Author Peter Balakian will retell the past hardships his grandmother faced during the Armenian Genocide with Syracuse University students Wednesday.

Balakian’s lecture will continue the Fall 2011 Raymond Carver Reading Series in Gifford Auditorium. Students from the ETS 107: ‘Living Writers’ class will conduct a Q-and-A with Balakian about his book ‘Black Dog of Fate’ at 3:45 p.m., followed by Balakian performing a reading at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

‘Black Dog of Fate,’ listed as a New York Times Notable Book, is a memoir that focuses on uncovering the stories of Balakian’s ancestry. The book describes the life of his grandmother, who was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide just after World War I in the Ottoman Empire.

Balakian is an English professor at Colgate University and has written multiple poetry collections.

Janine Halsey, an undeclared sophomore in the School of Education, is enrolled in ‘Living Writers.’ Although she said this ‘bulky, history-based book’ is not her style, Halsey said it was well-written and is looking forward to hearing what Balakian has to say about it.

She said she first heard of the Armenian Genocide by reading Balakian’s book. But because the book was written as a memoir about Balakian’s life, she said she does not think reading ‘Black Dog of Fate’ is the best way to inform people of the historical facts about the event, and it certainly should not be the first source for those looking to learn about it.

Halsey said she thinks the Armenian Genocide should be taught in history classes.

‘I definitely learned that it was as big of a deal as the Holocaust,’ Halsey said, ‘but it was interesting that not a lot of people have heard of it before.’

After her class read the book, Halsey said her classmates generally had a positive reaction to it and, like herself, knew little or nothing about the Armenian Genocide beforehand.

Mildred Barya, one of the teaching assistants of ‘Living Writers,’ said she is looking forward to hear Balakian speak about his memoir and said there are not enough books written like this.

When dealing with traumatic experiences, Barya said people need to be able to talk openly about them instead of remaining silent for long periods of time for change to begin.

‘It is important to talk for healing to happen, and also for awareness,’ she said in an email.

Barya, also a graduate student in the English department, said she described Balakian as a courageous writer. She said she hopes he discusses the significance of embracing diversity, tolerance and inclusion.

Said Barya: ‘If he can talk about that and shed some light on a solution, that will be awesome to hear.’

klross01@syr.edu 

Published on November 29, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Kristin: klross01@syr.edu | @kriskross22