WilliamSaroyan

To mark the 115th anniversary of William Saroyan's birth, Public Radio of Armenia has produced a radio adaptation of his play of the same name. The story draws on an episode from the writer's own childhood, spent in an orphanage.

Three-year-old Willie is asked by Santa Claus, on Christmas Eve, what gift he would like. Unlike the other children, he asks for his father back. On Christmas Day, instead receiving only a small box with an ordinary present, the boy is overcome with disappointment — and runs away from the orphanage.

The story resurfaced nearly three decades later. In 1940, after hearing a radio broadcast about a Christmas celebration held for underprivileged children, Saroyan began writing the play the very moment the broadcast ended. By Christmas Eve of 1941, the play had already aired on CBS television.

Reflecting on the piece later in his book Razzle-Dazzle, Saroyan wrote that people are born with many strengths, but the greatest of all is expectation — a force so powerful in youth that, even as it fades with age, it never fully disappears.

The Armenian-language production aired on Public Radio ahead of the New Year. Translation by Elfik Zohrabyan.