SOURCE: "That Daring Young Man, Mr. Saroyan," in Lucifer at Large, Longmans, Green and Co., 1937, pp. 257-73.

In the following essay, McCole provides a highly critical assessment of Saroyan's originality as a writer.

Mr. William Saroyan has not only evoked perdition upon all the short-story professors by telling them they can go take "a jump in the river," but he has also hurled all their baggage-load of techniques into the river after them. As a matter of fact, long before Mr. Saroyan ever thought of becoming a writer he had decided that the only thing for him to do, would be to make his own rules. For one thing, his own rules might be easier to follow.

Some day, perchance, the literary historian might find it interesting to remember that William Saroyan's first break with the professors took place one afternoon when our future author was at the...