Very impressive site!

I'm a recent fan of the works of CAS and am making it a mission to turn others on to his writings as well. Greetings!

welcome - what have you read so far?

welcome - what have you read so far?

Thanks!
So far I've read The Double Shadow and The Last Oblivion, the latter which gets repeated use/readings. Any suggestions for further reading? I've also read many of the poems on this site.
I've mentioned his name at used book stores but so far it's been really difficult to find anything else CAS has written.
It's my understanding he wrote for Weird Tales as well. Your opinion on those writings and where I might find some editions would be appreciated. I'm completely new to this poet but am most impressed.
Cheers!

Hi there!

If you go to a good used book site online, you'll find plenty of examples of his work to choose from. From personal reasons, I use abebooks (the local secondahand book is a member, and its easy for me to use), and have noticed a number of cheap editions there. You could also go to the related sites section, and get in contact with Gavin: he's knowledgable, helpful, and should be able to find most of what you need for reasonable prices.

As for recommendations, since you like his poetry, you need to get hold of his <I>Selected poems</I>. That's the main volume of his verse.

As for a list of his other works, see the bibliography here on-site; it lists most, if not all, of the editions that have appeared, and lists the various appearances for the works. Boyd also has a list of works in-print here as well. Consult that, and see what you can get.

Since I am a fan of his poetry rather than his fiction, I'm not qualified to make any real recommendations; I am also more partial to the Zothique cycle, so my tastes are further biased.

Speaking of his poetry, is there a collection of his entire poetic body (a la "The Ancient Track" for Lovecraft)?

There is, as yet, no collected poetic works. However, it is in production, the main hold-up, from what I can gather, being the arrangement of the works.

All I can add is that it will be in a number of volumes, and that it is highly anticipated.

To quote S. T. Joshi, one of the principals, from his website (www.stjoshi.com):

"David E. Schultz and I are contemplating a multi-volume edition of the collected poetry of Clark Ashton Smith, to include not only all the poems published in books and magazines but also unpublished poems (most of the manuscripts of these are in the Clark Ashton Smith Papers at the John Hay Library of Brown University). We have already transcribed most of the poems, and our chief concerns are now with arrangement and annotation. No publisher has been queried about this project as yet."

Is this the one which has been worked on for years? Haha, well I hope it's completed soon. I'd be one of the first to snap them up since like you I prefr CAS's poetry to his fiction.

I've wanted it ever since I first heard about it. One can only wait at this stage.

As I hear of news, I'll post it up here in the forum, of course.

Hippocampus Press will be publishing CAS' COLLECTED POEMS in 3 volumes, beginning in 2005. And there may be more good news in the offing as well. Rejoice!
Best,
Scott

Break out the hautboys, then! Quaff thee the nectars and salubrious wines of joy! Raise then thy voice in praise unto the very heavens, yea, sing as one in exultation at the very news which that noble wight, yclept Scott of the family of Connors, hath proffered unto us. For it is a goodly news, and welcome, pleasant news, as is a gentle rain that sootheth the ravages of a grievous drouth, a kind hand that lifteth the burthen of ignorance, and that gentle word which turneth away wrath.

In other words, you bloody ripper!

Phillip

Scott,

Will the Hippocampus three volumes of CAS poems be done in a cloth edition?

I hope so. Lovecraft's essays, recently issueed, are so offered by this publisher, and if there's any justice so to will CAS's poems.

Halo All,

I am also new to the forum although I have been haunting this site for about a year. I found CAS online a few years ago and I have since purchased the "Selected Poems". I was also wondering what book of short stories you would recommend.

To introduce myself, I currently live in Richmond, California (in view of the Hills of Dionysos) and go to school at UC Berkeley. I have two majors and a minor which are English with a concentration in poetry and Interdepartmental Field Studies in Mythology/Ancient Religion. My minor is Creative Writing and my favorite CAS poem is 'Strange Girl.'

Like mandyka1, I have found this website extremely helpful and informative. I commend you all for your work and passion for CAS.

To get back on topic, I can't wait for the three volume set! I am sure it shall be wonderful.

Dear nighthalo - ada Alyccia

If LaVal's is still there, and sawdust and student carved tables
in the basement bar - down a 26ounce schooner for me -
If the Old Europe bakery is there, eat something you probably shouldn't for me
And ride the elevator at the campanile if you haven't and enjoy the archaeology -
Go up to the botanical gardens on top of the hill and wander from planetary zone to planetary zone -
Find a green and empty hill, and roll in the grass with someone you are fond of -
Visit the Bade Institute at Pacific School of Religion where you can touch antiquity found in a dig of ancient Mizpeh - provincial capital of Israel during the Babylonian captivity -
Do these things - tell me of them - and renew my youth -
Welcome to eldritch dark -

Also, take everything taught be any professor - particularly if you
think he's really good - "cum grano salis" -
Get your degree, get out of there, and live!
Dr. Farmer - class of '63,'68 and others

Greetings and salutations, NightHalo!

