2003_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 2003

              6
Hye Sharzhoom
March 2003
Barnes & Noble Hosts Armenian Book Heritage Celebration
Mitchell Peters
staff writer
On Sunday, February 23,2003,
Barnes & Noble Booksellers presented four well-respected Armenian authors to sign and discuss
their books on Fresno Armenians,
Armenian culture, historical geography, and paleography in an "Armenian Heritage Celebration."
About forty people from the
Fresno community came to the
Barnes & Noble "Celebration, "that
off eredrefreshments (including traditional Armenian pastries), a brief
presentation of each book, and an
opportunity to meet with each author.
The four authors were Berge
Bulbulian, The Fresno Armenians;
Dr. Arra Avakian, The Eaglet; Dr.
Robert Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas; and Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian, Album of Armenian
Paleography. Each author gave a
brief description of the content of
his book, and reflected on the hard
work and effort that went into the
writing and development of it.
The presentation began with
Berge Bulbulian discussing hisfirst
book, The Fresno Armenians,
which focuses on the Armenian
community ranging from Bakers-
field to Modesto. It touches on the
early arrival of the first Armenians
in Fresno and the many tribulations
they underwent. The book also
provides information on the rapid
development of the community and
the history behind it. In its third
printing, The Fresno Armenians,
L to R: Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Dr. Arra Avakian, Dr. Robert
Hewsen, and Berge Bulbulian.
has already sold 2,700 copies.
The second author to present,
Dr. Arra Avakian, introduced his
historical-romantic novel, The Eaglet. The novel takes place in mid-
fifth century Armenia, which is by
that time a feudal state within the
tyrannical monarchy of ancient
Persia. The story revolves around
the Christian Armenians who were
ordered by the Persians to renounce
their faith. Having written mostly
academically related material in the
past, this is Dr. Avakian's first
novel.
The third author to speak, Dr.
Robert Hewsen, presented his book,
Armenia: A Historical Atlas, which
is an accumulation of 341 pages,
278 color maps, five chronological
sections and an extensive 20-page
bibliography. There are about 40
full-pagemapsthatshowthe whole
of Armenia at different periods in
its history, along with other spe
cific sections showing ancient,
medieval and modern periods
within the c ountry. Wi th the exten-
sive research and traveling involved, Armenia: A Historical Atlas, would be an excellent addition
to a library for those interested in
the history and geography of ancient and modern Armenia.
The director of the Armenian
Studies Program at Calif ornia State
University, Fresno, Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian spoke about his new
book, Album of Armenian Paleography. Having been released in
2002, the bookis an illustrated history of the development of the Armenian script. Recommended for
libraries and specialists, the book's
purpose is to present to the academic world a series of dated examples of Armenian manuscripts,
from the oldest surviving ones
which are dated sometime between
852 and 861 AD to more modern
Armenian Tree Project Reports on Activities
L to R: Alice Bulbulian, Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Sevag Tateosian, Barlow Der Mugrdechian,
Jeff Masarjian, Zaroohi Der Mugrdechian, Berge Bulbulian, and Laurie Rothstein of ATP.
Hakop Tat aryan
Staff Writer
Trees are a necessity of life,
however they are far more important than most people realize. On
Tuesday, February 25, 2003, students and community members
gathered at the Alice Peters Auditorium of the University Business
Center, to listen to a speech by Jeff
Masarjian, who is the executive
director of the Watertown, MA
based Armenia Tree Project.
Mr. Masarjian was appointed
as executive director of ATP in
2001. Since his arrival, ATP has
reached new heights in helping
Armenia regain its forest heritage.
Mr. Masarjian spoke about his organization and a coalition to rein-
vigorate Armenia's forests. After
his speech, the audience had a
chance to watch a short film put
together by the ATP and following
the film they had an opportunity to
ask questions to Mr. Masarjian.
The Armenia Tree Project is a
self-financed program that was
founded in 1993 to advance
Armenia's economic and social
development throughreforestation.
