David Kherdian (born December 17, 1931) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

- American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

. He is known best for his book, '' The Road from Home'' (1979), depicting his mother's childhood. His works have been translated into 14 languages.

Early life and education

Kherdian was born on December 17, 1931, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Veron Duhmejian and Melkon Kherdian, both survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. He dropped out of high school during the first semester of his junior year. After his service within the United States Army, he graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

with a B.S. degree in Philosophy. He married Nonny Hogrogian, an Armenian illustrator, in 1971. She died at the age of 92 from cancer on May 9, 2024 in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Career

The majority of his early poems were written over a period of one month, during his first visit to the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

of Massachusetts in the summer of 1970. In the early 1970s, The Poets in Schools project was established, with Kherdian participating for New Hampshire. During this period, he published a series of three anthologies on contemporary American poetry with Macmillan: ''Visions of America: By the Poets of Our Time'', ''Traveling America: With Today's Poets'', and ''Settling America: The Ethnic Expression of 14 Contemporary American Poets''. Kherdian won the 1979

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The ''Boston Globe''–''Horn'' Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonficti ...

for children's non-fiction, and he was the only runner-up for the 1980

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, recognizing '' The Road from Home'' (1979), about the childhood of his mother Veron Dumehjian before and during the

. The book has been published in most European countries and in other countries including Japan. It has been reissued several times in the United States. The sequel, ''Finding Home'' (1981), describes her moving to the United States as a mail-order bride; it is sometimes cataloged as fiction. In 2017, he published ''Starting from San Francisco: A Life In Writing'', in which he wrote about his school years.

Influences

Kherdian's influences include the Transcendental American poets

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

and

Henry Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

, and American poet

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. Kherdian credited the three large Kaiserlian families (comprising ten children in all) as his first literary influences during his childhood years. His best friend, Mikey Kaiserlian, was the subject of ''The Dividing River / The Meeting Shore'', a collection of poems written following Kaiserlian's death. Mikey and his cousin, Ardie, appeared frequently in Kherdian's poems. Maggie, the oldest of all the Kaiserlian children, appeared in his autobiographical novella, ''Asking the River''. Permanent collections of Kherdian's work are part of the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Archive and Special Collections.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kherdian, David 1931 births American male poets American writers of Armenian descent Newbery Honor winners Writers from Wisconsin Living people