“The pen should be an instrument of truth.”
Srpuhi Dussap
With these words, Ottoman Armenian writer Srpuhi Dussap prefaced her pioneering feminist novel Mayda. Published in Istanbul in 1883, the book caused a sensation, with some condemning its call for the equal rights of women as a threat to traditional Armenian values, while others praised its promotion of social justice as a progressive step for the nation. Dussap’s controversial epistolary novel of romance, betrayal, and reconciliation is now available for the first time in English with AIWA Press’s latest publication, Mayda: Echoes of Protest.
Published by AIWA Press in 2020, Mayda: Echoes of Protest was edited by Lisa Gulesserian with the assistance of Barbara Merguerian, Joy Renjilian-Burgy, Judith A. Saryan, and Danila Jebejian Terpanjian. The book was translated by Nareg Seferian and designed by Taline Boghosian.
Mayda: Echoes of Protest is available for purchase directly from AIWA or from booksellers specializing in works about Armenia and Armenians.