O. Henry was prolific and famous in the US in the early decades of the 20th Century. His short stories brought to life dialects, scenes and lifestyles of NY, Texas and South America.
Then he was abandoned and even belittles by academia (he rarely makes an appearance in anthologies) and is now on the outskirts of literature.
I have been reading a short story collection of his and am torn as to whether this excommunication is deserves. His stories are gritty, filled with wonderful dialogue and interesting characters. He style and rhythm are captivating.
However, the stories tend to flat characters and there is no real intellectual change. The stories have twist endings which are fun at first, but by the 10th story become predictable.
What do others think?
by The-literary-jukes
13 Comments
I’d say the silence about the post about sums everything up, he wasnt taught in college so nobody knows who he is. *The Gift of the Magi* has been done many, many times in various ways (he probably isn’t even the first to do such a story). I quite like his short stories, grabbed two of books in the Readers Digest World’s Best Reading set and found him through that.
I‘m not convinced of your premise though. Abandoned, belittled, omitted, excommunicated. I‘d need some citations or examples of anthologies.
Was he abandoned by academia or never part of academia? I’ve never read any, but I thought they were light, popular fiction, a genre that is rarely discussed in academia of any era.
*The Last Leaf* is one of the most poignantly beautiful stories I’ve ever read, and I wish it would be taught in schools and included in anthologies more.
Considering the impact o’Henry stories had on comics and uk comics.
Never read any but I love them with all my heart.
I love O. Henry. 100% underrated
If you are ever in Austin, Texas – his old home is a museum in the downtown area.
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum
They also hold a “Pun-Off” event each year there (or close by) to help with donations.
http://www.punpunpun.com/
There is an award named after him; how underrated can he really be?
l once read a story about pancakes that l am pretty sure was o. henry. l have been trying to find it since. he may have called tgem flapjacks.
it was really smart and funny and l loved it. can anyone help?
Just here to say, i don’t know much about his standing in literature, but I got a book of his short stories as a teen and I loved them. Only properly remember the Gift of the Magi but still…
I feel like it’s tough to be famous on short stories.
He never wrote a strong novel (Cabbages and Kings is not really a novel but linked short stories) and his legacy suffers for it.
I think Edgar Alan Poe’s fame is more of an exception than a rule.
P.s. but apparently the term “banana republic” was invented by O. Henry in that “novel.”
I tried to read a collection from him and found all the short stories therein, including Gift of the Magi, to be completely trite. He isn’t a complete waste of time, but even saying underrated might be a bit strong.
I think Mark Twain is a great comparison for O. Henry, but even he was putting out work that was seeking more intellectual acclaim. I don’t think Henry ever wanted to be a literary darling. He wasn’t an academic or even a Serious Journalist in the way Twain was.
I think one major explanation for his lack of modern relevance is that he simply wasn’t as prolific as someone like Twain. He led kind of a chaotic and sad life if I remember correctly (we watched a little documentary about him when I was in school, but have vague memories of the details). And he was raised in the Jim Crow South, which I can’t help but wonder if this increased his use of irony and less than generous views on humanity as a whole.
The Ransom of Red Chief is a great little short story, and ought to be adapted at least half as much as Gift of the Magi.