"Our goal is to assist the Armenian
people in using trees to improve
their standard of living and protect
the global environment, "stated Mr.
Masarjian. Currently ATP employs
forty-eight people in Armenia; their
j obs vary from gi vi ng 1 ecture s about
tree care to actually planting trees.
The AT P recently earned the Arabia
Day Project A wardfor its contributions not only to Armenia's ecological health, but to the world's
environment as well.
Trees clean the very air we
breathe, provide fruits, nuts, and
examples. Along with Dr.
Kouymjian, the co-authors of this
reference work, Dr. Michael Stone
and Dr. Henning Lehmann; they
spent twelve years producing the
book of 545 folio pages and 220
colored plates.
At the close of the event, spectators were encouraged to further
meet the authors and purchase their
books to be personally signed.
While the crowd mingled, traditional Armenianmusic was played
throughout the store. Each author' s
contribution to the literary world
of Armenian studies is duly noted
and greatly appreciated.
For more information, you can
call Barnes & Noble Booksellers
at (559) 437-0484 or visit them on
the web at www.bn.com.
Fresno Armenians, The Eaglet, Armenia: A Historical Atlas,
and Album of Armenian Paleography, available at BN.com
Kazan from page 1 ._,,„_
     gram is grateful to the Kazans tor
this latest endowment because its
establishment will serve to encourage greater scholarship among students and faculty alike, while remembering one of the Armenian
Studies Program's long-time supporters. Henry Kazan has promised Fresno State President Dr. John
Welty that he will come to Fresno
for the opening of the new Save
Mart Center in October of this year
to celebrate his 97th birthday.
would have become a history professor. Mr. Kazan has three nieces
and nephews within the academic
field of social science and humanities, all with PhDs and all dedicated
to teaching and research. Mrs.
Kazan was also a great proponent
of scholarship, and this second endowment has made it possible to
further encourage both research and
publications in Armenian studies
here at Fresno State.
The Armenian Studies Pro-
are a must in building homes. Only
a century ago, twenty-five percent
of Armenia was covered with trees.
In the last couple of decades that
number has plummeted to eight percent. In 1991, the war with
Azerbaijan resulted in a blockade
of Armenia by the Azeris, who suspended Armenia's fuel and energy
sources. The results of the war led
many Armenians to initiate massive tree cutting campaigns for fuel
and energy. This year's arctic winter did not help much either. Temperatures reached twenty-five degrees below zero, which led to the
deaths of thousands of trees. Armenia is gradually becoming more and
more deprived of all the things that
trees provide. Since its birth, ATP
has planted trees to curtail the ongoing erosion of Armenia's trees
and its soil.
Planting trees is a wonderful
activity, which is not only good for
the environment, but also provides
a chance for people of all ages in the
community to come together and
workfor a common goal. This won
derful program has already established two tree nurseries in the
cities of Kareen and Khachpar.
Each nursery produces approximately forty thousand trees annually. The trees are incubated in the
nurseries until they are ready to
plant. From the nurseries the trees
are disseminated to schools, retirement homes, orphanages, hospitals, parks, and anywhere they can
prosper. Nut, fruit, and oak trees
are just a few of many species of
trees planted in Armenia by the
ATP.
The ATP, has played a vital
role in the betterment of Armenia's
flora and fauna. Furthermore it has
built community involvement and
also has provided much needed
employment for Armenians in Armenia. The Armenian Tree Project
is a self-financed program of the
Armenian Assembly of America,
and if you would like to contribute
to its aspirations, contact it at: Ar-
menianTree Project 65Main Street,
Watertown MA 02472, or visittheir
website at www.armeniatree.ors.
20th Annual Sonoma State University
Holocaust Lectures (2003)
Witnessing, Resisting, and Preventing Genocide
Tuesday, March 11
"When Does Genocide End? The Armenian Case"
by
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian
Armenian Studies Program