A
Quick Overview:
O. 
Henry was born in Greensboro, N.C., U.S.and died. June 5, 1910 in
New York City. He is the U.S.short-story writer whose tales romanticized
the commonplace--in particular the life of ordinary people in New York
City. His stories expressed the effect of coincidence on character through
humour, grim or ironic, and often had surprise endings, a device that became
identified with his name and cost him critical favor when its vogue had
passed.
"Henry, O." Britannica Online.
<http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/267/12.html>
[Accessed 17 September 1998].
Comments: I don't care a fig about popular vogue. O. Henry's stories were some of my earliest favorites and they continue to delight. He's one of the few I actually read out loud in class. . .especially "The Ransom of Red Chief.". One of the ways modern criticism devalues an author is by labeling his or her work in some sort of pejorative way. In O. Henry's case the term which flies about is formulaic. As in the above note from Britannica says his literary reputation has suffered because he followed the successful method of including a twist. There can be no doubt that this is formulaic, that with an O. Henry story the reader knows the that there is going to be some sort of surprise at the end of his narrative. However, to suggest that he has sacrificed his artistic imagination and is untrue to his vision because of this seems to me presumptions. In fact the power of his genius is that he often still surprises me. Therefore, I do not see any reason to see him as an inferior author because he has this predictable quality any more than I see Dickens and Shakespeare as being inferior because they works also follow certain audience expectations.
In point of fact, however, I need not get steamed up about this. The public has spoken. Critics may pooh pooh his work, but his stories are still read with pleasure by many. He is one of my students' favorite authors. So in the end, his stories will be remembered while his detractors words will be nothing more than dust--nothing is so short lived than a literary fad.
Porter attended a school taught by his aunt, then clerked in his uncle's
drugstore. In 1882 he went to Texas, where he worked on a ranch, in a
general land office, and later as teller in the First National Bank in
Austin.
He began writing sketches at about the time of his marriage to Athol
Estes in 1887, and in 1894 he started a humorous weekly, The Rolling
Stone. When that venture failed, Porter joined the Houston Post
as
reporter, columnist, and occasional cartoonist.
In February 1896 he was indicted for embezzlement of bank funds.
Friends aided his flight to Honduras. News of his wife's fatal illness,
however, brought him back to Austin, and lenient authorities did not
press his case until after her death. When convicted, Porter received the
lightest sentence possible and in 1898 he entered the penitentiary at
Columbus, Ohio; his sentence was shortened to three years and three
months for good behaviour. As night druggist in the prison hospital, he
could write to earn money for support of his daughter Margaret. His
stories of adventure in the southwest U.S. and Central America were
immediately popular with magazine readers, and when he emerged from
prison W.S. Porter had become O. Henry.
In 1902 O. Henry arrived in New York--his "Bagdad on the Subway."
From December 1903 to January 1906 he produced a story a week for
the New York World, writing also for magazines. His first book,
Cabbages and Kings (1904), depicted fantastic characters against
exotic Honduran backgrounds. Both The Four Million (1906) and The
Trimmed Lamp (1907) explored the lives of the multitude of New York
in their daily routines and searchings for romance and adventure. Heart
of the West (1907) presented accurate and fascinating tales of the
Texas
range.
Then in rapid succession came The Voice of the City (1908), The
Gentle
Grafter (1908), Roads of Destiny (1909), Options (1909),
Strictly
Business (1910), and Whirligigs (1910). Whirligigs contains
perhaps
Porter's funniest story, "The Ransom of Red Chief."
Despite his popularity, O. Henry's final years were marred by ill-health,
a desperate financial struggle, and alcoholism. A second marriage in
1907 was unhappy. After his death three more collected volumes
appeared: Sixes and Sevens (1911), Rolling Stones (1912),
and Waifs
and Strays (1917). Later, seven fugitive stories and poems, O.
Henryana (1920), Letters to Lithopolis (1922) and two collections
of
his early work on the Houston Post, Postscripts (1923), and O.
Henry
Encore (1939), were published. Foreign translations and adaptations
for
other art forms, including films and television, attest his universal
application and appeal. Gerald Langford's biography, Alias O. Henry,
was published in 1957.
"Henry, O." Britannica Online.
<http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/267/12.html>
[Accessed 17 September 1998].
William
S. Porter, "O. Henry"
Biography of William S. Porter, better known by the pen name O. Henry.