As for books of stories, may I recommend any, if not all, of the following: A Rendezvous in Averoigne, [The Double Shadow[/i], and any of the Necronomicon Press paperbacks.

I am glad to see you concentrating in poetry; do you do likewise with your creative writing?

And, may I ask, shall we have the pleasure of seeing some of your critical thoughts on CAS online at any point in the future?

In any case, from one nation to another, enjoy yourself, and may your future forum experiences be universally positive!

Phillip

calonlan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear nighthalo - ada Alyccia
>
> If LaVal's is still there, and sawdust and student
> carved tables
> in the basement bar - down a 26ounce schooner for
> me -
> If the Old Europe bakery is there, eat something
> you probably shouldn't for me
> And ride the elevator at the campanile if you
> haven't and enjoy the archaeology -
> Go up to the botanical gardens on top of the hill
> and wander from planetary zone to planetary zone
> -
> Find a green and empty hill, and roll in the grass
> with someone you are fond of -
> Visit the Bade Institute at Pacific School of
> Religion where you can touch antiquity found in a
> dig of ancient Mizpeh - provincial capital of
> Israel during the Babylonian captivity -
> Do these things - tell me of them - and renew my
> youth -
> Welcome to eldritch dark -
>
> Also, take everything taught be any professor -
> particularly if you
> think he's really good - "cum grano salis" -
> Get your degree, get out of there, and live!
> Dr. Farmer - class of '63,'68 and others


Halo Dr. Farmer,

Thank you sincerely for the warm welcome. La Val's Pizza is still in operation and although I do not drink, I will certainly go there sometime in the coming Fall and enjoy a slice or two when I do not have time to cook.

The campanile elevator is still running but I have yet to see any of the famed dinosaur bones. Apparently, they are restricted to the researchers. However, the view from the top is still beautiful, especially on an overcast day when the fog is coming but the skyline is still visible.

As for the Old Europe Bakery, I have never been there. I will look it up and go and I shall tell you how it is. Also, I have not been to the Botanical Garden nor the Bade Institute. Both are now on my list of things I need to do. The Bade Institute sounds very interesting to me.

I recently had a class on Babylonian Religion, with a professor I think is particularly wonderful, and he took us down into the basement of the Hearst Museum. In front of us was a table full of cuneiform tablets and other small relics. It was one of the most memorible days I have had in college. He asked us each to hold them and he taught us about the interesting ones. I was very timid about it; I could not believe the others could hold those tablets without any trepidation. However, after much coaxing by the professor, I managed to hold them too and the one that I found particularly exciting was a small Capricorn. It was about 4,000 years old and it was used by the Babylonians as a door guardian. They would bury them in front of their doors to keep away demons and evil spirits. It and those like it, are the first Capricorns which were later adopted into astrology. What a rush to hold such a piece!

Thank you again for the warm welcome!

Alycia

There are two major CAS short story collections currently in-print: "A Rendezvouz in Averoigne" (hc) from Arkham House, and "The Emperor of Dreams" (sc) from the British publisher Gollancz. I recommend bookseller Gavin Smith as the source for getting these: [www.gavinicussbooks.com]

NightHalo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Halo All,
>
> I am also new to the forum although I have been
> haunting this site for about a year. I found CAS
> online a few years ago and I have since purchased
> the "Selected Poems". I was also wondering what
> book of short stories you would recommend.

voleboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Greetings and salutations, NightHalo!
>
> As for books of stories, may I recommend any, if
> not all, of the following: A Rendezvous in
> Averoigne, [The Double Shadow, and any of the
> Necronomicon Press paperbacks.
>
> I am glad to see you concentrating in poetry; do
> you do likewise with your creative writing?
>
> And, may I ask, shall we have the pleasure of
> seeing some of your critical thoughts on CAS
> online at any point in the future?
>
> In any case, from one nation to another, enjoy
> yourself, and may your future forum experiences be
> universally positive!
>
> Phillip

Halo Phillip,

Thank you for the recommendations. I have seen A Rendezvous in Averoigne on Ebay for a small sum of money, so I think I shall try to win it next time I have some money for books.

As for my concentration, I would love to solely concentrate on poetry for my Creative Writing. Unfortunately, creative writing at Berkeley is very small. One can only minor in it and there is only one class in Verse. That means to fufill my minor, I will have to take other forms which I do not feel as strongly about. However, I think it will be good discipline for me.

