THE WHOLE WORLD IS ARMENIAN

Aram Saroyan’s tribute, “A Father, a Son and a Beautiful White Horse” (Book Review, April 1), evokes memories of the lifelong achievements of his father, the incorrigible William Saroyan. Until Saroyan’s appearance on the literary scene, Armenia and Armenians were virtually unknown entities, as those of us of Armenian heritage will attest. Of course, the earthquake of December, 1988, revived interest in “this race, this small tribe of unimportant people” as Saroyan once described them.

But decades before this catastrophe, it was Saroyan, this waif from Fresno, who saluted the very existence of Armenians as a people. “There are times when the whole world is Armenian,” he once exclaimed with his usual exuberance. To Saroyan, the secret of Armenia’s survival is summarized in a powerful acclamation which ends: “For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.”

SHERRY TERZIAN

LOS ANGELES