By Taleen Babayan
NEW YORK — An evening was held in celebration of acclaimed author Agop J. Hacikyan’s literary career on Friday, October 29, here.
The event was held at the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) under the auspices of the Primate, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian.
A sizeable audience gathered in the Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium to honor the Canadian- Armenian author whose epic novel, A Summer Without Dawn, has been lauded widely by both the Armenian and international press.
Hacikyan, the author of some two-dozen books — including the monumental three-volume Heritage of Armenian Literature, and his most recent work, The Lamppost Diary — stressed the importance of the novel as a tool to teach about historical events, especially those that might otherwise escape wide notice. The novel’s potential to reach a wider audience makes it a powerful genre to teach about genocide, Hacikyan said. “It is essential to produce genocide fiction, as long as we don’t fictionalize genocide,” he urged.
Referencing the Armenian Genocide, its subsequent denial by the perpetrators and the deficiency of global recognition, Hacikyan asserted that “we [Armenians] will keep producing and publishing to ensure our history its deserved perpetuity.”