Central Valley, California Landscape
Inspiration for Arax, Janigian
Mark Arax and Aris Janigian discussed their latest literary works and the driving forces behind them at last night’s Friends of the Glendale Public Library event. Arax is a journalist and author whose focus has been California history; his cousin Aris Janigian is a noted fiction author whose works explore life in the Central Valley. For each of their next books, the men plan to switch genres. Mark Arax plans a work of fiction, while Aris Janigian will analyze the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Both men are from Armenian families who emigrated to California’s Central Valley early in the 20th Century. Notes on their discussion:
Their family history includes four murders, “a shared tragedy that extends back to the genocide.”
They dug “deep in the dirt” to tell the story of California and their Armenian roots.
There are many books about those tired of being American, but not many books exploring how immigrants experience becoming American, and these two authors explore that theme.
California has been ahead of America in many ways, but because of this we end up as a caricature of ourselves…
As opposed to the Eastern establishment, in the West (and especially in its literature), the land itself is a character and a force.
Both men thoughtfully answered audience questions about California’s place in American imagination, whether it be positive (a place to start anew and find opportunities), or negative (a land of potential violence, earthquakes, and apocalyptic predictions).
It was a fascinating evening; Abril bookstore was on hand and sold several books afterwards, which the authors stayed to sign and discuss. Janigian’s two novels (Bloodvine, and Riverbig), and Mark Arax’s collection of books are available at Abril Books.
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