Literary Birthday – 25 August – Bret Harte
Bret Harte was born on 25 August 1836 and died on 5 May 1902.
Bret Harte Quotes
- The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.
- It would seem evident, therefore, that the secret of the American short story was the treatment of characteristic American life, with absolute knowledge of its peculiarities and sympathy with its method.
- Of all words of tongue and pen, The saddest are, ‘It might have been.’
- We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.
- A bird in the hand is a certainty, but a bird in the bush may sing.
Francis Bret Harte was an American writer who worked in many forms, including fiction, poetry, plays, lectures, reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches. His career spanned more than four decades, but he is best known for his local-colour fiction, which captures the people, places, and culture of a region. Harte became famous for stories set in the American West, especially California during the Gold Rush. His work brought mining camps to life through vivid descriptions of the landscape, local customs, folklore, and speech of their inhabitants. In 1871, Harte signed a contract with The Atlantic Monthly to write 12 stories a year for $10,000. At the time, this was the highest amount offered to an American writer. His best-known collection, The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales, includes some of his most memorable stories of life in the American West.
Source for image: Sarony, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bret_Harte_(by_Sarony,_1872).jpg
by Amanda Patterson
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