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Aris Janigian

Aris Janigian

Aris Janigian is author of four novels: Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont, Bloodvine, Riverbig, and This Angelic Land. He is also co-author along with April Greiman of Something from Nothing, a book on the philosophy of graphic design. A Ph.D. in psychology, from 1993 to 2005 he was senior professor of Humanities at Southern California Institute of Architecture. He has published in genres as diverse as poetry, social psychology, and design criticism. He was a contributing writer to West, the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, a finalist for the William Saroyan Fiction Prize, and the recipient of the Anahid Literary Award from Columbia University.

6 Comments

  1. Based on this dialog and my experience in reading most of the esteemed David Kherdians’ body of work, I must read The Retelling of David of Sassoun. Insightful interview–and philosophically moving. Am also inspired to read Aris Janigian, who I somehow missed when living in Los Angeles a dozen and more years ago.

  2. Thank you. David Kherdian’s legacy… immense. He and Nonny Hogrogian together put Armenian literature into the American public’s hands in accessible ways that brought great pleasure to the reader. Grateful always.

  3. Beautiful interview, thank you Aris and David, can’t wait to read the much needed ‘re-telling’ of an epic that had been denied meaning and relevance for so long ..

  4. Hey Neery and Salpi,
    We know ea other…your words to David Kherdian are praises and his work praiseworthy. It seems some forget inadvertently that First book of David of Sassoun was writtena nd published by Leon Surmelian in …..1964.I have it. Indeed David Kherdian has taken a lot of trouble to re-write it.But the reality is there.Leonm Surmelian did a great job then,introducing it on the international literature scene…then..
    I hope this is not badly interpreted(my review) but true things must be revealed and brought to light.
    I wish David Kherdian plenty of success in his future New works.
    BTW this is very much reminiscent of some wishing to produce one more time the 40 days of Moussa Dagh(Ler) in feature Film format.Enough of repetitions.We need New features films like I have been advocating for like….¨m a m i g o n ¨. A film -if produced-would match Schindler´s List.get hold of the book and rad it. Authorred by Jack Hashian an ex U.s. State Dept. fundcionary.
    best hasgcoghin

    • You seem not to have noticed that Surmelian’s translation was mentioned in the first answer of the interview.
      Incidentally, the film version of “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” was not of such quality as to preclude a “repetition”…

  5. Reason was I did not wish to remember his referring to Surmelian´s as ¨worthless¨. And his……brilliantly…..
    When will Armenians become a bit more modest and consider ea other´s work….at least moderately good.
    Nobody said 40 Days of Moussa Dagh(Ler) ´should not be repeated…
    But a New subject matter is always more interesting in any aspect than repetitions. ¨ m a m i g o n ¨ is d i f f e r e n t .A Novel that is quassi representative of all that transpired in Western Armenia during the Genocide,narrated in such a fashion that really needs it to be made in to a feature film.

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