Dr. Kay Mouradian, author of the historical novel A Gift in the Sunlight: An Armenian Story (Taderon Press), will speak at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, 15105 Mission Hills Rd, Mission Hills CA 91343, on Sunday, April 26, at 4:00 p.m. Mouradian’s illustrated presentation will offer “a journey back in time; a unique picture of life during the Armenian deportations and some history of why it happened.” This event is co-sponsored by the Museum and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research.
There are those in the literary community who say, “If you want to know the facts read a newspaper, but if you want to know the truth read a novel.” That’s why Dr. Mouradian decided to write the story of her mother and her mother’s family as a novel: to represent every Armenian family deported in 1915. Trying to capture the lay of the land from where her mother was deported at age 14, she made several trips to Turkey and traveled the genocide route from Hadjin to the Syrian deserts of Deir Zor. It took more than twelve years to research, write, and get A Gift in the Sunlight: An Armenian Story published. A second edition of her book will be released this month by Taderon Press.
Writers often say the best part of writing is the research. After scouring the UCLA library for works on Turkey during World War I, Mouradian searched used bookstores, purchasing any memoir or history that made a reference to Constantinople. After reading fascinating tales written by journalists, diplomats, and missionaries who were there in 1915, she wondered how much of their voices have been muted or lost to history. Those stories gave her a small taste of the world she sought to enter during her hungry search to understand what happened to the Armenian population during World War I, and she will relate some of that history through her talk and PowerPoint presentation.
For information about Kay Mouradian’ lecture contact the Ararat-Eskijian Museum at 818-838-4862 or mgoschin@mindspring.com or NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org.
