Reviews of: The Age Of Adolescence: Poetry
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Dream comes true for Concordia graduate
The Concordian Independant newspaper - Concordia University
Wednesday, December 1st'2004 -
By: Melanie McDonald
"Never be afraid to be a dreamer, you will find the path to your successful journey." MaryAnn, a 25-year-old Montrealer decided to follow her own advice. She proved to herself that dreams really do come true when she recently became a published author.
The Age of Adolescence, a collection of her poems, was released in late September '2004. The poems describe the difficulties of life as a teenager. At the same time, they offer some insight on how to deal with the tough stuff that comes with growing up.
"My poems give advice about life and what can go wrong," she said during a recent interview.
MaryAnn studied at Concordia in art design and creative writing. She began writing at a very young age. However, she said it really became important to her when she was about 12. The poems she picked for her book were written towards the end of her high school years. MaryAnn said this was a very important transition period for her.
Her poems talk about life, love, relationships and sadness. She always hoped her work would get published because she wanted people to connect with her.
"I really wanted people to read about how I felt," she said.
You can definitely sympathize with her when you read her poems. They really have the capacity to bring you back in time and make you remember what it was like to be a teenager.
Her words are real and powerful. MaryAnn's poems have the ability to evoke emotion. Her work is inspirational because it delivers a positive message.
Verses filled with hope and optimism permeate the pages of her book. "Courage gives you an open space to try. Patience in every day life makes the story of your biography never run dry" and "Never your journey will end because of sweet faults block your way... Reach out to your soul and spirit, you shouldn't care what they say" are among the most powerful lines.
"You must work hard and have patience. Don't stop dreaming 'cause dreams will come true," she said.
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An excellent debut 
Ara Baliozian - Author -
Canada 1/22/2005)
| I read some of these poems in manuscript form and i was impressed. MaryAnn promises to be one of our major poets. |
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***** Lyrics to the English language, November 23, 2005
Extraordinary writings! MaryAnn is a truly remarkable author. Which has shown her creativity and outstanding work!
- Alice - Montreal, Canada
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***** Review of "The Age of Adolescence", January 7, 2006
This poetry book opens with the title poem, "The Age of Adolescence," preparing the reader for a journey into multi-faceted verses about coming of age, human interaction, and life experiences. Poems like "Cracker Girl" illustrate people so descriptively, where others like "Alone" focus on feelings and emotion. Though the book seems targeted to a younger audience, the themes of these poems are ones that so many people can relate to and enjoy.
- Cassie - Maryland, U.S.A.
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Reviews of: Love is blind, but the neighbors ain't
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Not your average coming-of-age story
Concordia creative writing grad MaryAnn Hayatian offers a refreshing take on student life in the world
The Mcgill Daily - Mcgill University -
Thursday, November 30th'2006 -
By: Linda Issa - culture writer
Love is Blind, But the Neighbors Ain’t is not your typical coming-of-age story. Rather, MaryAnn Hayatian’s novella is an innocent tale of a young university student trying to find her place in the world.
These days, we find ourselves swamped with tales of young students overcoming eating disorders and drug abuse. With a breath of fresh air, Hayatian brings us something that most of us can actually relate to.
Out of Hayatian’s imagination comes a short love story set in MaryAnn’s favourite decade, the seventies, involving a love triangle between protagonist Lynna and the objects of her affection, Scott and James. Lynna contemplates her future, wondering whether it involves a successful career in advertising or a life with the person she loves.
Love is Blind is set in Montreal, the author’s hometown, and Hayatian describes places that the average Montreal student can easily identify with – whether it’s a French café on the corner of Crescent and Ste. Catherine, or a theatre in Old Montreal. She also incorporates photography in her book, showing the reader glimpses of this great city in order to draw them further into the characters’ world.
“I’ve always liked photography and I always wanted to show that in my book,” remarks Hayatian. A Concordia graduate in Creative Writing and Art Design, she puts her varied techniques to use in Love is Blind, even designing the cover of her book.
Hayatian has made her success writing about what most students struggle with: getting good grades and slowly developing their opinions and values. Already the author of a book of poetry, The Age of Adolescence, she has set an example for every young writer out there to not give up on his or her dream and to not be afraid to take chances.
Being a bit nervous about my phone interview with MaryAnn Hayatian, I was pleasantly surprised by how giggly and friendly she was. In fact, by the end of our conversation there was so much giggling between the both of us that we sounded like a couple of schoolgirls.
Our conversation ranged from teenage angst to the many lawsuits of the film Borat has received and to my one-time addiction to Harlequin romances. Success has got the best of Hayatian, and her humbleness is reflected in her writing, which is neither pretentious nor inaccessible.
Quite the contrary, Love is Blind, gives us a window into Lynna’s life with her gang – Celia, Antonio, Syd, and James – and the reader will be surprised by how easy it is to connect to Hayatian’s characters, whether you once dated someone who is just like Scott or had a best friend with the same personality as Celia.
