Today is the 112th birthday of American-Armenian prominent writer William Saroyan.
William Saroyan was born in an Armenian family who emigrated from the city of Bitlis in Western Armenia to Fresno, USA. In the Boston "Homeland" weekly in 1933 his first story was published under the signature of Sirak Goryan. Saroyan's first collection of short stories, "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", was published in 1934, and bring recognition to the writer.
"Although I write in english and I am an American by birth, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The language in which I write is english, the environment I describe is American, and the spirit that drives me to write is Armenian. So I am an Armenian writer and I belong to a family of Armenian writers", Saroyan said.
1939 For the play "The Time of Your Life" Saroyan was awarded the New York Critics' and Pulitzer Prizes, but refused the latter, noting that the state should not interfere in the affairs of literature.
Saroyan is the first laureate of the Armenian SSR Prize for Active activities for the Preservation of Peace and strengthening relations with the Homeland.
A street, a school and a university were named after Saroyan in Yerevan, and a monument was erected.
William Saroyan died on May 16, 1981 in Fresno. 2008 was announced as "Saroyan Year" in Armenia on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the writer.
This year, the "Veratsnund" (Renaissance) Cultural and Intellectual Foundation, in the framework of the project of William Saroyan House-Museum and #Saroyanweek planned a number of initiatives along with "Zangak" bookstore.
