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Micheline Aharonian Marcom

ミシェリン・アハロニアン・マルコム

Misherin Aharonian Marcom

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1968 （Dhahran, Saudi Arabia）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Grew up in Los Angeles → Spent summers in Beirut with mother's family

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Creative writing professor
Active Years
2001-
Affiliations
University of Virginia (faculty), Haigazian University (Fulbright Fellow, 2008)
Influenced By
Influenced by modernist writers such as Clarice Lispector (influence noted in commentary)

Education

Mills College
Country: United States
She is associated with Mills College in sources, but exact degree details are not confirmed

Awards

Neustadt International Prize for Literature (Finalist)
2022
Organization: Neustadt International Prize for Literature
Result: Finalist
United States Artists Fellow
2012
Organization: United States Artists
Result: Fellow
Whiting Award
2006
Organization: Whiting Foundation
Result: Winner
PEN/USA Award for Fiction
2005
Work: The Daydreaming Boy
Organization: PEN/USA
Result: Winner
Lannan Literary Fellowship
2004
Work: The Daydreaming Boy
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: Fellowship

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Three Apples Fell from Heaven

2001 Novel (historical fiction)

Set in Turkey between 1915–1917, this first volume of a trilogy depicts the Ottoman government's genocide of the Armenian population and explores personal memory and collective trauma.

GenocideMemoryDiaspora

The Daydreaming Boy

2004 Novel (historical/psychological)

The second book in the trilogy centers on a middle-aged survivor of the Armenian genocide living in 1960s Beirut amid social collapse, exploring inherited trauma and the role of institutions.

Transmitted traumaMission orphanagesFamily

Draining the Sea

2008 Novel (political/historical)

The trilogy's culmination, critiquing American complicity in the Guatemalan Civil War and examining the relationships between violence and memory.

State violenceMemoryHistorical responsibility

The Mirror in the Well

2008 Novel (experimental)

An experimental novel referencing Clarice Lispector, questioning boundaries between self and other.

Self-explorationFragmented consciousness

A Brief History of Yes

2013 Novel

A shorter, experimental work using fragmentary narration to capture moments of relationships and memory.

FragmentationHuman relationships

The Brick House

2017 Novel

A novel about family, past memories, and the meaning of the house as place.

FamilyRemembrance

The New American

2020 Novel (social realism)

Follows a DREAMer deported to Guatemala who makes his way back to California; explores immigration, return, and belonging.

ImmigrationBelongingBorders

Small Pieces

2023 Short fiction/collection

A recent collection of short and fragmentary pieces.

FragmentsEveryday memory

Bibliography

  • Three Apples Fell from Heaven (2001)
  • The Daydreaming Boy (2004)
  • Draining the Sea (2008)
  • The Mirror in the Well (2008)
  • A Brief History of Yes (2013)
  • The Brick House (2017)
  • The New American (2020)
  • Small Pieces (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Experimental, fragmentary narrationDetailed depictions of trauma and memoryModernist influences
Recurring Motifs
Memory and forgettingDiaspora and belongingState violence

Legacy

Marcom is recognized for novels addressing the Armenian genocide, diaspora, state violence, and memory. Her work has attracted scholarly and critical attention and earned several fellowships and awards.

Trivia

  • Born in 1968 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (American father, Armenian-Lebanese mother).
  • Grew up in Los Angeles and spent summers in Beirut with mother's family as a child.
  • Taught at Haigazian University on a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008.
  • Is a professor of creative writing at the University of Virginia.