Bret Harte
Bret Harte
Full Name and Common Aliases
Francis Brett Hart, commonly known as Bret Harte, was an American poet, short story writer, and essayist.
Birth and Death Dates
Bret Harte was born on August 25, 1836, in Albany, New York. He passed away on May 6, 1902, in Los Angeles, California.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Harte held dual American and British citizenship and is considered a prominent figure of the American West and the London literary scene. His profession spanned multiple genres: he was a poet, short story writer, essayist, and novelist.
Early Life and Background
Born to Francis Randall Hart and Elizabeth Theresa O'Keefe, Bret Harte grew up in a family that struggled financially. He attended Albany Academy for Boys and later went on to work as an editor at a local newspaper before moving out west in 1853 during the California Gold Rush. During this period, he adopted the pseudonym "Bret" Hart.
Major Accomplishments
Harte's most notable accomplishments include:
Editor of The Overland Monthly: Harte was instrumental in launching and editing _The Overland Monthly_, a literary magazine that showcased American Western life.
Influence on American Literature: His stories and poems gave voice to the experiences of those living on the American frontier, bringing attention to the struggles faced by settlers.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of his most notable works include:
"The Luck of Roaring Camp": A short story that explores the consequences of a prospector striking gold in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.
"The Outcasts of Poker Flat": Another short story that chronicles the adventures and struggles of several characters during a harsh winter in the American West.
Impact and Legacy
Bret Harte's work significantly impacted the literary landscape by:
Providing an authentic, firsthand account of life on the American frontier
Introducing the concept of the Western genre to readers worldwide
* Showing the human side of the people living during this period
Quotes by Bret Harte
Which I wish to remark – And my language is plain, – That for ways that are dark And for tricks that are vain, The heathen Chinee is peculiar.
Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not certain but that it is this very absence of effort which excites our admiration.
For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.
The creator who could put a cancer in a believer's stomach is above being interfered with by prayers.
Besides writing, I have been teaching myself to 'develop' my own photographic plates, and I haven't a stick of clothing or an exposed finger that isn't stained. I sit for hours in a dark-room feeling as if I were a very elderly Faust at some dreadful incantation, and come out of it, blinding at the light, like a Bastille prisoner. And yet I am not successful!
Love differs from all the other contagious diseases: the last time a man is exposed to it, he takes it most readily, and has it the worst!