The path of writing is not strewn with roses, especially if you haven’t dreamed of being a writer since childhood and didn’t understand that this work could be your calling. This was the case with the American writer William Saroyan, who was distinguished by his bright talent and wrote on interesting topics.
Everyone who knew him noted that he was a highly educated, tactful and very hardworking person. Combined with his natural talent for writing, these qualities helped him create a range of works that were popular during his lifetime and remain so today.
Moreover, he did not forget his Armenian roots, although he was born in America, and often resorted to this topic in his stories.
Biography
William Saroyan was born in 1908 in California, in the city of Fresno. His father emigrated from Turkey and was engaged in winemaking in his new homeland. Unfortunately, William's father died early, and the boy was forced to spend some time at the orphanage. This time helped him sharply feel the need for family ties, a sense of loneliness, which subsequently gave food for the writing mind.
After the shelter and receiving secondary education, Saroyan worked as anyone he had: a postman, a courier, and the like. This period of life also provided a great material for creating images of the heroes of future works. Moreover, despite the hardships, all his stories are filled with a sense of kindness, mercy and compassion. The main motive of any work of the writer is belief in a happy future. And the main characters, as a rule, are distinguished by simplicity and at the same time a rich inner world and spirituality.
In 1934, the first collection of Saroyan's stories was published, entitled "A Brave Young Man on a Flying Trapeze." The main character of the collection is a boy who had to fight for the right to live. The collection immediately became popular, it was sold out and praised. This inspired the young writer and he began to write further.
In 1940, another collection was published from the pen of the writer - "My name is Aram". Here he described his life in his youth, and many readers recognized themselves in this narration, so they took the new opus of the writer with interest. The same autobiographical facts were described by Saroyan in the story "The Human Comedy".
During the war, William was drafted into the armed forces, and there he did not stop writing - in 1944 the collection "Dear Baby" was published. Under the influence of military events, Saroyan became infected with pacifist sentiments. Under their influence, he wrote the novel "The Adventures of Wesley Jackson", which, due to its sharpness, did not want to be published for a long time, but in 1946 it was published.
The writer also has dramatic works: the plays "My heart is in the mountains", "Our whole life", "Wonderful people", "Come in, old man." They were staged on Broadway.
His works were awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Oscar for the best primary source. And also the writers of the USSR of the 60s "grew up" from them, because it was very popular in the Soviet Union.
After the death of the writer, the Saroyan house-museum was opened in his hometown of Fresno.
Personal life
William Saroyan was married twice, though to the same woman - Carol Marcus. Before the divorce, they had a son, Aram. After parting, the former spouses got back together, and they had a daughter, Lusine. The reason for the controversy was that William was sometimes very addicted to gambling.
Buried William Saroyan in the city of Fresno.
