William Saroyan

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William Saroyan (August 31, 1908 to May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer.

In 1940, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and in 1943 was named Best Story in the Academy's Best Story for his film version of his book The Human Comedy. Saroyan wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant life in California.

Many of his stories and performances are set in Fresno, California.

The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram, and My Heart's in the Highlands are among his best-known works. "One of the twentieth century's most influential literary figures" has been referred to by Dickinson College's news release, as "one of the twentieth century's most influential literary figures" and "one of the twentieth century's most underrated writers." "He takes his position naturally alongside Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Faulkner," Fry says.

Early years

William Saroyan was born in Fresno, California, on August 31, 1908, to Armenak and Takuhi Saroyan, Armenian immigrants from Bitlis, Ottoman Empire. In 1905, his father came to New York and began preaching in Armenian Apostolic churches.

Saroyan, along with his brother and sister, were put in an orphanage in Oakland, California, at the age of three. In his writings, he went further to relate his orphanage experience. The family reunited in Fresno, where his mother, Takuhi, had already secured work at a cannery five years ago. He continued his education on his own, helping himself with jobs, such as serving as an office manager for the San Francisco Telegraph Company.

After his mother told him a copy of his father's poems, Saroyan decided to become a writer. In Overland Monthly, a few of his early short articles were published. He began writing in the 1920s. Among these was "The Broken Wheel," written under the name Sirak Goryan and published in the Armenian journal Hairenik in 1933. Many of Saroyan's stories were based on his childhood experiences with the Armenian-American fruit growers of the San Joaquin Valley, or at the rootlessness of the immigrant. My Name Is Aram (1940), an international bestseller, was about a young boy and the colorful characters of his immigrant family. It has been translated into several languages.

Saroyan's breakthrough in Story magazine with "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" (1934), the name taken from the nineteenth-century song of the same name. In Knut Hamsun's 1890 novel Hunger, the protagonist — a young, starving writer who struggles to function in a Depression-ridden world — resembles the penniless writer, but Hamsun's narrator lacks the nihilism and nihilism of Hamsun's narrator.

"You might get cancer from the thing that makes you want to smoke so much, not from the smoking itself," Saroyan was able to travel to Europe and Armenia, where he discovered the taste of Russian cigarettes. "I want to learn to breathe deeply; really to taste food as you eat; and when you sleep deeply to sleep." Try to be fully alive with all your energies, and if you laugh, crowl like hell." Saroyan wanted to create "Saroyanesque" a zest for life and ostensibly optimistic style.

Saroyan's tales of the period lend an unvarnished attention to the trials and tribulation, socioeconomic hardship, and despair of the Depression. He worked quickly, barely editing his text, and bingeing and gaming away a large portion of his income.

In essays and memoirs, Saroyan depicted the people he encountered on travels in Russia and Europe, such as playwright George Bernard Shaw, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, and Charlie Chaplin. In 1952, Saroyan published The Bicycle Rider in Beverly Hills, the first of several volumes of memoirs. Several other works were based on his own experiences, but his autobiographical truth gave rise to a fair amount of poetic license. Saroyan's plays frequently dismissed the belief that conflict is essential to drama, despite being drawn from such personal sources. My Heart in the Highlands (1939), his first play, a play about a young boy and his Armenian family, was produced at the Guild Theatre in New York. He is perhaps best known for his 1939 play The Time of Your Life (1939), set in a waterfront saloon in San Francisco, but he is certainly best known for his play The Time of Your Life (1939). It was a Pulitzer Prize that was rejected on the grounds that commerce should not evaluate the arts; Saroyan, however, accepted the New York Drama Critics' Circle award. The play was turned into a 1948 film starring James Cagney.

Saroyan had worked on the screenplay of Golden Boy (1939), based on Clifford Odets' play, but he never had much success in Hollywood. The Human Comedy (1943) in Ithaca, California, is set in the fictional town of Ithaca (based on Saroyan's memories of Fresno, California), where young telegraph messenger Homer Jim Morton testifies to the griefs and pleasures of life during World War II.

Louis B. Mayer, who had been hired to write the MGM screenplay, was furious, but Saroyan was ruled out from directing the project. He then turned the script into a book and revealed it only after the film's unveiling, for which he received the 1943 Academy Award for Best Story. The novel is often credited as the source for the film, but in fact the opposite is true. The novel was actually the basis for a 1983 musical of the same name. Despite his often difficult financial circumstances, he never approved Hollywood screen adaptations of any of his books.

