Series | Translating Wor(l)ds
Edited book | Orienti migranti: tra letteratura e traduzione
Chapter | William Saroyan: Ethnic and Family Identities in Universal Settings
William Saroyan: Ethnic and Family Identities in Universal Settings
Abstract
As a particular cultural production, migration literature, increasingly heralded as a new world literature, internationalised literature or world fiction – is a form of transnational writing, concerned mostly with cosmopolitan issues. The universalism of migration literature, however, is based on national or ethnic tradition. Moreover, it is manifested through original life experiences and attitudes that are typical of ethnic expressions of identities. The significant point that this paper emphasises is the fact that William Saroyan is an author who represents a dynamic Armenian-American cultural blend, moving both universal and ethnic literary expressions to new heights. His works demonstrate clearly both his universality and his adherence to national heritage – his ethnic and family identities are employed in his distinct western settings and tones.
Submitted: May 21, 2020 | Accepted: Sept. 7, 2020 | Published Dec. 21, 2020 | Language: en
Keywords Migration literature • William Saroyan • Ethnic identity • Armenian-American cultural blend • Cosmopolitan dimension • Family identity
Copyright © 2020 Gaiane Muradian, Gaiane Muradian. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-499-8/003
