Archived blog posts

  • Archived blog posts

  • essay – Armenians Keep Surviving

    We survived an uneasy survival. Armenians keep surviving. We are stubborn. We are strong. We are complicated.

  • short story – becoming a man

    LGBTQIA+ short story – a young woman transitions to be a man and various family members react – some in unexpected ways.

  • short story – In Lieu of Graduation: The Corner of Simonian Lane and Love Street

    an Armenian American teen finds bonding with her mother and together they uncover a government secret in the midst of a the COVID lockdowns

  • About Garinè

    A lover of music, chocolate, and altruistic sarcasm, Garinè Boyajian Isassi is a recovering journalist and the author of the award–winning novel Start with the Backbeat. Additional published work includes the weekly humor column, Mom in the Middle; the anthologies, This is What America Looks Like (2021) and Grace in Love (2023); and a variety…

  • Novel: Start with the Backbeat

    Through the lens of musical genre, Start with the Backbeat is a witty examination of the nuances of class, race, and culture in America ―which are sometimes ridiculously serious. “Start with the Backbeat is the touching story of one idealistic young woman’s journey into the music industry when it was at its multiplatinum peak. Holding…

  • Events

    2025 Saturday, March 8 – Armenian American Forum in Nashville, TN 2024 Saturday, May 18 – Gaithersburg Book Festival Thursday, February 15 – MoCo Underground Readings in Olney, MD 2023 Tuesday, September 12 – Anne Arundel Community College Creative Writing Department Saturday, May 20 – Gaithersburg Book Festival  – Author Panel for Grace in Love…

  • Stuff I’ve Written

    Published work by Garine Isasi

  • humor – mrs. strangelove: how I learned to stop worrying and love my minivan

    Mrs. Strangelove How I learned to stop worrying and love my minivan   In my 20′s, I lived in a hip town. I sang in a band. I had a job, took care of my business, and I was cute. For lack of more subtle words, mommy used to ROCK, man! I drove around in…

  • how to say my name – the long version

    è See the accent above that ‘e’ up there? That is called a French “accent grave.” My mother put that accent on my name during a fit of post-postpartum delirium. It’s supposed to make the “e” on the end of my name sound like “eh” as in the word “bed.” This is not to be…