{"id":2457280,"date":"2020-04-16T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324464"},"modified":"2020-04-16T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T23:00:00","slug":"christy-lefteris-the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-aspen-words-literary-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/christy-lefteris-the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-aspen-words-literary-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Christy Lefteri\u2019s \u2018The Beekeeper of Aleppo\u2019 wins Aspen Words Literary Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5539215686275\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-324464-653\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1024x597.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspenwords.org | Novelist Christy Lefteri was presented the Aspen Words Literary Prize in a virtual ceremony Thursday afternoon. Clockwise from top left: Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur, associate director Caroline Tory and Lefteri.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Novelist Christy Lefteri was presented the Aspen Words Literary Prize in a virtual ceremony Thursday afternoon. Clockwise from top left: Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur, associate director Caroline Tory and Lefteri.<\/strong><br \/>Aspenwords.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1024x597.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1024x597.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Novelist Christy Lefteri was presented the Aspen Words Literary Prize in a virtual ceremony Thursday afternoon. Clockwise from top left: Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur, associate director Caroline Tory and Lefteri.\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1-683x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy image | Christy Lefteri's \" the beekeeper of aleppo won aspen words literary prize on thursday. class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Christy Lefteri&#8217;s &#8220;The Beekeeper of Aleppo&#8221; won the Aspen Words Literary Prize on Thursday.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1-683x1024.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-1-683x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Christy Lefteri's \" the beekeeper of aleppo won aspen words literary prize on thursday.><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-2-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Christy Lefteri\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Christy Lefteri<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-2-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-041720-8-2-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Christy Lefteri\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/christy-lefteris-the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-aspen-words-literary-prize\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/christy-lefteris-the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-aspen-words-literary-prize\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Christy Lefteri\u2019s \u201cThe Beekeeper of Aleppo\u201d won the third annual Aspen Words Literary Prize on Thursday in a virtual ceremony and celebration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The prize proceedings, scheduled to take place at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/a-virtual-celebration-of-books-that-matter-with-the-aspen-words-literary-prize\/\">moved online due to public health restrictions<\/a> from the novel coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lefteri, whose novel was inspired by her work in refugee camps, spoke in her acceptance speech of literature as an engine for hope and empathy in both the refugee crisis and the ongoing public health crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cLiterature fills the distance,\u201d she said from home in London. \u201cIt is a bridge. It connects people everywhere. We can reach people across oceans and borders and time. And though we cannot physically extend a hand through the pages of a book, we can express that we understand. It deepens our empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The novel about Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Great Britain deals with the personal struggles and trauma of an artist and a beekeeper caught in the ongoing global refugee crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur and associate director Carline Tory informed Lefteri she\u2019d won via Zoom, surprising the author with the news after telling her they would be discussing nominee logistics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting that in the slightest,\u201d Lefteri said upon hearing the news. \u201cI feel completely gob-smacked.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Also a among the finalists for the prize were \u201cOpioid, Indiana\u201d by Brian Allen Carr, \u201cPatsy\u201d by Nicole Dennis-Benn, \u201cLost Children Archive\u201d by Valeria Luiselli and \u201cLot\u201d by Bryan Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The mission of the prize is to recognize a work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">All of five finalists took part in video discussions about their work and its role in society on during a day-long online prize celebration on Thursday, streamed at aspenwords.org where the content remains free for viewing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was the idea that we could be anyone anywhere suffering in this way,\u201d Lefteri said of her inspiration for the novel in her interview with author and prize judge Esmeralda Santiago posted Thursday morning. \u201cThat somehow our pain could be interchangeable, that somehow the pain that I feel could be the pain that you feel or that my future child feels. This is the thing that connects us, the love that we feel for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lefteri follows past winners <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/novelist-tayari-jones-on-her-aspen-words-literary-prize-winning-an-american-marriage\/\">Tayari Jones, last year for \u201cAn American Marriage,\u201d<\/a> and the inaugural winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/novelist-mohsin-hamid-discusses-aspen-literary-prize-winning-exit-west\/\">Mohsin Hamid in 2018 for \u201cExit West.\u201d<\/a> Lefteri is expected to take part in a virtual conversation about the book during the summer-long community read of \u201cThe Beekeeper of Aleppo\u201d this summer, as the traditional venue for the winner\u2019s public talk \u2013 the Aspen Summer Words literary conference and festival \u2013 has canceled its in-person events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The $35,000 attached to the prize ranks it among the more lucrative American publishing awards for fiction. It was endowed by an anonymous donor to Aspen Words and is to be given annually in perpetuity. The prize trophy itself, made from corian and walnut in the shape of a book, was designed and made at Anderson Ranch by sculptor Michael Lorsung.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The prize finalists and winner were selected by a five-member jury comprised of \u201cThe Queen of the Night\u201d author Alexander Chee, poet Saaed Jones, memoirist Esmeralda Santiago, the Aspen Institute\u2019s Amy Garmer and Aspenite Helen Obermeyer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The jury\u2019s citation for \u201cThe Beekeeper of Aleppo\u201d reads: \u201cHow do human beings process the horror around them, the senseless violence, the loss of what we hold dearest? Is it possible to ever feel safe, to love, to appreciate beauty? Christy Lefteri asks these questions of her characters, and ultimately, of us. We see wars on our screens and cross paths with the survivors in new lives in our neighborhoods, but we don\u2019t see them. Lefteri brings us closer so we can, without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lefteri is also the author of the novel \u201cA Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible.\u201d The child of Cypriot refugees, Lefteri grew up in London where she now lectures at Brunel University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe Beekeeper of Aleppo\u201d was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF-supported refugee center for women and children in Athens in 2016 and 2017. Lefteri detailed the life-altering experience in her Zoom interview with Santiago Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As part of the virtual proceedings, Brodeur interviewed Aspen Institute president Dan Porterfield about the role of literature in the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Porterfield, echoing the call for empathy that run throughout the day\u2019s author talks,<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">predicted that novels and stories will be the way future generations learn about the coronavirus pandemic, and draw lessons from it, in the same way readers today understand the Great Depression through the work of John Steinbeck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe don\u2019t have a Steinbeck today, but we will,\u201d he said. \u201cThose voices that emerge form this horrible time will give sightlines on what we experienced, to people decades and generations from now who read about it in the history books.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><a href=\"mailto:atravers@aspentimes.com\">atravers@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>WINNER CHRISTY LEFTERI INTERVIEWED BY ESMERALDA SANTIAGO<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE 2020 FINALISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Brian Alan Carr, \u201cOpiod, Indiana\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Nicole Dennis-Benn, \u201cPatsy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Valeria Luiselli, \u201cLost Children Archive\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Bryan Washington, \u201cLot\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>\u2018Literature in the Age of Social Distancing\u2019 with Adrienne Brodeur and Aspen Institute president Dan Porterfield<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/christy-lefteris-the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-aspen-words-literary-prize\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Novelist Christy Lefteri was presented the Aspen Words Literary Prize in a virtual ceremony Thursday afternoon. Clockwise from top left: Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur, associate director Caroline Tory and Lefteri.Aspenwords.org Christy Lefteri&#8217;s &#8220;The Beekeeper of Aleppo&#8221; won the Aspen Words Literary Prize on Thursday.Courtesy image Christy LefteriCourtesy photo Show CaptionsHide Captions Christy Lefteri\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 03:44:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}