Peter Sourian (1933–2017)

Peter came to Bard in 1965 and taught here until his retirement in 2010. Many generations of students will long remember two of his most popular courses, Cultural Reportage and Writers' Workshop. It is often said that someone is "unforgettable." In Peter Sourian's case it is entirely true. No teacher or colleague at Bard has shown such passion, determination, humor, and kindness with such drama, courage, fearlessness, and affection. We will miss him, and we will never forget the intensity and warmth of his presence as a colleague, friend, and teacher.

Peter Sourian was the author of three novels, Miri (1957), The Best and Worst of Times (1961), and The Gate (1965), and a book of essays and criticism, At the French Embassy in Sofia (1992) as well as his collection of short stories, Supper Among Strangers, the first volume of his work to be published in Armenian. One of his short stories, “Death of an Art Dealer,” is included in Forgotten Bread (2012), an anthology of first-generation Armenian writers edited by David Kherdian. Over the years he wrote dozens of articles and criticism (he was the television and film critic for The Nation) on various subjects for the New York Times, The Nation, Commonweal, Playboy, Ararat, and The Transatlantic Review, among others. He traveled to Armenia, for the second time, in 2010; during this trip he was honored by the Armenian Writers Union.

He is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Eve Sourian, their son, Mark, and daughter, Delphine.

Peter is buried in the Bard College Cemetery.

Post Date: 04-27-2017