There is a good side to poetry and Berkeley though. Robert Hass, the former US poet laureate, teaches there and I am hoping that I will finally get to take Verse with him. (It is part of the reason why I came to Berkeley, but I shall save that story for another time.) Also, Robert runs a program called Lunch Poems where poets come to Berkeley to speak each month. Thus, I have had the pleasure of listening to many interesting poets and in a few rare cases meeting some.

As for you final question, I am not sure if I will ever write a critical essay on CAS. I am not very confident anymore in my essay writing skills. However, I will be doing a thesis for English in a year or so, and I would be honored if I could actually think of something intelligent to say about CAS for that project. I will definitely be thinking about it and if I do, this will be the first place to know.

Thank you for your time and sorry for my long-winded replies,

~Alycia

walrus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are two major CAS short story collections
> currently in-print: "A Rendezvouz in Averoigne"
> (hc) from Arkham House, and "The Emperor of
> Dreams" (sc) from the British publisher Gollancz.
> I recommend bookseller Gavin Smith as the source
> for getting these: [www.gavinicussbooks.com]
>

Oops, I had not seen your reply when I replied earlier. I will forget about Ebay for Rendezvous in Averoigne and check out Mr. Gavin Smith's books. Thank you!!!

~Alycia

Alycia,
There are many CAS fans in the Bay Area, plus we have frequent gatherings near Auburn to get together and share a little Hyperborean hyperbole. If you have any interest in meeting with other Casophiles, contact either Ron Hilger (casofile) or myself and we'll include you on the invite list.
And need I mention that the Bancroft Library has an excellent Smith collection? :-)
Best,
Scott

Scott,

I would be honored to be added to the list. I am not sure if I would be much fun at a gathering, but I listen intently if that counts.

Also, what does the Bancroft Library's collection of CAS include? It would give me much pleasure to see that among the many collections of poet's works there, CAS is included.

Thank you!

~Alycia

Hiya NightHalo!

Well, with regards to your creative writing, you could always try and combine what you learn in one to your poetry, for example, narrative techniques in fiction to narrative poems -- you may like to try and hunt up Dorothy Porter's verse novels and Les Murray's Fredy Neptune as recent Australian examples of narratives in verse.

I forgot to mention the Gollancz volume as well, given that I have it; I consider it as a representative range of his fantastic and horrific fiction, but not his SF.

You can easily gather what's in the Bancroft Library from the OPAC; it's available on the web, as I've found out, and had occassion to use. It contains, in addition to books, a fair sampling of archival material.

I hope that I can look forward to seeing your verse at some time; even if you don't put it up on site, email some to me, and I'll gladly send you my response.

Yrs,

Phillip

voleboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hiya NightHalo!
>
> Well, with regards to your creative writing, you
> could always try and combine what you learn in one
> to your poetry, for example, narrative techniques
> in fiction to narrative poems -- you may like to
> try and hunt up Dorothy Porter's verse novels and
> Les Murray's Fredy Neptune as recent Australian
> examples of narratives in verse.
>

Thank you. Yes I am actually attempting to enrich myself as best I can for the creative writing. I took my English 1B class in Modernist Subjectivity in Poetry which covered a wide range of poets with a particular emphasis on Chinese poets. I think simply being exposed to critical thinking about poetry has really influenced the weight I put in each verse. I have a ways to go, but everything helps in its own way.

This Fall I have my junior seminar (English 100) on Song Cycles and Poetic Sequences. We will be reading books like Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, Thomas and Beulah by Rita Dove, and Wild Iris by Louise Gluck. While I do not know much about them in particular, I think it will be positive for my writing, especially since I have been working on what looks to be an interwoven poetical tapestry. :)

On a side note, I cannot wait to actually get into more creative writing classes. It is very difficult to get into them at Berkeley because 1)you have to apply to get in and 2)seniors have priority and 3) the classes are limited to 20-25 people (which is a good thing if you are actually in the class). However, I shall be ardent about it and I am sure I will make it in my desired courses in time.

>
> I hope that I can look forward to seeing your
> verse at some time; even if you don't put it up on
> site, email some to me, and I'll gladly send you
> my response.
>
> Yrs,
>
> Phillip


I will definitely have to check out the Bancroft CAS collection. Also, thank you for the recommendations, I appreciate it. I will look up the books you mentioned and perhaps add some to my collection of over-stuffed bookcases. :) Thank you again and I shall e-mail you with a poem or two.

Merci!

~Alycia

Alycia!

I've found, myself, that just thinking seriously, and critically, about poetry has helped me. Taking the fact that you write seriously helps in its way. I don't feel guilty about writing any more, and I feel inspired to revise, revise, revise, and more effectively too. (I've got to a point where I revise before putting pen to paper.)