So go grab yourself a copy of her book, get some hot cocoa and a blanket, and immerse yourself into a funny and memorable tale of student life.
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Writing to inspire
A review on MaryAnn Hayatian's novel, Love is blind, but the neighbors ain't
The Plant newspaper - Dawson College -
Thursday, November 9th'2006 -
By: Shannon Doiron
While many writers look for inspiration before they start writing, there are just as many who wish to offer it. This is the case for Montreal writer and Concordia graduate MaryAnn Hayatian, who has recently published her third book, Love is blind, but the neighbors ain't.
The book takes place in Montreal during the seventies and follows the life of Lynna, a university advertising student. After noticing that most novels are set in New York or California, Hayatian chose Montreal with hope to offer something "more unique" in her writing; something that had "not been as mentioned."
Hayatian originally started writing this as a short story in high school. She developed in interest with the seventies when while looking through old yearbooks and photo albums that belonged to her parents. She found herself especially interested in school life and the architectural styles of the day, displaying photos from various places around the city.
As the title suggests, Lynna's adventure revolves around being blind to the things which may be obvious to others. It focuses on Lynna's love life, concerning her encounter and relationship with a domineering man. While attending the concert of her high school sweetheart James, she finds herself sitting in front of a businessman named Scott. Throughout the remainder of the book, she is torn between deciding whether Scott is right for her, or if James is the one who can make her happy. In the end, the reader is left to interpret the outcome of her endeavors.
Given her passion of writing since her teen years, Hayatian hopes to serve as a model for other potential writers, "I don't want(people)to give up if they have a talent," she says. Her previous publishings include a poetry book titled The Age of Adolescence and a children's book, Eden Anna and the secret closet.
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Between the lines... Getting published takes perseverance
Concordia grad advises hard work and a refusal to give up
The Concordian Independant newspaper - Concordia University
Wedenesday, October 18th'2006 -
By: Jean Nicolai
Concordia graduate MaryAnn Hayatian has some words of advice for any students grappling with doubt about their chosen career path.
"If you have a talent," she said, "you've got to tell yourself that you cannot give up on it."
This notion of perseverance is what helped Hayatian to follow her dream of becoming a published writer. Hayatian published her third piece of work in May 2006.
Love is Blind, But the Neighbors Ain't tells the story of Lynna, a
Concordia student who struggles to find her way through a difficult romantic relationship.
Before publishing this story, Hayatian published a book of poetry The Age of Adolescence: Poetry. She also wrote a children's story, Eden Anna and the Secret Closet.
Hayatian said she has been writing since she was about 12 years old. She started with poetry, and then moved on to short stories, children's stories and plays.
Hayatian, who studied creative writing and art design at Concordia, said being a writer is definitely her chosen career. Although she found it difficult to get her work published at first, Hayatian said she felt the need to keep working at it.
Her book was published by Publish America in the U.S., and is available at a variety of online bookstores. She said Amazon.com is a good place to find her work. It is accessible, she said, from all over the world.
Hayatian chose to set her story for Love is Blind But the Neighbors Ain't in the 70s.
"I like the 70s" she said.
Having a family member who had attended Concordia in the 70s was helpful to Hayatian in terms of research. She was able to use old yearbooks for reference, as well as first-hand stories from people who lived in Montreal during that time.
Most of the action in Hayatian's story takes place on the Concordia SGW campus, or in the surrounding areas downtown. Hayatian said she had to call certain cafe's to make sure they had actually existed back in the 70s before she included them in her story.
As for the characters in the story, Hayatian said she used some ideas taken from people she has known, but that the characters themselves are fictional.
Hayatian's next project will be a book of short stories based on the same characters in Love is Blind, But the Neighbors Ain't. She said people who have read the book will understand it even more when they read the upcoming short stories.
She hopes the short story collection will be finished within two years, but said it is still in its early stages of creation at the moment.
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Reviews of: Eden Anna and the secret closet
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Creativity lives on *****
By: Susan Voth
Wednesday, December 20th'2006 -
The storyline was adorable. Eden Anna helps bring out imagination in children and helps remind them to create their own worlds. Definitely worth reading to your children to help promote creativity. Secret worlds are just what kids need now more than ever! Children need imagination and this is definitely packed with it. They need a place to escape and I think all kids need their own magical closet. A good story before bed for the little ones.
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Friday, May 18th'2007 -
Reviewed by Rebecca Benston,
Author of In the Wash: The Rona Shively Stories
MaryAnn Hayatian's new children's story, Eden Anna and the Secret Closet is the story of a little girl whose imagination runs wild.
Hayatian spins a tale that unfolds as little Eden Anna winds her way through a magical dream world.
Great bedtime story!!
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