William Saroyan was born in Fresno, California, on August 31, 1908. He was the child of Armenian immigrants Armenak Saroyan, a preacher and poet, and Takoohi Saroyan, both from Bitlis in Historic Armenia (occupied by the Ottoman Turks). His parents left because of Ottoman Turkish massacres against Armenians in the 1890s. After his father died when he was three, Saroyan was placed in an orphanage for several years while his mother tried to save money to care for him and his siblings. Eventually, his family was reunited.
Saroyan did not graduate from high school but was determined to be a writer. He worked odd jobs and barely made a living. During this time, he was immersed in the diverse, rural culture of the San Joaquin Valley. These experiences, like those in the orphanage, became the center of his writings. By the beginning of World War II, Saroyan had written more than five hundred stories. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 and refused to accept an award from a business that judged art. Five days before he died, he issued this statement to the Associated Press: "Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"
He loved the San Joaquin Valley and his homeland—Armenia. At his request, half of his ashes were interred in Fresno and the other half in Armenia.
A Brief Biography of William Saroyan
William Saroyan was born in Fresno, California, on August 31, 1908. He was the child of Armenian immigrants Armenak Saroyan, a preacher and poet, and Takoohi Saroyan, both from Bitlis in Historic Armenia (occupied by the Ottoman Turks). His parents left because of Ottoman Turkish massacres against Armenians in the 1890s. After his father died when he was three, Saroyan was placed in an orphanage for several years while his mother tried to save money to care for him and his siblings. Eventually, his family was reunited.
Saroyan did not graduate from high school but was determined to be a writer. He worked odd jobs and barely made a living. During this time, he was immersed in the diverse, rural culture of the San Joaquin Valley. These experiences, like those in the orphanage, became the center of his writings. By the beginning of World War II, Saroyan had written more than five hundred stories. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 and refused to accept an award from a business that judged art.
Five days before he died, he issued this statement to the Associated Press: "Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"
He loved the San Joaquin Valley and his homeland—Armenia. At his request, half of his ashes were interred in Fresno and the other half in Armenia.
For a timeline of Saroyan’s life visit: https://williamsaroyansociety.org/chronology/