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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Heathen Short #10
Author
Ambrose Bierce
Translator
First Edition
July 13, 1890
Heathen Edition
2025
Refreshed
Pages
26
Heathen Genera
Arriving Soon-ish, Existentialicious
ISBN
979-8-90075-010-1
As Peyton Farquhar fell straight downward through the bridge he lost consciousness and was as one already dead. From this state he was awakened—ages later, it seemed to him—by the pain of a sharp pressure upon his throat, followed by a sense of suffocation. Keen, poignant agonies seemed to shoot from his neck downward through every fiber of his body and limbs. These pains appeared to flash along well defined lines of ramification and to beat with an inconceivably rapid periodicity. They seemed like streams of pulsating fire heating him to an intolerable temperature. He was conscious of motion. Encompassed in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart, without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like a vast pendulum. Then all at once, with terrible suddenness, the light about him shot upward with the noise of a loud splash; a frightful roaring was in his ears, and all was cold and dark.
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842–1914-ish) was an American author, poet, journalist, and Civil War veteran. A prolific and versatile writer, he was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States and — infusing his stories with his brutal and absurd wartime experiences — became a pioneer of realist fiction. One of his most famous short stories, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” is a deceptively simple tale that opens on a man about to be hanged, then quietly unravels everything you think you know about time, perception, and reality as the story slips between the savage clarity of execution and the strange, almost dreamlike possibility of escape. With cold precision and dark wit, Bierce explores consciousness at the edge of oblivion and asks how far can thoughts of freedom carry a man when his body is already falling?
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"It is a flawless example of American genius."
Kurt Vonnegut
Heathenry
Contents
Praise
Details
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Contents
Heathenry: Thoughts on the Text
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge“
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge“
Praise
“Bierce is remembered chiefly, if he is remembered at all, as the author of a magnificent Civil War story called ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.’” —The News and Observer
“The cleverness of invention in such a tale as ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ is undeniable.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“I consider anybody a twerp who hasn’t read the greatest American short story, which is ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,’ by Ambrose Bierce. It isn’t remotely political. It is a flawless example of American genius.” —Kurt Vonnegut
“‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.’ That story, we have long maintained, is the most perfect American short story.” —The Chattanooga News
“Anybody who thinks that, under any circumstances, one nightmare is enough, may be directed to the story called ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ as a particularly excellent specimen.” –The Graphic
“His savagery and his cynicism repelled most readers. But no more superb stories have been written than ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.’” —The Signal
“Ambrose Bierce, that master of strange matters, is well represented by ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.’” —The Detroit Free Press
“The story ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ is a masterpiece — few like it have ever been written . . . sufficient in itself to stamp Mr. Bierce as one of the greatest masters of the short story.” —The Tampa Tribune
Details
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Heathen Short #10Published: 2025
Format: Paperback
Interior: Black & White on Cream Paper
Pages: 24 (+2 POD)
Language: English
Annotations: 18 Footnotes
Illustrations: 4
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