Henry Herbert Knibbs
(1874-1945)
Henry Herbert Knibbs was a writer of western verse and fiction, who began his career during the late-Edwardian era. He was born in Canada of American parentage, and shifted about quite frequently, working for several years as coal salesman, stenographer, and railway officer. During this time, he got a first-hand glimpse of the West, and began writing about the things he saw and the people he met. His first book of poetry was published in 1908. The same year, he went to Harvard to pursue a degree in English. As a piece of post-graduate work, he wrote a novel, which was published as Lost Farm Camp (1912). Removing to California, he settled down to become a full-time writer. Many of his stories and poems appeared in magazines of the day. He wrote frequently for the pulps as well, contributing material well into the early-1940's. A long-overdue volume of his collected verse was published in 1999. His stories are very good, and his characterization larger-than-life. As an example of the kind of dialogue he often adopts, one of his characters says:
"She was a sassy little chicken with
blond feathers and a three-quarter
rig skirt. She had a regular strawberry-ice-cream-soda complexion, and
her eyes looked like a couple of glass alleys with electric lights in
'em. I wondered if she took 'em out at night to go to sleep or only
switched off the current."
(From Overland Red, 1914)
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Bibliography:
First Poems (ps: Henry K HERBERT) [p|1908]
Lost Farm Camp [f|1912]
Stephen March's Way [f|1913]
19763 Overland
Red (anon) [f|1914]
Songs Of The Outlands [p|1914]
16334 Sundown
Slim [f|1915]
Riders Of The Stars [p|1916]
12189 Tang
Of Life (aka: Jim Waring Of Sonora Town) [f|1918]
16530 The
Ridin' Kid From Powder River [f|1919]
Songs Of The Trail [p|1920]
14085 Partners
Of Chance [f|1921]
Saddle Songs.. [p|1922]
Wild Horses [f|1924]
Temescal [f|1925]
The Sungazers [f|1926]
Sunny Mateel [f|1927]
Songs Of The Lost Frontier [p|1930]
Gentlemen, Hush! (w Turbesé LUMMIS) [f|1933]
Songs Of The Last Frontier [p|1933]
The Tonto Kid [f|1936]
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Web Resources:
Some Poems by Henry Herbert Knibbs
Henry Herbert Knibbs Home Page
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