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An Armenian Trilogy

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review of: William Saroyan, An Armenian Trilogy, edited by Dickran Kouymjian William Saroyan (1908-1981) was a major voice in American literature during the 1930's and 40's. He had a brief influence on theatre, with his Pulitzer-prize winning play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1940, and other lesser plays. He wrote and produced several others, then fell into obscurity as a playwright. The "Armenian Trilogy," edited by Dickran Kouymjian, marks a departure in play writing for Saroyan, from theatrics to introspection. The three plays contained in this volume are the most "Armenian" of his writings. "Armenians," the first play, is about countrymen in diaspora, in Fresno, CA in 1921, six years after the last round of atrocities by the Turks against Armenians. Saroyan deals with regional stereotypes and larger issues of diaspora. "Bitlis," is a one-act play that features Bill Saroyan, the Armenian-American writer and his pilgrimage to his ancestral home in what was once Armenia. "Haratch," the most political of the three, Saroyan takes the stage in a visit to the Armenian daily newspaper in Paris. As strong as the plays, is Kouymjian's brilliant introduction that provides the perceptive explanation of Saroyan, the writer and the Armenian. The book is a necessity for fans of his dramatic works and those that enjoy the writings of William Saroyan, the "Buffalo Bill, " of American letters. -Y. Stephan Bulbulian, Fowler, CA