Before I Forget: A Memoir (and Then Some)

“A writer’s vivid recollection of an age when every day could be a dream.” Kirkus Reviews

From humble beginnings in a fractured family, Aram Saroyan, author of the most controversial one-word poem in history, charts an unforgettable journey through art, fame, and the 20th-century bohemian counterculture.

Before I Forget: A Memoir (and Then Some) is a powerful literary memoir from poet Aram Saroyan, son of William Saroyan, reflecting on a life shaped by art, fame, and fractured family. Includes rare photos, stories, and a behind-the-scenes view of American cultural and bohemian life from the 1950s onward.

In Before I Forget, Saroyan remembers his beginnings in Manhattan, Los Angeles, London, and Bolinas. The son of the beloved author William Saroyan and step-son of Walter Matthau, he probes the fallout of his father and mother’s broken marriage and lessons gleaned in their wake.

Saroyan paints a series of scenarios that impacted his life: An eight-year-old is cast out on the comic sea of Beverly Hills in the fifties. A young man encounters fame working with photographer Richard Avedon and a revolving list of models including Marilyn Monroe. A journey to nurture his own authentic, original literary voice finds love and support when least-expected, balancing the prickle of critical controversy. Here is a multi-faceted artist’s valedictory.

Includes 20 rare photos from the author’s personal archive and two narrative novellas that frame Saroyan’s life in literature with imaginative reflections and sharp emotional insight.