Biography
David Kherdian was born in Racine, Wisconsin, the site of his 13 volume Root River Cycle. In addition to his poetry, biographies, novels, and memoirs, his translations and retellings have included the Asian classic Monkey: A Journey to the West, and the soon to be released 9th century Armenian bardic epic, David of Sassoun. He has also written a narrative life of The Buddha. As an editor he has produced two seminal anthologies: Settling America: The Ethnic Expression of 14 Contemporary American Poets, and Down at the Santa Fe Depot: 20 Fresno Poets, which inspired over 100 city and state anthologies. His biography of his mother, The Road From Home, his best known work, has been continuously in print in various editions and 17 translations, since its publication in 1979. An hour long documentary on his poetry, by New York independent filmmaker, Jim Belleau, was released in 1997. He is married to two-time Caldecott Award winner, Nonny Hogrogian, with whom he has collaborated on a number of children’s book, and also on three journals, Ararat, Forkroads: A Journal of Ethnic-American Literature, and Stopinder: A Gurdjieff Journal for Our Time.
Awards
Newbery Honor Book Award, 1980
Banta Award, 1980
Boston Globe—Horn Book Award, 1979
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1979
Jane Addams Award, 1980
Friends of American Writers Award, 1982
Armenian Star Award, 2012
Notable Wisconsin Authors 1994
National Book Award nomination, 1980
The Emily Lee Award, 2008
Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award, 1980
American Book Award Finalist
ALA Notable Book