Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Codename: O. Henry

We recently read "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry in class and are currently doing a background check. 
  • real name: William Sydney Porter
  • born- September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina
  • when not writing he was a :
    • ranch hand
    • bookkeeper
    • bank teller
    • editor of The Rolling Stone
  • time in jail- a little over three years(1898-1901) for embezzling a bank
    • received the maximum reduction of time for good behavior
  • famous for- surprise endings or use of dramatic irony
  • has an award named after him that is given annually to the author who has the best stories printed in American magazines 
  • married Sara Coleman but she was never fully healthy and died in 1897
    • had a child with her but it died in infancy
  • after jail sentence went to New York city in an effort to get away from his past
  • remarried to a childhood sweetheart, but the marriage was a failure 
  • became an alcoholic at the end of his life
  • died-June 5, 1910 in New York City

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