Ambrose Bierce
1842–1914?
1 passage in library
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
— Ambrose Bierce
About Ambrose Bierce
Civil War veteran turned journalist, Bierce brought a newsman's economy and a cynic's eye to fiction that still unsettles readers today. 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' withholds feeling on purpose, letting flat, exact reporting carry the horror instead. He vanished in Mexico in 1914 without a trace, as abruptly as one of his own endings.
Writing Style & Traits
Journalist's economy—no wasted words
Emotion withheld for maximum impact
Irony built into the structure, not stated
Precise, almost clinical reporting of horror
Endings that reframe everything before them
Notable Works
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
The Devil's Dictionary
Chickamauga
Tales of Soldiers and Civilians
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