Abstract
The Genocide of 1915 marked an important juncture in the history of Armenian literature.2 Prior to the massacres reading matter was primarily written in the Armenian language, but with the dispersal and exile of the population after 1915 there was a shift in emphasis to diasporan literature.3 With the settlement of a large number of Armenians in the United States, the English language also became a vehicle for expression and it was only a matter of time before the Genocide became a primary theme in Armenian-American writing.
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Notes
R. Mirak (1983) Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I ( Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press ), p. 290.
A. Sanjian (2012) Celebrating the Legacy of Five Centuries of Armenian-Language Book Printing, 1512–2012 ( Dearborn: University of Michigan ), pp. 5–6.
J. Powell (ed.) (2005) Encyclopedia of North American Immigration ( New York: Facts on File ).
J. Ciment (ed.) (2001) Encyclopedia of American Immigration ( Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference ).
B. Bulbulian (2000) The Fresno Armenians: History of a Diaspora Community ( Fresno: California State University Press ), pp. 16–22.
V. Oshagan (1985) ‘The Theme of the Armenian Genocide in Diaspora Prose’, Armenian Review, Vol. 38 (1): 51–60.
See T. Chahinian (2008) The Paris Attempt: Rearticulation of (National) Belonging and the Inscription of Aftermath Experience in French Armenian Literature between the Wars (Dissertation) (Los Angeles: UCLA, ProQuest LLC ) where the author presents another viewpoint on the inability of Armenian writers to discuss the genocide.
M. Nichanian (2002) Writers of Disaster: Armenian Literature in the Twentieth Century, Vol. I, The National Revolution ( London: Taderon Press). Nichanian, in the introduction to his volume, presents the case for the usage of the word ‘Catastrophe’ (Aghed) to describe the near complete annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, beginning in 1915. He presents a framework for understanding the motivations of Western Armenian writers after the Catastrophe (pp. 1–22).
L. Z. Surmelian (1945) I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen ( New York: E. P. Dutton). Surmelian’s work focused on the transition and challenges faced by newly arrived immigrants in the United States. He studied agriculture in the United States and later lived and worked on a farm in Kansas.
P. Noorigian (1937) Aykegoutk: The Vintage ( West New York: The Author).
H. Gelenian [Hamastegh] (1924) Giughe ( Boston, MA: Artsiv). Hamastegh lived the latter part of his life in the United States, writing in Armenian.
V. Haig (1930–70) Hayreni Tskhan (Boston, MA: Tparan Payk’ar). Haig lived much of his life in Fresno, California.
S. Manuelian (1977) ‘Armenian Literature: There May Yet be Hope’, Ararat, Vol. 18 (1): 30–2.
Oshagan (1985), pp. 51–60; R. Peroomian (1993) Literary Responses to Catastrophe: A Comparison of the Armenian and Jewish Experience ( Atlanta, GA: Scholars’ Press);
G. Goshgarian (1985) ‘List of Armenian Literary Works Translated to English’, Armenian Review, Vol. 38 (1): 73–122, his listings are a comprehensive look at works by noted writers in Armenian whose works have been translated into English);
L. Alishan (1985) ‘Crucifixion without “The Cross”: The Impact of the Armenian Genocide on Armenian Literature’, Armenian Review, Vol. 31 (1): 27–50;
Nichanian (2002); M. Tölölyan (1955–6) Dar me Hay Grakanut‘iwn, Vol. 2… [A Century of Armenian Literature] ( Cairo: Husaper). These critics and scholars, although focusing on the impact of the Genocide on the literature, provide a broad overview of Armenian-language literature produced in the United States, at least through the period of the 1960s.
R. Peroomian (1992–3) ‘The Transformation of Armenianness in the Formation of Armenian-American Identity’, Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, Vol. 6: 119–45.
A. Bakalian (1992) Armenian-Americans: From Being to Feeling Armenian ( New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers).
Among this genre are H. Baronian (1983) Barefoot Boy from Anatolia ( Los Angeles, CA: Abril Printing);
E. Jernazian (1990) Judgment Unto Truth: Witnessing the Armenian Genocide ( New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers);
M. Derderian (1996) Vergeen: A Survivor of the Armenian Genocide ( Los Angeles, CA: ATMUS Press Publications ) based on a memoir by Virginia Meghrouni; and
B. N. Ketchian (1988) In the Shadow of the Fortress: The Genocide Remembered (Cambridge, MA: Zoryan Institute).
N. Balakian (1958) The Armenian-American Writer ( New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union ), pp. 30–3.
