Henry Cuyler Bunner

Bio

(1855-1896) Poet, short story writer, editor of comic weekly. Henry Cuyler Bunner was born on West Seneca Street in Oswego, New York. He was educated in New York City. After a brief attempt at office work there, he joined the staff of a short-lived weekly, the “Arcadian.” He soon transferred to the staff of “Puck,” the earliest American comic weekly, becoming assistant editor in 1877 and editor in chief soon after. While he held this position for the rest of his life, often writing half of the magazine, he contributed short stories regularly to “Scribners,” “Harpers,” and “Century.” He excelled in writing vers de societÉ and parodies, adapting the former from the delicate French verse forms of the 15th century and, in the latter, parodying such artists as Alexander Pope and Walt Whitman. Mr. Bunner’s short stories were among the first to take their themes from the melting pot metropolis of New York City.