Nona Balakian (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Նոնա Պալագեան,

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, September 4, 1918 -

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, April 5, 1991) was a literary critic and an editor at the ''

New York Times Sunday Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. She served on the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

committee and was a board member of the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

and the

Pen Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internation ...

as well as a founder of the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization ( 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the National Book Critics C ...

, whose

Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing The Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, established in 1991, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to honor Nona Balakian Nona Balakian ( Armenian: Նոնա Պալագեան, Constantinop ...

is named for her. Balakian immigrated to New York as a child. She graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and received a Master's degree from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

, where she studied with the literary critic

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

, in 1943. She joined the New York Times Book Review that same year and remained a staff member for 43 years, retiring in 1987. She and her sister,

Anna Balakian Anna Balakian (14 July 1915 – 12 August 1997) was the former chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at New York University. She served as president of the American Comparative Literature Association from 1977 to 1980 and was a longtim ...

, a literary critic and professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

who died in 1997, were members of a literary circle that also included the playwright

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

and the diarist

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

. In 1981 Nona Balakian won Rockefeller Grant for her work on William Saroyan. The Balakian sisters were the grandnieces of the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

survivor

Grigoris Balakian Grigoris Balakian ( hy, Գրիգորիս Պալագեան) 1875 – 8 October 1934), was a bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in addition to being a survivor and memoirist of the Armenian genocide. Life Grigoris Balakian was born in Toka ...

and the aunts of the poet and

winner

Peter Balakian Peter Balakian, born June 13, 1951, is an American poet, prose writer, and scholar. He is the author of many books including the 2016 Pulitzer prize winning book of poems ''Ozone Journal'', the memoir ''Black Dog of Fate'', winner of the PEN/Alb ...

.Peter Balakian, ''Black Dog of Fate'' (BasicBooks, 1997), family tree on two unnumbered pages (several pages before page 1)

Bibliography

* Nona Balakian (1948). ''Arveste: new writing'', New York: Armenian Students' Association * Nona Balakian (1958). ''The Armenian-American writer: a new accent in American fiction''. New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union. * Nona Balakian;

Charles Simmons Charles Simmons may refer to: *Charles Simmons (gymnast) (1885–1945), British gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics *Charles Simmons (author) (1924–2017), American editor and novelist *Charles Simmons (author, born 1798), American cl ...

(1973). ''The Creative Present. Notes on contemporary American fiction''. New York: Gordian Press. * Nona Balakian (1978). ''Critical Encounters: Literary views and reviews, 1953-1977,''

Bobbs-Merrill The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

, * Nona Balakian (1991). ''Critical Encounters: Literary Views and Reviews''. New York: Ashod Press. * Nona Balakian (1998). ''The World of William Saroyan''. Lewisburg, PA:

Bucknell University Press Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakian, Nona American writers of Armenian descent American literary critics Women literary critics Turkish people of Armenian descent 1918 births 1991 deaths Turkish emigrants to the United States American women critics