Black dog of fate: a memoir
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
New York, NY : Basic Books, c1997.
Format:
Book
Edition:
1st ed.
Physical Desc:
289, [3] pages : ill. ; 25 cm.
Lexile measure:
1170L
Status:
Description
"His visions are burning -- his poetry heartbreaking," wrote Elie Wiesel of American poet Peter Balakian. Now, in elegant prose, the prize-winning poet who James Dickey called "an extraordinary talent" has written a compelling memoir about growing up American in a family that was haunted by a past too fraught with terror to be spoken of openly. Black Dog of Fate is set in the affluent New Jersey suburbs where Balakian -- the firstborn son of his generation -- grew up in a close, extended family. At the center of what was a quintessential American baby boom childhood lay the dark specter of a trauma his forebears had experienced -- the Ottoman Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians in 1915, the century's first genocide. In a story that climaxes to powerful personal and moral revelations, Balakian traces the complex process of discovering the facts of his people's history and the horrifying aftermath of the Turkish government's campaign to cover up one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. In describing his awakening to the facts of history, Balakian introduces us to a remarkable family of matriarchs and merchants, physicians, a bishop, and his aunts, two well-known figures in the world of literature. The unforgettable central figure of the story is Balakian's grandmother, a survivor and widow of the Genocide who speaks in fragments of metaphor and myth as she cooks up Armenian delicacies, plays the stock market, and keeps track of the baseball stats of her beloved Yankees. The book is infused with the intense and often comic collision between this family's ancient Near Eastern traditions and the American pop culture of the '50s and '60s.Balakian moves with ease from childhood memory, to history, to his ancestors' lives, to the story of a poet's coming of age. Written with power and grace, Black Dog of Fate unfolds like a tapestry its tale of survival against enormous odds. Through the eyes of a poet, here is the arresting story of a family's journey from its haunted past to a new life in a new world. Peter Balakian is the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities at Colgate University. He is the author of June-tree: New and Selected Poems 1974-2000 and The Burning Tigris, winner of the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize and a New York Times bestseller. He lives in Hamilton, New York.
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Location
Call Number
Status
West Haven Main Adult Non-fiction
811.54 BAL
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Language:
English
ISBN:
046500704X
Lexile measure:
1170

Notes

General Note
Map of Armenia from 500 BC to present on endpapers.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. [292]).
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Balakian, P. (1997). Black dog of fate: a memoir. New York, NY, Basic Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Balakian, Peter, 1951-. 1997. Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir. New York, NY, Basic Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Balakian, Peter, 1951-, Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir. New York, NY, Basic Books, 1997.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Balakian, Peter. Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir. New York, NY, Basic Books, 1997.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
30c95ced-7af6-ae11-058d-834f5d23a53a
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Record Information

Last Sierra Extract TimeMar 16, 2024 08:15:31 PM
Last File Modification TimeMar 16, 2024 08:16:04 PM
Last Grouped Work Modification TimeMar 20, 2024 05:48:13 PM

MARC Record

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