Written by Diane Minasian. Originally appeared at https://www.foreversaroyan.com/family
"Khatchik (Archie) Minasian was born in Fresno, California on August 2, 1913 to Armenian immigrant parents. He was named Khatchik after his grandfather who perished in Armenia in 1897. His father Vahan died when Archie was 6 years old leaving his family of 6 children poor and fatherless. Archie contributed by working in the Armenian bakery and picking grapes in the summer for his uncle. He grew up next door to his cousin, William Saroyan, who was 5 years his senior. Archie always revered William and as he grew he sought Saroyan's literary approval of his poetry, which he began to write at age 15. He graduated from Fresno High School and spent 2 years at Fresno State College studying science before moving to San Francisco in 1935. In San Francisco, where most of his family now resided, he spent time walking the City with William, who had become a literary phenomenon. Archie earned a living by doing various jobs and after a brief stint in the Army settled on a profession of house painter. But his passion was writing which he continued to do until the day he died. Archie wrote over a thousand poems and in 1945 won the Edwin Markham Gold Medal for poetry. He continued his writing of poems, novels and plays, contributing poetry to numerous magazines including Hairenik Weekly, Ararat, and Armenian Review. His collection of poems, A World of Questions and Things, was published by Decker Press in 1950 and another collection, The Simple Songs of Khatchik Minasian, was published by the Grabhorn Press in 1950 with a William Saroyan introduction. Simple Songs was reissued by Giligia Press in 1969. He was widely regarded as the preeminent Armenian-American poet of his generation. He was a natural poet and always said his poems just came to him, appearing in his head. He wrote of the beauty of nature and the human condition in a simple, pure and innocent style.
Archie married Helen Fiegert in 1947 and moved to Palo Alto in 1951 where he raised 6 children: Frances, Stella (Lolli), Roxanne, Diane, Ellen and Vahan. His house in Palo Alto gave him the space to grow fruit trees and vegetables and enjoy his simple pursuits. One day he purchased an easel, paints, and paper and started to paint on canvas. He was able to express his random thoughts in watercolor abstractions almost like he did with his poetry. He painted hundreds of watercolors - always with a painting on the easel in some stage of completion. Archie was a renaissance man who excelled in his simple pursuits. He was loud, gregarious, and the center of attention wherever he went. He died in 1985, six years too early to see his beloved Armenia become an independent country again. (This biography was written by Archie's daughter, Diane.)"
