By Alan Gullette, Oakland, California.
Ambrose Bierce was the author of supernatural stories that have secured his place in both the weird tradition and in American letters at large. The stories in his two primary volumes, Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (a.k.a., In the Midst of Life, 1892) and Can Such Things Be? (1893) often added a Western setting to Gothic fiction -- and, more importantly, developed the psychological aspects of horror first recognized by Poe.
He is also noted for his tales of the Civil War, which drew on his own experience as a Union cartographer and officer. His first job in journalism was as editor for the San Francisco News-Letter and California Advertiser (1868-72), writing the entries of the "Town Crier" which constituted the first real newspaper column. Perhaps we can say that his true love was satire in any form -- whether ghost story or fable, newspaper column or lyrical lambaste, fantasy or pseudo-lexicography.
In time, Bierce established himself a kind of literary dictator of the West Coast and was so respected and feared as a critic that his judgement could "make or break" an aspiring author's reputation. Well-known by his mere initials, A.G.B., his enemies and detractors called him "Almighty God Bierce." He was also nicknamed "Bitter Bierce" and his nihilistic motto was "Nothing matters." Apart from a few well-anthologized ghost stories (notably, "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge"), Bierce is best remembered for his cynical but humorous Devil's Dictionary (see Publishing News, below).
The Fall of the Republic and Other Political Satires by Ambrose Bierce, edited by S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2000). The master uses fictional history from the future to criticize the America of his time (and ours).
The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, edited by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi. Finally, a definitive edition of Bierce's witty if cynical lexicon, which is likely to outlast his fiction in popular memory. For the first time, all of Bierce's demonic definitions are collected in one place -- including previously unpublished or uncollected entries but eliminating specious items erroneously attributed to Bierce by E. J. Hopkins -- together with bibliographical data on first appearances. Essential for all connoisseurs of Ambrose Bierce, Master of Satire! (List Price: $34.95; Hardcover - 400 pages.)
S.T. Joshi and David Schultz, Ambrose Bierce - An Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources from Greenwood Press. This is the first attempt to exhaustively catalog Bierce's entire body of published work, including the first appearances of his stories, articles, and poems. This volume lays the groundwork for all future Bierce scholarship!
Ambrose Bierce, A Sole Survivor: Bits of Autobiography, edited by S.T. Joshi & David Schultz (Knoxville: University of Tennessee [my alma mater!], 1998). Combining biographical essays with selections from his newspaper articles and letters, Joshi and Schultz have composed an "autobiography" of the Master of the Macabre which should prove critical in any attempt to get closer to the "real" Bierce -- which he so carefully guarded from his reading public.