Are there any articles available about Roy Squires, his publications,and his involvement with Clark Ashton Smith?

Thanks,
Mike

Unfortunately, Roy never wrote a memoir of his association with CAS,although he dropped little tidbits here and there in his catalogs. They were, however, fairly close friends, since Roy was one of CAS' literary executors (the appointment may have been made by Carol Smith, though). Roy was an old-time fan whose involvement dated back to te 1930s, and he may have come into contact with CAS back then. By the 1950s Roy ran INSIDE and SF ADVERTISER, and he ran ads for CAS selling his copies of the two Lovecraft omnibuses, a sad necessity forced upon him by failing finances. At some point Roy became associated with Clyde Beck, one of the brothers who brought out NERO AND OTHER POEMS in 1938, and they decided to print THE HILL OF DIONYSUS, which unfortunately turned out to be posthumous. Don Herron's article on "Collecting Clark Ashton Smith" in the October 2000 issue of FIRSTS magazine goes into some detail on the Squires publications, although he leaves off PRINCE ALCOUZ AND THE MAGICIAN from his checklist and omits a couple of one-offs which Roy printed as Christmas cards. I hope to obtain copies of CAS' correspondence with Roy regarding HILL soon. Of his pubs, I have THE HILL OF DIONYSUS: A SELECTION, NERO: AN EARLY POEM, THE MORTUARY: A FUGITIVE PROSE POEM, SADASTOR, FROM THE CRYPTS OF MEMORY, and FUGITIVE POEMS Xiccarph Edition (complete). Hope to pick up PRINCE ALCOUZ and FUGITIVE POEMS Zothique Edition soon. Best, Scott

In 1987 Roy Squires printed "A Descriptive Listing of Publications 1962 - 1979" in three different editons. This listing is the only one available as far as I know. Roy was as wonderful friend and a legendary book seller.

I am responding to Scott's as always informative note in this file.
The inquirer here may find my brief memoir which serves as a preface
to "The Sword of Zagan" interesting when it appears in Jan. I would
also be glad to correspond regarding my recollections of Roy and
Clark. You are correct in Roy having been selected by Carol. I was
not available since I was at UC Berkeley by the time things needed
doing, and, while Carol had formed a liaison by then with another
gentleman further up the mountain (whose name I never heard), she
evidently was wise enough to trust matters to long acquaintance.
Next - the "Prince Alcouz" you mention -- you may recall that I had
the original manuscript (now in Berkeley), and that we discussed the
name, which I well recall Clark mentioning as having been an error
by the publisher or a copyist. The title is "Prince Alcorez and
the Magician" and will so appear in Jan. I believe. Clark would
not have made the mistake of using the "ou" as a diphthong in an
Arabic style name, whereas two and three syllable names abound and
are more rythmically poetic sounding. Just say that title out
loud and you will hear how flat it sounds. Perhaps I should also
add, that while many who come to this web site found Clark first by
his stories, Clark always considered himself a poet first, and thought
of his stories as works that should be read aloud - as, indeed, Poe
also intended --

Dr. W.C. Farmer wrote:
> add, that while many who come to this web site found Clark
> first by
> his stories, Clark always considered himself a poet first,
> and thought
> of his stories as works that should be read aloud - as,
> indeed, Poe
> also intended --

Perhaps true in a sense - those already exposed to CAS would have primarily been aware of his stories.

The sites usage statistics show that the top search strings (used to get to the site) are packed full of the word "poem" and the internal search engine usage is similarly orientated.


Top 20 of 3728 Total Search Strings (external) (September 2003)
# Hits Search String
1 256 3.78% clark ashton smith
2 153 2.26% metaphor poem
3 97 1.43% sonnet poem
4 73 1.08% short story synopsis
5 70 1.03% autumn poem
6 53 0.78% ode poem
7 44 0.65% september poem
8 42 0.62% butterfly poem
9 39 0.58% sunset poem
10 38 0.56% sunrise poem
11 34 0.50% prose poetry
12 32 0.47% french poem
13 32 0.47% paphnutius
14 31 0.46% october poem
15 30 0.44% cuckold
16 29 0.43% sleep poem
17 27 0.40% beach poem
18 26 0.38% brazen bull
19 25 0.37% sisters poem
20 21 0.31% eldritch dark