Saroyan served in the United States Army during World War II and was stationed in Astoria, Queens, spending a significant portion of his time at the Lombardy Hotel in Manhattan, far from Army personnel. In 1942, he was sent as part of a film unit in London. When his book, The Adventures of Wesley Jackson, was published as advocating pacifism, he barely escaped a court martial. After the war, Saroyan's novels' interest in them fell, when he was chastised for sentimentality. He fundamental beliefs, brotherly love, and universal benevolence were among his basic values, but critics considered his convictions to be out of step with the times, which, they observed, were devoted to division, ethnic and ideological bigotry, and universal predation. He continued to write regularly, so one of his followers might ask, "How can you write so much good stuff and yet write such rubbish stuff?" Saroyan mixed allegorical elements within a realistic novel in The Assyrian and Other Stories (1950) and in The Laughing Matter (1953). Sam Ego's House (1949) and The Slaughter of the Innocents (1958) were not as popular as his prewar plays. Many of Saroyan's later plays, including The Paris Comedy (1960), The London Comedy (1960), and Settled Out of Court (1960), premiered in Europe. His other works, as well as the scripts of a few unperformed plays, are now at Stanford University.

When Ernest Hemingway learned that Saroyan had mocked the controversial non-fiction work Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway replied: "We've seen them come and go — even better ones than you," Hemingway said. Saroyan is a narrator.

One of Saroyan's most lucrative ventures was certainly the most unlikely: the song "Come On a My House," which became a huge hit for singer Rosemary Clooney in 1951. Saroyan produced the song in 1939 with his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (who later became known as "David Seville," the impresario behind Alvin and the Chipmunks), using the music from an Armenian folk song.

Saroyan also painted. "I made drawings before I learned how to write," he said. The desire to do so seems to be primitive — it's both the invention and the use of language." The Anita Shapolsky Gallery in New York City had his abstract expressionist works on display. William Saroyan mainly lived in a Paris apartment from 1958 to 2009. Saroyan's money in the late 1960s and 1970s grew more as a result of debt consolidation, and finally got out of debt. In 1979, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In honor of his grade 11 English book Snapshots titled "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse," the Indian educational board CBSE has included a chapter from "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse."

Saroyan had a correspondence with writer Sanora Babb that began in 1932 and ended in 1941, which escalated into an unrequited love affair on Saroyan's part.

Carol Grace, a writer and illustrator, and Lucy, an actress, married in 1943 by Saroyan (1924–2003). Saroyan's alcohol and gambling took a toll on his marriage, and he filed for divorce in 1949 after returning from a long European trip. They married in 1951 and divorced again in 1952, with Marcus later admitting to abuse in her autobiography, Among the Porcupines: A Memoir. Carol Grace (Marcus) married actor Walter Matthau in 1959, and the pair married until his death in 2000.

At the age of 72, Saroyan died in Fresno, California, of prostate cancer. Half of his ashes were buried in California and the majority in Armenia at the Komitas Pantheon, near fellow artists such as composer Aram Khachaturian, painter Martiros Saryan, and film producer Sergei Parajanov.

Personal life

Saroyan maintained a friendship with writer Sanora Babb that began in 1932 and ended in 1941, which developed into an unrequited love affair on Saroyan's part.

Carol Grace, 1943–2003; also known as Carol Marcus), married actress Carol Grace (1924–2003), with whom he had two children: Aram, who became an author and published a book about his father, and Lucy, who became an actor. Saroyan's alcoholism and gambling took a toll on his marriage, and he filed for divorce in 1949 after returning from a long European trip. They married in 1951 and divorced again in 1952, with Marcus later claiming that Saroyan was cruel in her autobiography Among the Porcupines: A Memoir. Carol Grace (Marcus) married actor Walter Matthau in 1959, and the pair remained married until his death in 2000.

At the age of 72, Saroyan died in Fresno, Californo, from prostate cancer. Half of his ashes were buried in California, and the rest were left in Armenia at the Komitas Pantheon near composer Aram Khachaturian, painter Martiros Saryan, and film director Sergei Parajanov.

Source

Career

Saroyan's breakthrough in Story magazine with "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" (1934), a term derived from the nineteenth-century song of the same name. In Knut Hamsun's 1890 novel Hunger, the protagonist — a young, starving writer who struggles to function in a Depression-ridden world — resembles the penniless writer, but Hamsun's narrator lacks the nihilism and nihilism of Hamsun's narrator.

The tale was republished in a series whose royal connections allowed Saroyan to travel to Europe and Armenia, where he discovered that "you may want to get cancer from the things that makes you want to smoke so much, not from the smoking itself." His advice to a young writer was: "I want to learn to breathe deeply; really to try food when you eat; and when you sleep well, to sleep." Try to be fully alive with all your might, and if you laugh, yell like hell." Saroyan tried to create a prose style that was both vibrant and highly visible, with the name "Saroyanesque" being coined.

Saroyan's stories of the period consistently devote an unvarnished focus to the trials and tribulation, socioeconomic distress, and dread of the depression. He was a whiz with his text, and binge drinking and gambling took a significant part of his income.

