BUNNER, HENRY CUYLER American writer, was born in Oswego, N.Y., Aug. 3, 1855, and died in Nutley, N.J., May J 1, 1896. Educated in New York city, Bunner, after a brief experience as clerk in an importing house, turned to journal ism, serving on the staff of the Arcadian, at twenty-two becoming assistant editor and later editor of Puck. Since the staff of the comic weekly was very small and the funds were limited, there were many weeks when he wrote nearly half the issue. He refused, however, to republish this work, and is judged as a man of letters by his fiction and his charming vers de societe. In both these lines French influence is dominant. Like his friend Brander Matthews and like Austin Dobson, he was inspired by the intricate and graceful verse forms of the 15th century. "Made in France," French Tales Retold with a United States Twist (1893), and to a lesser extent his other stories reveal his indebtedness to Maupas sant and other French masters. Technical dexterity, playfulness, and smoothness of finish mark his prose as well as his verse— Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere (1884), Rowen (1892), and Poems (1896).
Bunner published several novels, including The Midge (i886) and The Story of a New York House (1887), but these are surpassed by his stories and sketches, "Short Sixes" (1891) , More "Short Sixes" (1894), In Partnership (with Brander Matthews, 1884), Zadoc Pine (1891), Love in Old Cloathes (1896), and Jersey Street and Jersey Lane (1896) . A collected edition of his Poems, with an introductory note by Brander Matthews, appeared in 1896. The best of his Stories were re-published in 1916. An edition of his stories in 1917 included "Short Sixes" and The Suburban Sage, the latter originally published in 1896. Of several plays (chiefly written in collaboration) the best was The Tower of Babel (1883).