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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what year did Peter's grandmother die?
(a) 1965.
(b) 1964.
(c) 1966.
(d) 1962.

2. What was the name of the poet with whom Balakian started his journal?
(a) Bruce Smith.
(b) William Saroyan.
(c) Karl Shapiro.
(d) Jack Wheatcroft.

3. In what part of Manhattan did Aunt Anna live?
(a) Upper East Side.
(b) Upper West Side.
(c) Soho.
(d) Morningside Heights.

4. What prize did William Saroyan turn down for his play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1943?
(a) Tony.
(b) Pulitzer.
(c) PEN.
(d) Nobel.

5. In what year was Balakian sick with the measles?
(a) 1962.
(b) 1965.
(c) 1959.
(d) 1963.

6. In what year did Balakian first discover a love for poetry while in English class?
(a) 1966.
(b) 1968.
(c) 1969.
(d) 1967.

7. To which American writer did Balakian send his poems while at Bucknell College?
(a) Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
(b) Jack Kerouac.
(c) Robert Pirsig.
(d) Allen Ginsberg.

8. What was Peter shocked to see his grandmother doing as she read late at night?
(a) Drinking a beer.
(b) Smoking a cigar.
(c) Drinking whiskey.
(d) Smoking a pipe.

9. In what grade was Peter during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
(a) Eighth.
(b) Fourth.
(c) Fifth.
(d) Sixth.

10. What injury did Balakian sustain on the football field during August practice before his sophomore year?
(a) Torn knee ligament.
(b) Pulled Achilles' heel.
(c) Heat exhaustion.
(d) Heatstroke.

11. What meat did the Balakian family frequently eat for dinner?
(a) Chicken.
(b) Lamb.
(c) Beef.
(d) Goat.

12. How many miles away was Tenafly from Teaneck?
(a) Five.
(b) Fifteen.
(c) Twelve.
(d) Ten.

13. What college did Balakian's father say was "better than its name"?
(a) Brown.
(b) Harvey Mudd.
(c) Dartmouth.
(d) Kalamazoo.

14. At what time did Balakian and his friend Ed Harrison routinely sneak out of their houses to explore the town?
(a) 4 a.m.
(b) 1 a.m.
(c) 3 a.m.
(d) Midnight.

15. What fruit does the spice mahleb come from?
(a) Wild cherry.
(b) Fig.
(c) Plum.
(d) Pomegranate.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whom did Saroyan consider his "rival"?

2. To what town was Balakian taking his girlfriend when he refused to return home for his grandmother's memorial service?

3. What California town was the Armenian-American writer William Saroyan from?

4. Who was Balakian's first anti-hero?

5. What kind of car did the Aroosian women drive during their house-viewing expeditions in 1958?

(see the answer keys)

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