Saroyan's essay and memoirs in which he depicted the people he had encountered on travels in the Soviet Union and Europe, such as playwright George Bernard Shaw, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, and Charlie Chaplin. Saroyan published The Bicycle Rider in Beverly Hills, the first of many volumes of memoirs, in 1952. Several other works were based on his own experiences, though his autobiographical truth possessed a fair bit of poetic license. Saroyan's plays often dismissed the notion that conflict is necessary to drama because they are drawn from such personal sources. My Heart in the Highlands (1939), his first performance, a tale about a teenage boy and his Armenian family, was staged at the Guild Theatre in New York. He is perhaps best known for his 1936 film The Time of Your Life (1939), set in a San Francisco waterfront saloon. It received a Pulitzer Prize, but Saroyan turned down the opportunity on the grounds that commerce should not judge the arts; however, he did accept the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. The play was turned into a 1948 film starring James Cagney.

Saroyan had worked on the screenplay of Golden Boy (1939), based on Clifford Odets' play, but he had no success in Hollywood before the war. The Human Comedy (1943), based on Saroyan's memories of Fresno, California), where young telegraph messenger Homer testifies to the struggles and triumphs of life during World War II.

Louis B. Mayer balked at the length of the MGM screenplay, but Saroyan refused to compromise and was barred from directing the project. He then turned the script into a book, releasing it just days before the film was announced for the first time. He also received the 1943 Academy Award for Best Story. The novel is often credited as the source for the film, but the reverse is true. The novel was actually the basis for a 1983 musical of the same name. Despite his often dire financial situation, he never allowed Hollywood screen adaptations of any of his books after his disappointment with the Human Comedy film project.

Saroyan spent much of his time at the Lombardy Hotel in Astoria, Queens, away from Army personnel. He was sent to London in 1942 as part of a film unit. When his book, The Adventures of Wesley Jackson, was seen as promoting pacifism, he barely escaped a court martial. After the war, when he was chastised for sentimentality, interest in Saroyan's books slowed. He basic beliefs, brotherly love, and universal benevolence were all essential for him, but critics characterized his convictions as out of step with the times, which, in their view, were clearly defined as dedicated to division, ethnic and racial bigotry, and universal predation. He wrote prolifically, so that one of his readers might ask, "How can you write so much good stuff while still writing such mediocre stuff?" Saroyan's novellas The Assyrian and Other Stories (1950) and in The Laughing Matter (1953), he used allegorical elements within a realistic story. Sam Ego's House (1949) and The Slaughter of the Innocents (1958) were not as popular as his prewar performances. Many of Saroyan's later plays, such as The Paris Comedy (1960), The London Comedy (1960), and Settled Out of Court (1960), premiered in Europe. With his other publications, a manuscripts from a number of unperformed plays is now at Stanford University.

Hemingway responded as Ernest Hemingway learned that Saroyan had mocked the controversial non-fiction work Death in the Afternoon: "We've seen them come and go," Hemingway said, as well as better ones than you." "Saroyan" was the word that came to mind.

One of Saroyan's most lucrative ventures was perhaps his most unlikely: the song "Come On a My House," which became a big success in 1951 for singer Rosemary Clooney. Saroyan wrote the song in 1939 with his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (who later became known as "David Seville," the impresario behind Alvin and the Chipmunks) based the song on an Armenian folk song.

Saroyan has also painted. "I made drawings before I learned how to write," he said. The desire to do so seems to be primitive; it's both the invention and the use of words. The Anita Shapolsky Gallery in New York City had his abstract expressionist works on display. William Saroyan lived in a Paris flat from 1958 to present. Saroyan's income in the late 1960s and 1970s grew more money and eventually came out of debt. In 1979, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In honor of his grade 11 English book Snapshots "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse," the Indian educational board CBSE has included a chapter of his book "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse."

Saroyan had a correspondence with writer Sanora Babb that started in 1932 and ended in 1941, which devolved into an unrequited love affair on Saroyan's part.

Carol Grace, a writer and illustrator who later became known as Carol Marcus), and Lucy, who became an actor, married Saroyan (1943–2003). Saroyan's alcoholism and gambling took a toll on his marriage, and in 1949, after returning from a long European trip, he filed for divorce. They married in 1951 and divorced again in 1952, with Marcus later claiming in her autobiography, Among the Porcupines: A Memoir, that Saroyan was abused. Carol Grace (Marcus) married actor Walter Matthau in 1959, and the pair remained married until his death in 2000.

Saroyan died of prostate cancer in Fresno at the age of 72. Half of his ashes were buried in California, but the remainder were in Armenia at the Komitas Pantheon, near fellow artists such as composer Aram Khachaturian, painter Martiros Saryan, and film director Sergei Parajanov.

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