LAPL Blog
armenian
Does every portrait tell a story? The origins of the English word "portrait" trace back to the French portraire, which comes from the phrase trait pour trait, meaning "line by line," describing the process of creating a likeness.
In the quiet world where the weight of knowledge rests on shelves, there are moments when the stories within books shatter the silence, echoing through time and space, bearing witness to humanity's collective trauma and resilience.
Here is a centuries-old Armenian riddle by Nerses Shnorhali.
No feathers and no wings it has,
Swifter than a bird it flies,
From land to land it tours and turns,
With companions it returns.
Picture a book that can gracefully endure the trials of the centuries—the water, the fire, the sword. What will this book be about? In what language will it be? There is an old legend about an artist-scribe who was being burned along with a precious manuscript.