# Editor Owen — Poetry character guide

> Editor Owen in Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Owen

**First appearance:** 0000-poetry

## Snapshot

An editor whose pen and judgment shape what the public reads, and whose taste Bierce treats as a standing provocation.

## Who they are

Editor Owen belongs to the tribe of expounders and self-directed critics whom Bierce mocks for their wire-drawn fancies and diligent vacuity. As a gatekeeper of print, he stands between the poet's spontaneous verse and the reading public, blotting the text with his own ambitions. He matters because he personifies the institutional mediocrity against which the book's satirical energy is aimed.

## In the story

### [Died of a Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/died-of-a-rose)

The editor who rebukes the reporter for using misleading language about flowers.

### [Another Plan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/another-plan)

The protagonist of the chapter, a weary editor who dreams of an angel and decides to switch from writing to lecturing.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/characters/editor_owen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/characters