'There's only one rule'

 

“Write what you like; there is no other rule.” – O. Henry

William Henry Porter – known by the pen name O. Henry – is perhaps America’s greatest short story writer.   His works set a standard for generations of writers and today the O. Henry Award is a prestigious annual prize given for outstanding stories in the genre'.

 

Born in North Carolina on this date in 1862, O. Henry grew up in Texas.  Working as a banker in Houston in 1895, he was accused of embezzlement and in a panic fled the country.

 

While the charges were never proven, he lived for a time in South America where he began writing short stories and coined the term “Banana Republic,” first used in his story “Cabbages and Kings.”  Drawn back to America when his wife developed a fatal illness, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison.  While there he wrote many successful stories, publishing under various names to hide his identity.  One of those names was O. Henry.

 

After being released early for good behavior, he wrote steadily and had dozens of best-selling stories and story collections published, establishing himself as one of America’s most well-known and beloved writers. 

 

Among his most famous stories, still popular today, are The Gift of the Magi; The Last Leaf; The Ransom of Red Chief (where a kidnap victim is so horrible that the kidnappers end up paying his family to take him back); and Caballero’s Way (introducing the world to The Cisco Kid).

 

O. Henry died from liver disease at age 47 but on his death bed said he loved every minute of his life and being a writer.  “When one loves one's art,” he said, “no service seems too hard.”