An Interview with David Kherdian
I’m the author of over eighty books. William Saroyan, now forgotten, was a very big influence, but after moving to San Franciso I took up with the Beats, sharing the first floor of an apartment with Philip Whalen, making friendships with Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan, Gary Snyder, and many others. My book on them, Six Poets of the San Francisco Renaissance, resulted in me becoming a poet myself, although my best-known work is The Road From Home, about my mother’s survival of the Armenian genocide. This book received countless awards and assured me to become a full-time writer.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
My wife had titled all of my books, but after she passed, I struggled. It took me weeks if not months to come up with the title of my book, Long River Home.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I knew for years that I wanted to write, but as I had no models or friends, and I was still the only writer to come from there, a factory town, that never came to know me, so I invented and created myself.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
My mother was a survivor of the Armenian genocide. My book on her (The Road From Home) became a best seller and made my name.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
The best story is your own story that you can write and go on writing all your life, but only if you never stand still but go on searching and completing the goals you set for yourself.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
Getting into print all I have accomplished, which includes at least eight more books, that are amazingly my best.
How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?
I’ve only done one book so far with Atmosphere, and I am pleased with their work. I worked with all the major publishers, now all gone if not dead.
Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.
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