Black Dog of Fate (An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past) was written by and tells the story of Peter Balakian. This book was first published during 1997 and was later published again during 1998 by Broadway. Balakian explores the unsettling yet extraordinary fusion of his American and Armenian roots.
On the surface, his all-American life is what one would hope for, equipped with a big, loving family and a sheltered, suburban lifestyle. Yet underneath the surface, a dark history characterized by tension between the Turkish government and Armenian people during the early 1900s haunts his conscious.
Balakian carefully articulates the double-consciousness he carried along his path in life, earning him great respect in the literary world. Black Dog of Fate became a best seller and won him the PEN/Albrand Prize. He is the author of five poetry books as well as three prose works.
