“Bedros Keljik’s Armenian-American Sketches: Stories of Armenians in the Early 20th c.” Virtual Presentation

FRESNO — “Bedros Keljik’s Armenian-American Sketches: Stories of Armenians in the Early 20th C.” will be presented as a webinar at 4:00PM(Pacific time)/7:00PM (Eastern time) on Sunday, September 27, 2020. The presentation is co-sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), the Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota (ACOM), and the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS).

A panel featuring co-editors Christopher Atamian, Lou Ann Matossian, Barlow Der Mugrdechian, and co-translator Vartan Matiossian will discuss various aspects of the new publication. Marc A. Mamigonian will moderate the discussion.

Bedros Keljik’s Armenian-American Sketches, originally published in Armenian in 1944 as Amerigahay Badgerner, is the work of a member of the pioneer generation of Armenian immigrants, and is of both literary and historical significance. Now fully translated into English for the first time and recently published as volume 8 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno, these stories retain their vitality, humor, pathos, and relevance.

Twenty of the short stories were translated by the late Aris Sevag, one by Lou Ann Matossian, and eight pieces originally published in Baikar, were translated by Vartan Matiossian. Volume editors Christopher Atamian, Lou Ann Matossian, and Barlow Der Mugrdechian have also included an enlightening biography of Keljik, “An Armenian Odyssey: From the Euphrates to the Mississippi,” written by his grandchildren, Mark and Thomas Keljik, as well as Bedros Keljik’s own translation of his fellow-Kharpertsi author Roupen Zartarian’s “How Death Came to the Earth.”

With keen observation Keljik provides the reader with an often-humorous insight into that life, with all of its sadness and joy, with the sense of community, and with the hard work and challenges faced by the immigrants. This is a book which appeals to any reader who seeks to understand the immigrant experience in the United States.

The lecture will be a Zoom Webinar, and registration is required. Use this link to register: bit.ly/armenianstudieskeljik. The lecture will also be streamed on the Armenian Studies Program YouTube channel at bit.ly/armenianstudiesyoutube.

For more information about the lecture please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669, visit our website at www.fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies, or visit our Facebook page at @ArmenianStudiesFresnoState.