I would like to read the pieces you mention in relation to poetic sequences. I'm familiar with Christopher Brennan's Poems: 1913 -- [purl.library.usyd.edu.au] and his The burden ot Tyre [purl.library.usyd.edu.au]. The former is a livre compose -- he was Australia's foremost Symbolist poet, and well worth the efoort of looking into.

If you're really tempted to add to your overstuffed bookcases, then have a look at abebooks, which has some very cheap volumes of CAS available.

NightHalo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Scott,
>
> I would be honored to be added to the list. I am
> not sure if I would be much fun at a gathering,
> but I listen intently if that counts.

It does, it does!
>
> Also, what does the Bancroft Library's collection
> of CAS include? It would give me much pleasure to
> see that among the many collections of poet's
> works there, CAS is included.

Well, the simplest answer to your question is to say "Lots and lots," but that would be mildly facetious. Some of the highlights include lots of letters to people like Senator James Phelan, California poet laureate Ina Donna Coolbrith, Samuel Loveman, and others; a bound volume of manuscripts donated by R. H. Barlow; the papers of Smith's first publisher, A. M. Robertson; many other fiction and poetry mss; our own Dr. Farmer's stash of CAS juvenalia; and more.
>
> Thank you!

You are most welcome.


Scott

voleboy Wrote:

>
> I would like to read the pieces you mention in
> relation to poetic sequences. I'm familiar with
> Christopher Brennan's Poems: 1913 --
> [purl.library.usyd.edu.au]
> and his The burden ot Tyre
> [purl.library.usyd.edu.au].
> The former is a livre compose -- he was
> Australia's foremost Symbolist poet, and well
> worth the efoort of looking into.

I am going to add the poems from 1913 to my list of books I want. I love his themes, they are very similar to some that haunt me too. I am a sucker for dreams. :)
One I really like is "O White Wind, numbing the world." I love, "There is no peace but a gray sleep,/ in the pause of the wind." Wonderful!


>
> If you're really tempted to add to your
> overstuffed bookcases, then have a look at
> abebooks, which has some very cheap volumes of CAS
> available.

It is a must and since my birthday is coming in September, it shall be closer to a reality. :)

~Alycia

Scott,

Thank you for letting me know what the Bancroft Library has of CAS. I am going to build up my courage and in the fall I am going to go and see what is there. I shall let everyone know my impressions and findings. :)

Thank you again,

~Alycia

Alycia!

Since you're a sucker for dreams, I may throw Charles Harpur's "The tower of the dream" your way sometime soon...:)

You could easily go to the "Browse texts" link and hunt up Harpur, from either of the Brennan pages, or, in the links to the right, go via "Literary/historical texts".

You can actually download the text onto your computer, so you have it there, ready to be printed out. I have, thus, a copy on my computer (I'm making another copy, as I work on a concordance of POEMS: 1913, btw).

Yrs,

Phillip

Phillip,

Thank you for showing me this site and the lovely poetry therein. I will definitely check out the, "Tower of the Dream." It sounds very interesting to me.

~Alycia

Dear Nighthalo -

Two small points of reference (maybe more) - Mr. Black at the Bancroft will be most helpful.
The "juvenilia" Scott referred to are published as "The Sword of Zagan" and
might be useful to you if you are examining a poet's evolution - also
"The Black Diamonds" - It is rare indeed to have this much of any writer's stuff from the days of his earliest efforts - Credit Clark's Mom with saving all of it -
Secondarily, and from a purely academic perspective - I urge you to take at
least an introductory course in Anglo-Saxon - be able to read Beowulf aloud
for the sounds if not the sense - this will help establish for you the
essential rythym that is authentically "english" - and is also (with latin,
Greek, and german) necessary for reading C.S. Lewis, "Allegory of Love" -
extremely important book, but no footnotes in the last edition i saw.
Best wishes
Dr. Farmer

Alycia!

As a corollary to Beowulf, I recommend that you look into Middle English as well, especially Sir Orfeo, which is is sprung rythym as well. Besides, Chaucer, Gower, the Pearl poet and the like are all rewarding in their own ways.

If you ever get your hands on Tottel's miscellany, I shall be eternally jealous...:)

Phillip

Dear Dr. Farmer and Phillip,

I am sure you will both be happy to know that Old to Middle English is a required course for English majors at Berkeley. It often depends on the professor how much Old and Middle English you read and I happened to get a rather enthusiastic professor who delighted in challenging us. Thus, I have read some Middle and Old English to the extent the class would offer. I think my favorite texts that we read besides the Fairy Queen and Beowulf was "Havelock" and the "Roman de Rou."

Also, I had a class, English 178, taught by professor John Niles on British and American Folklore. We spent a great deal of time reading Child's "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads." Much of this text is in Middle English or in very saturated Scottish dialect. In it, I read a "King Orpheo," although I am not sure if it is the same one you are referencing. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

~Alycia