Forgotten Bread: First-Generation Armenian American Writers

by David Kherdian (Editor)

Forging identity from loss first-generation Armenian American writing This is an outstanding collection of literature from seventeen first-generation Armenian American authors, each introduced here by a member of the second generation. For the many readers who are unfamiliar with all but the most famous of these authors William Saroyan and Michael J. Arlen, for example powerful discoveries the writing in this volume is intense, magical, and filled with love of life. It is also characterized by the unspeakable sadness that accompanied the loss of so many Armenians in the genocide of 1915. Many of those who survived the genocide found their way to America, and writing became a salvation for talented young Armenian Americans in their struggle for dignity, identity, and meaning in their adopted country. Suffused with a sense of history, colored by personal experience, and imbued with the hopefulness of a fresh start, these stories convey what history books cannot. What coalesces, instead, is a deeply American story of the forces that propel individuals forward into a new world.

Genres: Short Stories

481 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Nari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection includes snippets by seventeen first generation authors, preluded by seventeen introductions from second generation Armenian-American authors gives a valuable insight into the Armenian mind-frame and world. One of the most constant and steady themes I recognized in each selection was a sense of loneliness, alienation and a desperate search for identity and stability. In the crux of the Middle East, Armenia is a country that belongs to the world, but is still orphaned by tragedy throughout its history. Armenia is in the middle between western civilization and Middle Eastern mentalities. The lone Christian populous in an Islamic regime. Despite the various conquests, and the Genocide of 1915 by the Turkish government, Armenians have managed to survive. We have diluted ourselves throughout the world, sharing our stories, drinking our teas and reminiscing over the past.

[George Donigian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent anthology of writers mostly unknown. David Kherdian's selections show his own immersion in matters Armenian and his experience as an author.