Probably O’Henry’s most well-known story, The Gift of the Magi, originally published in the collection, The Four Million, published in 1906. O. Henry (1862–1910), the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter, was a prolific American short story writer known for his wit, wordplay, and unexpected plot twists, most famously in “The Gift of the Magi.” He…
I was saddened to find out a few years ago that they discontinued the old writer’s market guides by Writer’s Digest Books. In fact, it seems the whole Writer’s Digest Books division went the way of the Do Do bird. I had every edition since 1978. Then I got all excited. I heard it was…
Richard Cory by Edward Arlington Robinson Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim. And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said,…
Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir I heard the wagons rumbling past the garden fence, sometimes I even saw them through gently swaying gaps in the foliage. How the wood of their spokes and shafts creaked in the summer heat! Laborers were coming from the fields and laughing so that it was a scandal. I…
The telephone rang at Warren Hinckle’s San Francisco home at about 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, April 29, 1970. When Hinckle picked up the receiver, he heard the unmistakable voice of Hunter S. Thompson, calling from Aspen, proclaiming, “Goddammit, Scanlan’s has to cover the Derby. It’s important.” The pitch, even at the late hour and the…
YOU AND YOUR BEER AND HOW GREAT YOU ARE by Charles Bukowski Enjoy… Jack came through the door and found the pack of cigarettes on the mantle. Ann was on the couch reading a copy of Cosmopolitan. Jack lit up, sat down in a chair. It was ten minutes to midnight. “Charley told you not to…
I was thinking the other day I don’t have near enough O. Henry. in fact, I don’t have any. Time to fix that. Why not start with one of his best stories, the Ransom of Red Chief. The story first appeared in the July 6, 1907 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. It has been…
But there was no stopping Brother Jerry when he set his mind to something. He could hear his people as they started singing down below. First, just the soft whisper of a tune; but then, as more people joined in, it was almost like a church choir. It was time for a song … I…
With special guest star, Chemise Lacoste. Also, special guest appearances by Ted Handsome and Fletch… My last acid trip: it wasn’t good. In fact, it was a total disaster. California sober, my ass. I had just come from the Grateful Dead concert and was having so much fun I wasn’t ready to come down yet.…
I’ve already begun planning my next dream vacation, and it’s all because of just one little-ole oatmeal raisin cookie. Let me explain. To begin with, there was nothing little about that cookie. It was a big cookie, a Big Fat oatmeal raisin cookie. As big as the moon! I didn’t even know I like oatmeal…
