There in the hall of world literature is organized the book exhibition «O.Henry – 160 years from the Birthday of the American writer. The acknowledged master of the short tale».
- Henry (the real name William Sydney Porter), September 11, 1862, Greensborough, Northern Carolina – died on June 5, 1910, New-York).
- Henry started actively writing and getting published beginning from 1904. Altogether he created one novel and 12 collections of stories, into which there entered 300 works. One more collection named “The postscriptums” came out already after the death of the author and included into itself the previously unknown humoristic stories and feuilletons.
The only novel of O. Henry – “The kings and the cabbage” came out in 1904. Factually this is not a novel but the collection of stories united by the general place of action. After that there followed the collections of stories: “The four millions” (the number of residents of New-York then), 1906), “The lit lamp”, 1907), “The heart of the West”, 1907), ”The voice of the city”, 1908), “The noble crook”, 1908 ), “The ways of destiny” 1909), “For the choice”, 1909), “The business people” and “The rotation”, 1910).
The stories of O. Henry, each of which almost always contained the mass of magnificently depicted persons and the original, unique plot, quickly earned popularity with the American readers. The critics started calling the writer “American Kipling”, “American Mopassan ”, “American Gogol”, “American Chekhov”.
There into the collection “The postscriptums” published already after the death of O. Henry, entered the feuilletons, the plots and humoristic notes written by him for the newspaper “The post” (Huston, the state of Texas, 1895-1896). Altogether O. Henry wrote about 600 tales, the full collection of his works is 18 volumes.
Very often the personages of the works of O. Henry are the cheerful little crooks. At the same time they are kind and even noble. But being born in the poor families they are doomed for beggar existence from which they try to get out with all their powers, and usually without any success. Their attempts to be happy as a rule are futile and end up with new unpleasantnesses, very often sad and funny.
In 1918 in memory of the writer there was established the prize after O. Henry, which is awarded annually for the best story.
Beginning from 1918 up to 1920 there were screened 25 films. Many well-known directors turned to screening the works of O. Henry. Including the Soviet directors of the 1930-70-ss. L. Kuleshov, L. Gaidai, V. Davidchuk, the representatives of the Baltic cinematography – Algimantas Puipa, Tynis Kask, A. Burovs, the Polish director V. Marushevska and others. The first attempts of screening the works of O. Henry were made in the USA. There by the motives of the story of O. Henry “The way of the caballero” was shot the first sound western “In old Arizona”, the film “The great consoler”, into the basis of which there were put the facts from the biography of O. Henry, and also two of his novelettes, the film “The chief of the redskins” and others… with Marylin Monroe in a small role (the novella “The pharaoh and the choral”).
In the 2000-ss there to the creative activity of O. Henry turned the Kazakhstani cinematographists of the studio “Balapan-film”. In 2009 there by the motives of the novella “The related souls ” was shot the film “The thief”. The director and the author of the script Gani Kurash filled the film with the local colors and the propagation of the Moslem spiritual values.
There at the book exhibition from the fond of National library of the RK are presented the works of O. Henry and also the literature about him in the English, Kazakh and Russian languages.
We invite everybody to visit the book exhibition!