Saroyan Prophecy

[Arpa]

See what I said here, #7, about bravado after a "couple of glasses of oghi" .Btw. The Armenian "oghi/օղի/ աւղի" is the same as the Latin/Irish "ale". See "beer" below.

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=17815&hl=saroyan

An abbreviated version of article by CK Garabed in the Armenian weekly.

See the full version here;

http://www.hairenik.com/weekly/2009/08/08/...-mincing-words/

Below see several edited(sanitized) versions and compare them to the original by Old Willy himself.

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CK Garabed: Mincing Words

By CK Garabed • on August 8, 2009 •

Three Saroyan Posters

Who is not familiar with the posters that have disseminated William Saroyan’s immortal words concerning the Armenian spirit? It is probable that very few persons have taken the trouble to compare them. I was compelled to do so when I was asked to address a gathering on a suitable Saroyan subject. I knew that the text of the posters I had seen departed from the original, but the extent of the variations was brought home to me when I made it a point to compare the ones of which I knew to the original. The most glaring departure occurred with those that substituted “prayers are no more answered” for “prayers are no longer uttered.” It makes one wonder....

***

Five Versions of Saroyan Quote

Poster by Peter Nakashian:

I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of un-important people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, litera- ture is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroyArmenia. See if you can do it. Send them in- to the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.

***

Poster by Zaven Khanjian:

I should like to see any power in this world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people whose history is ended, whose wars have been fought and lost, whose struc- tures have crumbled, whose literature is unread, whose music is unheard, and whose prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy this race!

Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them from their homes into the desert Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh,

again, see if they will not sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.

***

Poster by William Saroyan Society:

I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy that race! Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or

water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.

***

Kalinian-Saroyan Website:

I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race; this small tribe of unimportant people whose history is ended, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, whose literature is unread, whose music is unheard, whose prayers are no longer uttered.

Go ahead, destroy this race. Let us say that it is again 1915 there is war in the world.

Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live again.

See if they will not laugh again. See if you can stop them from mocking the big ideas of the world

You sons of bitches. Go ahead, try to destroy them.

***

Original Text

I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose history is ended, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, whose literature is unread, whose music is unheard, whose prayers are no longer uttered. Go ahead, destroy this race. Let us say that it is again 1915. There is war in the world. Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live again. See if they will not laugh again. See if the race will not live again when two of them meet in a beer parlor, twenty years after, and laugh, and speak in their tongue. Go ahead, see if you can do anything about it. See if you can stop them from mocking the big ideas of the world, you sons of bitches, a couple of Armenians talking in the world, go ahead and try to destroy them.

New York, August 1935

(From Inhale, Exhale: The Armenian and the Armenian)

The original text (with two minor modifications) is the subject of recordings made by Saroyan himself in a three-disc LP set issued by Listening Library in 1973 under the title

“Here’s William Saroyan Reading His Own Stuff and Talking.”

.

Edited August 9, 2009 by ArpA