2022
Damon Runyon
Days

“I'm inspired by love, by the moments that we commit to something with all our heart – be it a person, a project, an animal, anything really. It's undeniably inspiring, that acknowledgment of existence, that I love, that I care. That fills me with purpose.” Although he was known as a hard-edged, no-nonsense literary giant who was at home among the seedier of society’s characters, Damon Runyon was a man with a heart, as this famous quote attests. It was in Pueblo that Damon Runyon’s illustrious and storied career as a writer, reporter, and journalist extraordinaire began, and throughout his life, he never forgot what he referred to as his “hometown.” Coinciding with the birthday of Damon Runyon is a celebration years in the making: a tribute to the master of the word with events that reflect his love of writing, baseball, and more. Welcome to Damon Days Pueblo.

teal and black typewriter machine

A familiar name in Pueblo...

FACT #1  - As a teenager, Damon Runyon enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to the Philippines in the Spanish-American War. He returned to the states by hopping trains.

FACT #2 - Runyon wrote short stories celebrating the Broadway of New York's post-Prohibition era with a distinct style, now known as “Runyonesque”. His distinctive vernacular style is known as "Runyonese": a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.

FACT #3 - In the 1930s Runyon began writing columns, and his popular feature “As I See It” was syndicated to all the Hearst newspapers. At the peak of his popularity, in the 1930s, Runyon was one of the most productive and highly paid writers in New York.

FACT #4 -  Gambling, particularly on craps or horse races, was a common theme of Runyon's works, and he was a notorious gambler himself. He even ran a small stable of his own, and the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens holds a thoroughbred horse race every year in honor of him.

FACT #5 - Today the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for Cancer Research, founded by his friends after his death in 1946, serves as a lasting tribute to this popular and well-known figure.

Follow Us On Facebook

Enter the fascinating life of Damon Runyon.

From Pueblo to Broadway, and then back to Pueblo!