Maral Boyadjian’s Novel Translated into Armenian by CTRA Graduate

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YEREVAN, Armenia – The American University of Armenia (AUA)’s Certificate in Translation (CTRA) program is pleased to announce the translation and publication of Maral Boyadjian’s novel As the Poppies Bloomed by one of its graduates, Hayarpy Sahakyan (Class of 2014).

This is the second book-length translation by Sahakyan, her first being a co-translation with Davit Matevosyan of Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian, which was published as part of the Aghet Series of Aktual Arvest Press.

“Maral Boyadjian’s debut novel, As the Poppies Bloomed, is a fictionalized account of her family’s experience during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which decimated the families of all four of the author’s grandparents,” writes Christopher Atamian in his book review in HuffPost. “That is perhaps why this lovingly written and sometimes lyrical account of the events in the small village of Salor seem so real—at times the characters almost jump off the page at the reader.”

Atamian concludes: “The fact that Boyadjian, some four generations later, was able to write such a stirring novel from the safety of her Southern California home, provides some indication of the fierce will that the characters in her novel displayed when confronted with the most difficult of conditions. Poppies is a story of love, loss and in the end salvation—the best type of story we have to remind ourselves of some of the worst, and best, aspects of the human condition.”

The biggest challenge while translating the book, according to Sahakyan, “was to stay true to the author while trying to make the Armenian text read as smoothly as an original text (I don’t know to what extent I have succeeded). It took us six months to have a final edited text ready for publication.”

The Armenian version of the book was published by Vard Press and is available for purchase in all major bookstores in Yerevan.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.