Door to the River: Essays and Reviews from the 1960s Into the Digital Age

by Aram Saroyan

"I grew up the son of a famous writer, grew up in his shadow in a general sense, except for two fortuitous graces . . . the first, that astrologically speaking I had many planets in Leo and so I was absurdly full of confidence, when I wasn't struck numb with my own incapacities. And the other, and perhaps the decisive factor, was that I had the honor of being a member of the generation that came of age in the sixties."
So begins Aram Saroyan's essay, " Writer," about his vocation, the sixties generation, and the fundamental task of coming to understand himself not as the son of William Saroyan but as his own person. Saroyan found his calling as a writer early on, starting out as a poet, and going on to write op-ed pieces, reviews, novels, biographies, memoirs, screenplays, and plays. In this essay and others included here, he explores the difficult task of finding one's way as a writer.

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Aram Saroyan is an American poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. There has been a resurgence of interest in his work in the 21st century, evidenced by the publication in 2007 of several previous collections reissued together as Complete Minimal Poems. He is the son of author William Saroyan and actress Carol Grace, and the father of Strawberry Saroyan.

Reviews

[Godine Publisher & Black Sparrow Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

The selected reviews from the late twentieth century, which make up the latter half of the book, provide a retrospective of the works of both major and alternative cultural figures from the generation of which Saroyan himself was a representative member. The beauty and power of this critical genre, now threatened by the regular cuts and closures of newspaper book review sections, is on full display here, arguing for the importance of, as Saroyan calls it, getting a thought or two out into the daily discourse. With Saroyan at the bully pulpit, the daily discourse is much richer for it.

"A writer who looks deeply into himself and his own experience, confronts what he finds there with real courage and reports what he has experienced with a measure of candor that is both breathtaking and, at moments, heartbreaking." — Jonathan Kirsch, L.A. Times

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Door To The River is a book of essays and reviews written by Adam Saroyan on the development of America's literary tradition and the innovative storytellers who raised the bar, broke through boundaries, and fueled future generations.