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"Life is sobs, sniffles, and smiles,
with sniffles predominating."
William Sydney Porter didn't start writing fiction in prison; prison was merely where he became famous.
He'd already had some success as a humor writer in Houston when, in 1884, he was accused of embezzling money from the bank where he worked. He fled to Honduras. When he returned a year later to see his dying wife, he was tried and convicted, then sent to prison in Columbus, Ohio.
In order to earn money to support his young daughter, he began to submit short stories to national magazines under the name "O. Henry." The name is reputed to derive either from a guard at the penitentiary or a French pharmacist listed in a reference book. By the time he was released, after serving three of the five years, he had already begun to establish a reputation for clever, ironic stories. Trick endings were his hallmark. Critics didn't think much of them, but readers couldn't get enough.
He moved to New York after he was released and began writing for New York World and numerous other magazines. A drunk, constantly late for his deadlines, he nonetheless produced more than 600 short stories and 10 collections before his death at 47 from cirrhosis. In 1918, a competition was started in his name to select the best stories published in magazines from the year. The O. Henry Prize is still awarded every year, a testimony to Porter's influence on the development of the short story, not only as a literary form but also as a popular commercial force.
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HO. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
(1862-1910)
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