetrated by the Janjaweed mirror the unspeakable crime which has become a hallmark of our history. I explain the situation in Sudan. They stare with disbelief.
Perhaps I was naive to believe my village students would know of such things. But I don't doubt their intelligence for a second. Perhaps I was naive to believe my village students are getting what they deserve. How can I expect them to know about things as grand as international politics when their school lacks the most fundamental necessities-a playground, gym, unbroken windows, a floor that doesn't come loose when you step on it, a bathroom you can walk into without covering your nose, a road you can walk down without falling into a pot hole, a library, seats without splinters, internet access. The list goes on. Knowledge of the world is a luxury afforded to the fortunate few. My village students deserve better, not because they are my students, not because they are Armenians, but because they are humans.
Unfortunately, the distribution of wealth among individuals and nations is designed to make the strong stronger and the weak weaker. A few empty gestures can lead us to believe that the strong and powerful do enough to help those in need. Why can't these villagers have internet access? Why must they sit on splintered seats? Where is their library?
It is up to us, the fortunate few who have seen the strongs and the weaks of the world, to open our eyes. As Armenians, we can work to solve a global crisis by focusing locally on our nation. Interning through the AYF and facilitating the resources of Birthright Armenia have taught me so much. I can make a difference. I can step into a village classroom and expose my students to an array of information they don't have access to, not because they're unintelligent, but because they have been neglected by policy and poverty.
I have seen my people with my own eyes. I used to roll my eyes in Armenian school, bored to tears by something so distant and irrelevant to my American lifestyle. Now I'm here in Armenia and I role my eyes at how ignorant I once was. What an amazing nation. What a history. Our ancient monasteries, our gorgeous Ararat, our lasting people.
I care about my village students and I want them to receive the minimum in adequate resources. Sitting in Armenian school, I never could have imagined who my people were, what they looked like, or what they sounded like. Now I know.
I hope my summer in Armenia is just a prelude to a symphony of change. Armenia's republic is young, its economy expanding. The opportunities here abound, not just to put money in your pocket but to improve the conditions of our fellow people throughout the country and other areas where Armenians have once populated. I want to be a tuba in a sea of instruments, playing together, a tune for a better Armenia.
Raffi Wartanian, an AYF member, is a student at Johns Hopkins University currently interning in Armenia. He wrote this article for the Armenian Weekly.