Bret Harte
Overview
 
Francis Bret Harte (August 25, 1836 – May 6, 1902) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.
He was born in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, on August 25, 1836. He was named Francis Brett Hart after his great-grandfather Francis Brett. When he was young his father changed the spelling of the family name from Hart to Harte. Later, Francis preferred to be known by his middle name, but he spelled it with only one "t", becoming Bret Harte.

An avid reader as a boy, Harte published his first work at age 11, a satirical poem titled "Autumn Musings," now lost.
Quotations

Well, no offense:Thar ain't no senseIn gittin' riled.

Complete Poetical Works, III. IN DIALECT, Jim

Howbeit, though no scholar, I am not one of those who misuse the English speech, and, being foolishly led by the hasty custom of scriveners and printers to write the letters "T" and "H" joined together, which resembleth a "Y," do incontinently jump to the conclusion the THE is pronounced "Ye,"--the like of which I never heard in all England.

Adventures of John Longbowe, Yeoman

Later, when we were forced to accept the fact that finding gold was really the primary object of a gold-mining company, we still remained there

Captain Jim's Friend

And then, for an old man like me, it's not exactly right,This kind o' playing soldier with no enemy in sight.

East and West Poems, Part I, The Old Major Explains.

And he says that the mountains are fairerFor once being held in your thought;

East and West Poems, Part I, His Answer to "Her Letter."

Don't be too quickTo break bad habits: better stick,Like the Mission folk, to your arsenic.

East and West Poems, Part I, The Wonderful Spring of San Joaquin.

There is peace in the swamp, though the quiet is Death,

East and West Poems, Part I, The Copperhead.

But, when the goddess' work is done,The woman's still remains.

East and West Poems, Part I, The Goddess.

Each lost day has its patron saint!

East and West Poems, Part I, The Galeon

Virtue always meets reward,But quicker when it wears a sword;

East and West Poems, Part II, The Legends of the Rhine. :The Heathen Chinee|The Heathen Chinee, originally published as Plain Language from Truthful James (1870), a satire on the racist attitudes of the old West.

 
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