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In: Short Stories·American Literature
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #11512.
The volume is a curated anthology of the O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories for 1921, assembled by the Society of Arts and Sciences after the death of its founder, John F. Tucker. The opening pages lay out the committee’s composition, the prize amounts, and a detailed accounting of the year’s submissions, noting a dip in quality during the early months of 1921 that recovered as the publishing market steadied. It then lists dozens of stories that were considered, highlights the handful that earned the highest marks, and explains why the committee ultimately awarded the first prize to Edison Marshall’s “The Heart of Little Shikara” and the second to Charles Tenney Jackson’s “The Man Who Cursed the Lilies.” The introduction also offers a candid critique of editorial practices that either bloat or truncate stories, providing a rare glimpse into the standards that shaped American short fiction at the time.
Written in the formal, report‑like prose of a 1920s literary organization, the anthology reflects the era’s reverence for craftsmanship and its concern with the commercial forces influencing writers. Readers who enjoy exploring the evolution of the American short story, appreciate the interplay of literary merit and market pressures, or have a particular interest in early 20th‑century magazine culture will find this collection rewarding. It offers a snapshot of the period’s diverse voices, from domestic realism to exotic tales, presented through the discerning eyes of a committee that prized both artistic economy and narrative vigor.
The opening · free to read
JOHN F. TUCKER, [Deceased, February 27, 1921.], Founder of the O. Henry Memorial EDWARD J. WHEELER, Litt.D. GLENN FRANK, Editor of The Century Magazine GEORGE C. HOWARD, Attorney.
As in previous years each member of the Committee of Award held himself responsible for reviewing the brief fiction of certain magazines and for circulating such stories as warranted reading by other members.
Results in 1921 differ in a number of respects from those of 1919 and 1920. In the earlier half year, January excepted, every reader reported a low average of current fiction, so low as to excite apprehension lest the art of the short story was rapidly declining. The latter six months, however, marked a reaction, with a higher percentage of values in November and December. Explanation of the low level lies in the financial depression which forced a number of editors to buy fewer stories, to buy cheaply, or to search their vaults for remnant of purchases made in happier days. Improvement began with the return to better financial conditions.
The several members of the Committee have seldom agreed on the comparative excellence of stories, few being of sufficient superiority in the opinion of the Committee as a whole to justify setting them aside for future consideration. The following three dozen candidates, more or less, average highest:
Addington, Sarah, Another Cactus Blooms (Smart Set, December).
Alexander, Elizabeth, Fifty-Two Weeks for Florette [Reprinted as by Elizabeth Alexander Heermann.] (Saturday Evening Post, August 13).
Allen, Maryland, The Urge (Everybody's, September).
Arbuckle, Mary, Wasted (Midland, May).
Beer, Thomas, Mummery (Saturday Evening Post, July 30).
Burt, Maxwell Struthers, Buchanan Hears the Wind (Harper's, August).
Byrne, Donn, Reynardine (McClure's, May).
Chittenden, Gerald, The Victim of His Vision (Scribner's, May).
Comfort, Will Levington, and Dost, Zamin Ki, The Deadly Karait (Asia, August).
Cooper, Courtney Ryley, and Creagan, Leo F. Martin, Gerrity Gets Even (American, July).
Cooper, Courtney Ryley, Old Scarface (Pictorial Review, April).
Cram, Mildred, Stranger Things--(Metropolitan, January).
Derieux, Samuel A., Comet (American, December).
Hull Helen R., Waiting (Touchstone, February).
Jackson, Charles Tenney, The Man who Cursed the Lilies (Short Stories, December 10).
Kerr, Sophie, Wild Earth (Saturday Evening Post, April 2).
Kniffin, Harry Anable, The Tribute (Brief Stories, September).
Lewis, O.F., The Get-A way (Red Book, February); The Day of Judgment (Red Book, October).
Mahoney, James, Wilfrid Reginald and the Dark Horse (Century, August).
Marshall, Edison, The Heart of Little Shikara (Everybody's, January).
Morris, Gouverneur, Groot's Macaw (Cosmopolitan, November); Just One Thing More (Cosmopolitan, December).
Mumford, Ethel Watts, "Aurore" (Pictorial Review, February); The Crowned Dead (Short Stories, July); Funeral Frank (Detective Stories, October 29).
Robbins, L.H., Mr. Downey Sits Down (Everybody's, June).
Steele, Wilbur Daniel, 'Toinette of Maissonnoir (Pictorial Review, July); The Marriage in Kairwan (Harper's, December).
Street, Julian, A Voice in the Hall (Harper's, September).
Stringer, Arthur, A Lion Must Eat (McClure's, March).
Tupper, Tristram, Grit (Metropolitan, March).
Vorse, Mary Heaton, The Halfway House (Harper's, October).
Wolff, William Almon, Thalassa! Thalassa! (Everybody's, July).
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