Archeology of Madness: Komitas, Portrait of an Armenian Icon, (Second Edition)
London: Gomidas Institute, 2010,
xii + 238 pp., map, illustrations,
ISBN 1-903656-10-9, paperback,
UK£17.00 / US$25.00
To order please contact books@gomidas.org
"A captivating journey." --The Gazette (Montreal)
"A pioneering achievement." --Vahé Oshagan
"A unique and
fascinating book, both in terms of Komitas’s biography . . . and also
the emergence of a clear, new, diagnostic category of PTSD psychosis." --Dr D. Turkington, Senior Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist
"Original. . . . It brings to relief the psychiatric dimension of the toll of the Armenian Genocide." --Vahakn N. Dadrian
"A thoughtful and enlightening book. . . . A fascinating history of a psychiatric illness." -- Joel Paris, M.D., F R C P. (C), Chair, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University
"Komitas’s relationship with Margaret is both fascinating and movingly told." --Jirair Libaridian, Ph.D.
In this thoughtful biography, Rita Kuyumjian examines three seldom-addressed aspects of the composer’s life: his relationship with an Armenian singer, Margaret Babayan; his mental illness; and his relationship with the Armenian church.
In this gently flowing narrative, based on extensive archival research, the fragile sanity of Komitas’s mutilated soul comes to life, engulfing the reader in the tempest that once roared in the great Armenian composer’s afflicted mind.
Beside the elucidation of the complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, the author’s meticulous exploration of Komitas’s private life, love, fears, and demons paints a picture of a delicate creativity trapped in a painful solitude.
About the Author
Rita Kuyumjian M.D. F.R.C.P.(C) is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. She is the director of the Outpatient Psychiatry Department at St. Mary’s Hospital. [2002]