O. Henry

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) as a young man
Austin, TX, c. 1880
source: Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Sydney_Porter_as_young_man_in_Austin.jpg)
no copyright infringement intended

During O. Henry's times writing and having your works published while imprisoned was not common. Nowadays every big shot once put in jail starts writing a blog and sends the posts on a daily basis through his smartphone. After liberation some remain in business, more or less. I was once with a friend from abroad that was visiting our town. She was an old lady, loving the literature, but only that kind of literature that had been en vogue in her teen years. She wanted to find such stuff in our town and asked me for help. I introduced the lady to some used books sellers who were looking like crocks. She was a bit scared, so I explained to her that in our times to be in the literary branch has become for us a national sport like soccer, and that this passion had started in the penitentiary system and then spread outside. Now you will ask me what the hack's all this. Well, flash-fiction, kind of.

• Where O. Henry and Kuleshov Meet: The Great Consoler (1933)

(A Life in Books)