Saroyan, William

Saroyan, William
born Aug. 31, 1908, Fresno, Calif., U.S.
died May 18, 1981, Fresno

U.S. writer.

Saroyan was the largely self-educated son of an Armenian immigrant. He made his initial impact during the Depression with brash, original, and irreverent stories celebrating the joy of living in spite of poverty, hunger, and insecurity. Much of his fiction is based on his childhood and family. His story collections include The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), Inhale and Exhale (1936), and My Name is Aram (1940). His other works include the play The Time of Your Life (1939, Pulitzer Prize) and The Human Comedy (1943), a sentimental novel of life in a small California town.

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▪ American author
born Aug. 31, 1908, Fresno, Calif., U.S.
died May 18, 1981, Fresno
 U.S. writer who made his initial impact during the Depression with a deluge of brash, original, and irreverent stories celebrating the joy of living in spite of poverty, hunger, and insecurity.

      The son of an Armenian immigrant, Saroyan left school at 15 and educated himself by reading and writing. His first collection of stories, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), was soon followed by another collection, Inhale and Exhale (1936). His first play, My Heart's in the Highlands, was brilliantly produced by the Group Theatre in 1939. In 1940 Saroyan refused the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life (performed 1939) on the grounds that it was “no more great or good” than anything else he had written.

      Saroyan was concerned with the basic goodness of all people, especially the obscure and naive, and the value of life. His mastery of the vernacular makes his characters vibrantly alive. Most of his stories are based on his childhood and family, notably the collection My Name Is Aram (1940) and the novel The Human Comedy (1943). His novels, such as Rock Wagram (1951) and The Laughing Matter (1953), were inspired by his own experiences of marriage, fatherhood, and divorce.

      From 1958 on, Saroyan lived mostly in Paris for “tax purposes,” though he continued to maintain a home in Fresno, Calif., where he had been born and raised. The autobiographical element was strong in all his work, usually disguised as fiction; but some of his later memoirs, consisting of vignettes and brief essays written largely in Paris and Fresno, have their own enduring value. They include Here Comes, There Goes You Know Who (1961), Not Dying (1963), Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon (1971), and Places Where I've Done Time (1975).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Saroyan, William — ► (1908 81) Escritor estadounidense. Su obra se caracteriza por el tono poético. Su estilo es impresionista. Obras: El atrevido muchacho del trapecio (1934) y Mi nombre es Aram (1940), entre otras. * * * (31 ago. 1908, Fresno, Cal., EE.UU.–18 may …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Saroyan,William — Sa·roy·an (sə roiʹən), William. 1908 1981. American writer whose works include short stories, such as The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), plays, most notably The Time of Your Life (1939), and novels. * * * …   Universalium

  • Saroyan, William —    см. Сароян, Уильям …   Писатели США. Краткие творческие биографии

  • Saroyan — Saroyan, William …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William Saroyan — Willian Saroyan en 1940. Autres noms Sirak Goryan Activités Écrivain …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Saroyan — William Saroyan William Saroyan (* 31. August 1908 in Fresno, Kalifornien; † 18. Mai 1981 ebenda) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Saroyan — (* 31. August 1908 in Fresno, Kalifornien; † 18. Mai 1981 ebenda) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • SAROYAN (W.) — SAROYAN WILLIAM (1908 1981) C’est dans le quartier arménien de Fresno, en Californie, que naît William Saroyan. Son père meurt en 1911 et les enfants Saroyan sont placés dans un orphelinat d’Oakland, leur mère travaillant alors à San Francisco.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • William Saroyan — Infobox Writer name = William Saroyan imagesize = 200px caption = William Saroyan, 1940 pseudonym = birthdate = August 31, 1908 birthplace = Fresno, California, USA deathdate = May 18, 1981 (aged 72) deathplace = Fresno, California, USA… …   Wikipedia

  • William Saroyan — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar …   Wikipedia Español

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