The National Library of Armenia was in a Saroyan mood yesterday. We hosted translator Aram Ohanyan at the library. The translator spoke about his Russian translation of William Saroyan’s play “The Hours of Your Life” and the book of the same name published by the St. Petersburg Museum of Unique Objects in the “Museum of a Play” series, as well as about the odyssey of this play by Saroyan, the performances of the play on different stages around the world, and many other facts.

It is enough to mention that “The Hours of Your Life,” which brought Saroyan the Pulitzer Prize, has been staged more than 120 times in different countries worldwide, from the first pilot performances in the United States to the Russian production in 2024.

In the book Years of Your Life, published by RENOME publishing house in 2025, in addition to the play, the translator’s article about the premiere on Broadway in 1939 is included. This article presents interesting facts about the characters, prototypes, and actors of the play and, of course, the story of the Pulitzer Prize award, which Saroyan refused.

Aram Ohanyan noted that by a happy coincidence, he also got Saroyan’s ex libris (bookplate). The book also contains materials from the translator’s collection dedicated to the author: rare magazines and newspapers, autographs, photographs, etc.