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.