Herbert Edward Francis Jr. (January 11, 1924 – February 2, 2024) was an American scholar, academic and writer.

Life and career

Herbert Edward Francis was born in

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

, on January 11, 1924. He studied at the University of Wisconsin and earned a master's degree from Brown University. Francis was a professor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises eight colleges: arts, humanities ...

. He travelled three times as a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

professor to Argentina. An author in his own right, he published five collections of stories, some of which have been anthologized in the

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the Ma ...

, Best American, and

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

volumes. Francis

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

on January 11, 2024, and died weeks later, on February 2. At the time of his death he had been residing at a retirement home in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. The University of Alabama in Huntsville has named its national short fiction

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

in his honor.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Goya, Are You With Me Now?.'' Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil, 1999. *''The Invisible Country.'' Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil, 2003.

Short fiction

*''Toda la gente que nunca tuve''. Buenos Aires: Burnichon, 1966. Translated by B. Ofelia Castillo. *''The Itinerary of Beggars''. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1973. *''Naming Things: Stories''. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1980. *''A Disturbance of Gulls and Other Stories.'' New York: G. Braziller, 1983. *''The Sudden Trees and Other Stories.'' Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil, 1999. *''I'll Never Leave You: Stories.'' Kansas City, MO: BkMk Press, 2004.

Short non-fiction

*'' Animal World'', by

Antonio di Benedetto Antonio di Benedetto (2 November 1922 – 10 October 1986) was an Argentine novelist, short story writer and journalist. Career Di Benedetto began writing and publishing stories in his adolescence, inspired by the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and ...

. Translated from Spanish by H. E. Francis, with an Afterword by Jorge García-Gómez.

Grand Terrace, CA Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua ...

Xenos Books The Borgo Press was a small publishing company founded by Robert Reginald in 1975 funded by the royalties gained from his first major reference work, ''Stella Nova: the contemporary science fiction authors'' (1970). That same year Reginald met Ma ...

. (Cover art by Peter Zokosky.) *
The Arrival of the Autumn in Constantinople
', by :es:Norberto Luis Romero. Translated from Spanish by H. E. Francis.

Green Integer Green Integer is an American publishing house of pocket-sized belles-lettres books, based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1997 by Douglas Messerli, whose former publishing house was Sun & Moon, and it is edited by Per Bregne. Gre ...

, CA: Book 176, 2010. *
Last Night of Carnival and Other Stories
', by :es:Norberto Luis Romero. Translated from Spanish by H. E. Francis. Leaping Dog Press, 2004. (Cover photograph by Philip Coblentz.)

Stories

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, H. E. 1924 births 2024 deaths American men centenarians American short story writers Brown University alumni University of Alabama in Huntsville faculty People from Bristol, Rhode Island