Alekper Aliyev: "I defend homosexual romanticism over war romanticism"

I defend homosexual romanticism over war romanticism. It is acceptable when two men kill each other, but is it a sin when they sleep together?

Alekper Aliyev, author of Armenian-Azeri gay love story Artush and Zaur (Hurriyet)


*Other selected quotes - Unzipped: Gay Armenia
**Original article - Hurriyet

South Caucasus integration: alternative start

In May 2007, as an example of good news from the South Caucasus, I wrote about the joint initiative of Armenian and Azeri press clubs to launch common website Writers vs Conflicts. Sadly, this site no longer exists. Its aim was to provide a platform for a dialogue between sides using a literature to re-create bridges between nations. The site was intended to serve as a forum for discussions on various topics.

There is, however, similar initiative involving all South Caucasus countries, both recognised and unrecognised: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia.

http://southcaucasus.com/

My impression of the site is very positive. Honest and thought-provoking discussions, reports, interviews, publications. Recommend it.

Check out a very recent interview (in Russian) with the author of Artush and Zaur Alekper Aliyev. Must read.

“Artush and Zaur” – gay love story between Armenian and Azerbaijani published in Baku

Alekper Aliyev, editor-in-chief of kultura.az, has published, as he put it, his “most scandalous” novel “Artush and Zaur” in Baku. It’s a gay love story between an Azeri and Armenian, a sort of partial deconstruction of "Ali and Nino" (a heterosexual love story of Azeri Ali and Georgian Nino) having instead Azeri and Armenian male lovers against the backdrop of the emerging Karabakh conflict.

For details - see Unzipped: Gay Armenia