William Saroyan
William Saroyan
William Saroyanwas an American dramatist and author. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film adaptation of his novel The Human Comedy...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth31 August 1908
CityFresno, CA
born flesh love streets
The streets made me, and the streets stink, but I love them, for I was born in them out of flesh and I was born in them out of spirit.
annoying enemy
No enemy is so annoying as one who was a friend, or still is a friend, and there are many more of these than one would suspect.
cheers multitude neither nor rebel walks writer
He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The writer who is a real writer is a rebel who never stops.
afraid boy seemed victim
I was a little afraid of him; not the boy himself, but of what he seemed to be: the victim of the world.
add infinite misery mystery shall smile sorrow time variety wondrous
In the time of your life, live - so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite variety and mystery of it.
understand
They understand matter, not spirit. And you and I live in spirit.
failure good people wisdom
Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.
despise evil godliness men un
Despise evil and un godliness but not men of un godliness or evil.
swift visual wisdom
My wisdom was visual and as swift as vision.
armenian boy faster fastest impatient keen messenger nickname pace plots
I used to be the fastest telegram messenger boy in all Fresno. My nickname was "Speed." Finally, I said, "Take back your nickname. This pace is killing me." Anyway, I still write fast -- it's my impatient Armenian nature. I'm keen to find out how my plots end, and if I write faster I'll find out sooner.
glad home
But the world was my home and I was glad to be in it.
passenger
He wanted to be a passenger on anything that was going anywhere, but most of all on a ship.
measure weigh worth
If you can measure it, don't. If you can weigh it, it isn't worth the bother. It isn't what you're after. It isn't going to get it.
guilt innocence nor
No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart.