William Saroyan

William Saroyan was an outspoken American writer of both fiction and plays. Born in Fresno, California to the son of Armenian immigrants, Saroyan's stories were often rooted in the immigrant perspective from either his father's or his own viewpoint. Saroyan published over 1,500 short stories, plays, and novels, and, in 1940, was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. William Saroyan turned down the Pulitzer stating that "Commerce should not patronize art."