A writer with the rare gift of making hope feel eternal, even in the face of life's endings, William Saroyan (1908–1981) was born on this day in Fresno, California, the son of poor Armenian immigrants.

Orphaned young and forced to work early, he once said, “I had been kicked out of school so many times that I finally left for good when I was fifteen.” But hardship didn’t harden him, it deepened his compassion. Saroyan saw ordinary people as extraordinary, worthy of joy, dignity, and celebration.

His 1934 debut, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, honored the spirit of the individual with language as vivid as Walt Whitman’s verse. Saroyan believed in laughter, kindness, and the redemptive power of storytelling.

Believing that the common man has the ability to rise up and overcome adversity, Saroyan's writing celebrated good will and the joy of living. “In the time of your life, live so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches,” he wrote.

In 1939, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life, but declined it, saying that writers should not compete against one another. His most famous line remains a guiding light: “In the time of your life, live so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches.”