The Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Fresno and the William Saroyan Society of Fresno will host a conference and celebration to commemorate William Saroyan’s 90th birthday on Saturday, March 20.
The conference begins at 8:45 a.m. and is open to the public and free of charge. All sessions will be held in room 101 of the Industrial Technology
Building, near Barstow and Cedar Avenues on campus. The cost for lunch is $7 per person.
On Friday, March 19, a special dinner will be held to meet the
conference speakers at the Downtown Club in Fresno at 7 p.m. Hank Saroyan and Aram Kevorkian will be the keynote speakers at the dinner.
The cost of dinner on March 19 is $30 per person and reservations must be made in advance by calling (559) 278-2669.
Saroyan at 90: Conference and Celebration
8:45 a.m. Conference Opening
Dr. John Welty, president, California State University, Fresno
9 a.m. Saroyan the Man
Panel I Chair: Stephen Barile
Brenda Magarity (Fresno), “Slow Drive, Sweet Chariot” Ed Hagopian (Fresno), “Saroyan in Grief’
Break
Panel II Chair: Dickran Kouymjian (Fresno)
Aram Kevorkian. (Paris), “Saroyan and Paris”
Roxie Moradian (Fresno), “Saroyan in Love: Marriage and Divorce”
Hank Saroyan (Los Angeles), “Saroyan, the Boy within the Man at 60”
12:15 p.m. Luncheon (optional, $7 per person. Chicken kebab lunch.
** Luncheon must be ordered on morning of conference during check-in.)
2 p.m. Afternoon Session: Saroyan the Writer
Panel III Chair: Barlow Der Mugrdechian (Fresno)
Michael Kloster (Berkeley), “Saroyan, Joyce, and ‘Everyman’ Deanna Garabedian (Fresno), “Saroyan and the Armenian American Identity ”
Michael Krekorian (Fresno), “American Trauma and the Summer of the Beautiful White Horse”
Panel IV Chair: Isabel Kaprielian (Fresno)
Micah Jendian (San Diego), “Saroyan and the Question of Authentic Selfhood”
Michael Kovacs (Las Vegas), “Saroyan’s Expressionist Quest: An Exploration of His Early Writings”
Dickran Kouymjian (Fresno), “Who Reads Saroyan Today?”
5 p.m. Conference concludes
