Ara Baliozian
Biography & Works
Compiled By Shant Norashkharian
Ara Baliozian is one of the greatest Armenian contemporary writers,
but unfortunately most Armenians do not know about him or his
works. He has published close to 20 books over the last 20 years
and is acclaimed highly by the foreign media, like Gosdan Zarian
and Shahan Shahnour before him, which goes to prove that our
anti-establishment writers are not rejected because of the literary
quality of their works, but only because of their ideas and their
criticism of the Armenian establishment. Armenian papers used to
publish his commentaries/book reviews, but lately he has been
ignored by most of them (Armenian Life Weekly and New Life [Nor
Gyank] which had been publishing his writings for years, among
other papers, have been turning down his works lately). He is sixty
years old, and lives in seclusion and poverty in Ontario, Canada.
Baliozian's last book, PAGES FROM MY DIARY (1986-1995), distributed by Armenian
Reference Books Co., PO Box 231, Glendale, Ca 91209, Tel. (818) 504-2550,
is only 96 pages long but speaks volumes. Here is the summary of his biography
from the back cover of this book:
"Armenian by ancestry, Canadian writer Ara Baliozian was born in
Athens, Greece, and educated in Venice, Italy. Widely published in
English and Armenian, he has been awarded many prizes and grants
for his literary work. He is a regular to many publications in the
United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. His books
include THE GREEK POETESS AND OTHER WRITINGS, ARMENIA OBSERVED: AN
ANTHOLOGY, FRAGMENTED DREAMS: ARMENIANS IN DIASPORA, and the
best-selling study THE ARMENIANS: THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE. His
translations of such Armenian classics as Krikor Zohrab, Zabel
Yessayan, and Gosdan Zarian have been described as "valuable",
"eloquent", "brilliant" contributions to world literature. He has
himself been translated into French, German, Greek, Spanish, and
Armenian."
Shant Norashkharian has full authorization from Ara Baliozian to
reprint any of his works/writings on the Internet/World Wide Web.
A Short Bibliography
Writings by Ara Baliozian:
Baliozian, Ara. Book Reviews/Interviews (Los Angeles, CA: G
Printing, 1982).
________. "Dreams/Nightmares," "Haiku," and "The Human Condition,"
poems in Armenian-American Poets: A Bilingual Anthology, ed. and
trans. Garig Basmadjian (Detroit, MI: Alex Manoogian Cultural Fund
of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, 1976).
________. Fragmented Dreams: Armenians in Diaspora (Kitchener,
Ont.: Impressions, Publishers, 1987).
________. In the New World (New York: Voskedar, 1982).
________. Intimate Talk (Kitchener, Ont.: Impressions, Publishers,
1992).
________. Pages From My Diary, 1986-1995 (Kitchener, Ont.:
Impressions, Publishers, 1996).
________. Portrait of a Genius and Other Essays (Los Angeles, CA:
A/G Press, 1980).
________. That Promising Reality: New Vision and Values, the
Armenian Revival (Kitchener, Ont.: Impressions, Publishers,
1992).
________. The Armenians: Their History and Culture (Toronto, Ont.:
Kar Publishing House, 1975).
________. The Armenians: Their History and Culture (New York:
Ararat Press, 1980).
________. The Armenian Genocide and the West (Jerusalem: Armenian
Case Committee, 1984).
________. The Call of the Crane, The Ambition of a Pig (New York:
Voskedar Publishing Corp., 1983).
________. The Greek Poetess and Other Writings (Kitchener, Ont.:
Impressions, Publishers, 1988).
________. The Horrible Silence (Pasadena, CA: Maral Press,
1982).
________. Undiplomatic Observations (Kitchener, Ont.: Impressions,
Publishers, 1995).
________. Voices of Fear (Kitchener, Ont.: Impressions, Publishers,
1989).
Articles by Ara Baliozian:
Ara Baliozian has written literally hundreds of articles for the
Armenian-American press. A few of them are listed below:
Baliozian, Ara. "A Timely Essay/The War of Images," Armenian
Reporter (March 11, 1982).
________. "Larousse and the Genocide," Armenian Life Weekly (March
28, 1986).
________. "Views and Opinions: A Discussion on Terrorism," Armenian
Reporter (June 9, 1983).
Writings translated and/or edited by Ara Baliozian:
Baliozian, Ara, ed. Armenia Observed (New York: Ararat Press,
1979).
________. Armenian Wisdom: A Treasury of Quotations and Proverbs
(Glendale, CA: Armenian Reference Books Co., 1992).
________. From Plato to Sartre: Wisdom for Armenians (Glendale, CA:
Armenian Reference Books Co., 1995).
Granian, Puzant. My Land, My People, trans. Ara Baliozian (Los
Angeles, CA: Narek Publishing, 1978).
Zarian, Gostan. Bancoop and the Bones of the Mammoth, trans. Ara
Baliozian (New York: Ashod Press, 1982).
________. The Island and the Man, trans. Ara Baliozian (Toronto:
Kar Publishing House, 1983).
________. The Traveller and His Road, trans. Ara Baliozian (New
York: Ashod Press, 1981).
Yessayan, Zabel. The Gardens of Silihdar and Other Writings, trans. Ara Baliozian
(New York: Ashod Press, 1982).
Zohrab, Krikor. Zohrab: An Introduction, trans. Ara Baliozian
(Cambridge, MA: National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research, 1985).
Writings about him:
Terzian, Lawrence. Preserverance: Ara Baliozian and the Armenian Cause
(Kitchener, Ont.: Impressions, Publishers, 1990).
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