The dried spiced beef basturma is comfort food for Armenians world-wide: a cold cut that warms the Armenian soul in the homeland and throughout the Armenian diaspora. Recipes for the paste coating the meat as it dries in the dark for a month contain numerous spices, but garlic, lots of mashed garlic, tops the list. Put most simply, basturma is a bad breath bomb!

“The Basturma Papers” contains real correspondence lasting 40 years (1973-2012) about an imagined plot by misguided Armenians in the diaspora to eliminate basturma from the Armenian diet. One example was the wide distribution of a slogan on bill boards, TV, and the internet: “Don’t eat basturma: THINK BEFORE YOU STINK!”

Fortunately, loyal members of the diaspora formed a counter-organization to promote the virtues of basturma, The Basturma Forever Society (BFS). BFS operates with the inspiring motto “Hanging Meat is Hard to Beat” and a code-like conclusion to their internal correspondences: HIT, standing for “Hang in There”. The documents collected here describe the travels of a single BFS cell (or clove) led by an operative who uses only one name: Avram.

All who have been involved in this fictional cultural adventure hope that the correspondence will tickle your funny bone and that you, dear reader, will enjoy this account of it.