The name is O’Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter, one of the greatest, most underrated short-story writers of all time. His ideas and experiences were so interesting that his life itself is a fascinating story. On April 1, Elliot Engel told O’Henry’s story for the Bryan Series.

Engel has received awards such as UCLA’s Outstanding Teacher Award, North Carolina’s Adult Education Award and the Victorian Society Award of Merit. Seven published books, articles for national magazines, three plays and a lecture series on Charles Dickens are also credited to Engel’s name.

Although it is difficult to find a sense of humor in many lecturers, Engel was a jokester. He appeared on stage and claimed to have been bitten by a stunning bug backstage. He also apparently bluffed a headache so he could dip out of the Bryan Series early to watch American Idol.

Thankfully Engel didn’t shorten the lecture. O’Henry’s life story was too fascinating to abbreviate.

Engel was comical in his lecture but serious about O’Henry’s legacy. O’Henry, born in 1862, lived to the age of 47. In this time period, he wrote over a thousand short stories.

His fascinating stories have been forgotten by some and criticized by others. According to Engel, some critics considered O’Henry talentless. But a 1927 critic had the last words, saying, “They are absolutely right, no talent at all, only genius.”

“O’Henry has fallen for no good reason,” Engel said. “O’Henry is in literature, news that stays news. It’s never dated.”

O’Henry’s life is fascinating because of the path he took to become a short stories writer.

Successful writers usually become authors or journalists by attending school. Unlike most writers, O’Henry went to the south, New York City and prison. He also worked at a bank, as a shepherd, as a drug store clerk and as a prison pharmacist.

Evidence of southern living show up in his newspaper comics, while most of his short stories are about the city life in New York.

In O’Henry’s free time as a shepherd he read Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. He worked as a shepherd long enough to read the dictionary 12 times.

While serving five years in a penitentiary for borrowing too much money from the bank, his wife, Ethel, died. This was the low point of O’Henry’s life.

O’Henry continued to write stories in prison, and he worked as the prison’s pharmacist. O’Henry used this experience to speak with prison mates. Prisoners shared their life stories, giving O’Henry ideas for future stories.

While working as a pharmacist, O’Henry became friends with the prison’s janitor, Henry, who inspired O’Henry’s famous pen name.

Most of O’Henry’s stories focus on the roles of lower-class people, prostitutes, inmates, and the homeless, in society.

A new life awaited O’Henry after his release from the penitentiary in New York City. Engel said he chose New York because he wanted to disappear and not be known for his prison sentence.

O’Henry spent the last seven years of his life in the city. “Everything we know will be from this seven year (timespan),” Engel said. In these years he worked for 11 magazines and wrote 1,112 stories.

On June 3, 1910, O’Henry died in his hospital bed. His last words were, “Please turn up the lights, I don’t want to go home in the dark.