Zimzelene priče

William Sydney Porter, known to millions of readers by his pseudonym O. Henry, must be acknowledged for having, in addition to coining the increasingly recognizable expression "banana republic" in our country, managed to put the newspaper short story on the map of world literature. He elevated the despised form to the level of art! It is particularly interesting that, like Karl May or Cervantes, he wrote his first stories in prison, and he composed his pseudonym from the name of his prison guard. Before he ended up behind bars, carried by the river of fate, he made his way through life in various ways - he worked as a pharmacist's assistant, cowboy, cadastral draftsman, accountant, bank clerk, publisher of a weekly newspaper, actor, musician and singer in church choirs, and he also experienced the hardships of a vagabond life. A highly condensed life experience and an exceptional gift for scheming and understanding people were the inexhaustible source of ideas for more than six hundred stories he wrote. O. Henry's stories would certainly not be so attractive if he had not developed his own narrative technique in which the most impressive are the unexpected twist and the effective catch at the end. If we add the imaginative beginning and brilliant plot and the casual tone, wit and charm, all arranged on just a few pages, it is understandable that Americans still gladly reach for O. Henry's evergreen stories today, a century after their publication. Despite the eulogies, the author is for unclear reasons less known in Europe, and almost not at all in our country. Therefore, Šareni dućan, with clear reason and joy, alerts literary connoisseurs, and the wider readership, to one of the best American short story writers.