Saroyan was born in Fresno, California in 1908, and lived his entire life in the United States. His early works addressed many universal concepts, among them relations between people and attitudes toward war. It was only later in his life, in plays such as ‘The Armenians’, ‘Bitlis’, and ‘Haratch’, that he began to explore the Armenian response to exile, especially the permanent exile of living in the United States. For an excellent biography and discussion of Saroyan, see D. S. Calonne (1983) William Saroyan: My Real Work is Being ( Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press).
R. Hagopian (1952) Faraway the Spring ( New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons )
R. Hagopian (1944) The Dove Brings Peace (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc. ) focusing on reconciliation with the past and the question of identity in America.
See E. Varandyan (1938) The Well of Ararat (Garden City: Doubleday, Doran). Varnadyan’s novel reflects on an earlier period in Armenian history, on traditional village life.
See P. Sourian (1957) Miri ( New York: Pantheon Press).
See M. Housepian (1957) A Houseful of Love ( New York: Random House).
See D. Kherdian (2007) Forgotten Bread: First-Generation Armenian American Writers ( Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books).
M. Simon (1972) Ethnic Writers in America ( New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich ), p. 122.
L. Serabian Herald (1925) This Waking Hour ( New York: Thomas Seltzer ) with an introduction by Zona Gale.
W. Saroyan (1934) ‘The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze’, in The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories ( New York: Random House).
W. Saroyan (1937) ‘Country, How Do You Like America’, in Little Children (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company ), pp. 210–14.
W. Saroyan (1986) An Armenian Trilogy, D. Kouymjian (ed.) ( Fresno: California State University Press). The first work, ‘The Armenians’, takes place in Fresno and is a discussion of identity, alienation and homesickness. The third play, ‘Haratch’, is centered in a newspaper office in Paris and involves a dense discussion of the concept of identity.
P. Sourian (1965) The Gate (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World).
A. Bogomolny (ed.) (1997) New to North America: Writing by U.S. Immigrants, Their Children and Grandchildren ( New York and Santa Cruz: Burning Bush Publications ), pp. 230–1.
A. Haley (1976) Roots ( Garden City, NY: Doubleday).
L. Shirinian (2000) Writing Memory: The Search for Home in Armenian Diaspora Literature as Cultural Practice ( Kingston, ON: Blue Heron Press).
During the past 30 years, to further their understanding scholars have begun to formally analyze and classify the English-language Armenian literature produced in the United States Diaspora, establishing a critical framework based on a variety of approaches. See M. Bedrosian (1991) The Magical Pine Ring: Culture and the Imagination in Armenian -American Literature ( Detroit, MC: Wayne State University Press )
M. Bedrosian (1992) Crossroads: Short Fiction by Armenian -American Writers, L. Hamalian (ed.) ( New York: Ashod Press).
See Leo Hamalian, long-time editor of Ararat magazine, who is also a formidable critic and writer: L. Hamalian (1978) Burn after Reading ( New York: Ararat Press);
L. Hamalian (1980) As Others See Us: The Armenian Image in Literature ( New York: Ararat Press). He is a second-generation author. Vahe Oshagan was a frequent contributor to the Armenian periodic press, writing in both Armenian and English. Ara Baliozian is a writer living in Canada who has broad knowledge of Armenian literature. His essays and commentaries provide a context for modern Armenian-American writing. His works such as Portrait of a Genius and Other Essays (1980) (Los Angeles, CA: A/G Press) and Views/Reviews/Interviews (1982) ( Los Angeles, CA: A/G Press) comprise many of his essays on the role of the Armenian writer in the Diaspora.
P. Najarian (1986) Daughters of Memory ( Berkeley, CA: City Miner Books).
D. Kherdian (1993) Asking the River ( New York: Orchard Books).
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© 2016 Barlow Der Mugrdechian
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Der Mugrdechian, B. (2016). The Theme of Genocide in Armenian Literature. In: Demirdjian, A. (eds) The Armenian Genocide Legacy. Palgrave Studies in the History of Genocide. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56163-3_18
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