Towards the end of his life, Clark told Don Fryer that it would be a mistake to value his poetry over his short stories, or visa versa, stating that there was much of value in both parts of his writing. I tend to view CAS' work as forming a thematic unity, with his poetry, prose, and even artwork all blending together and developing common ideas.
Regarding CAS and movies: there is some discussion of this in SL in letters with Lester Anderson. CAS mentions seeing FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, DELUGE, and KING KONG. But most of the time he was too poor to afford a ticket.
Best,
Scott

I think Lovecraft also saw Frankenstein. He thought it was awful. I think it's quite good on its own terms.
Ludde

Scott Connors wrote:

Quote:

Towards the end of his life, Clark told Don Fryer that it would be a mistake to value his poetry over his short stories, or visa versa, stating that there was much of value in both parts of his writing.

That's an interesting and surprising statement of CAS's. I imagine that I shall always be "mistaken", then. As much as I enjoy and admire most of CAS's stories, I cannot consider that body of work to be equal to his poetry. For one thing, the latter was never motivated by the need for money, nor was it ever diluted to suit the whims of editors of pulp magazines. Still, de gustibus and all that, I suppose.

Ludde wrote:

Quote:

I think Lovecraft also saw Frankenstein. He thought it was awful. I think it's quite good on its own terms.

What seemed to bother Lovecraft most about this film was its utter infidelity to Mary Shelley's novel. It would seem that HPL hadn't yet quite grasped the concept of "Hollywood"!

"It would seem that HPL hadn't quite grasped the concept of "Hollywood"!"

He he... no he was blessed from that, and he didn't want to grasp it either! He lived in a purer world, and the beginning deterioration he complained about is nothing compared to what we have to put up with now. Had he lived today, he probably would have written some tremendous horrors! :-P
But I am probably unfair; there was surely as much crap back then as there is now. And some things do get better -- the future evolves inevitably, through hoops.

Dear friends,
In all humility (or some at any rate) I must take a bit of exception
to Scott's mention of Don Fryer's comment regarding Clark's evaluation
of his poetry and prose. I suspect that Clark was being polite to
Don who was a considerable enthusiast for the stories at that time.
Clark always considered himself first a Poet - and would discuss and
share ideas on poetry endlessly. The stories, as fine as many are,
were, and remained in his mind - a means to buy beans. He remarked
to me once, that had poetry paid well, he might never have published
a story, though some he wrote flowed from ideas that were originally
in his mind as poems. It is true though, that is should not be
an either-or equation. For those who venture into the poetry, it is
a never exhausted well of experience. The stories are more easily
accessible -- though none of Ashton's work is a walk in the park.
Dr. Farmer

That CAS thought that his stories should be read aloud must have meant that they were important to him?
Even if he wrote them for the income he probably used his time wisely when writing them, and made poetic rythms and qualities into the sentences (I don't know, I am speculating... I am not very familiar with the art of poetry).
Last night I sat reading The City of the Singing Flame, and to me vast depths open up for one sentence after another. I could meditate indefinitely over small parts and remain dizzy for long times over the intimations revealed.
But I guess it also is relative from induvidual to induvidual, what one can grasp easily or not. I will like to spend more time with his poetry, and discover things that have passed me by before.
Ludde

What about the prose poems? They were not written for the income? I believe he liked prose, and that he started writing his stories out of inspiration, gotten partly from his contact with Lovecraft and others. Perhaps that joy conflicted with a higher regard for the purer medium of poetry.

Of course, writing gave him pleasure (a prose poem is still a poem
is it not). But editors edit, alter, cut - not so with a book of
poems. He began writing poetry and prose adventures in his childhood -
but grinding out stories bacame a drudgery for him sometimes -
By the time he and I became close, he had stopped writing almost
entirely, and Carol, I and many other friends were always after him
to pick up the pen again. The manuscripts which exist of his
published and unpublished works (soon to be rectified) show a steady
stream of authorship with little revision. The poems, on the other
hand were often re-worked - you may note the example in the
"Sword of Zagan" in Jan. where I have included an original draft of
a well known work which was first written on a manila rejection
envelope from a publisher in England.
Dr. F

Poe thought of himself as mainly a poet, too, but all
recognize that his prose was equally serious and more
historically important work. The same can be said of
Smith once generalizations are dispensed with and we
consider only the upper-eschelon tales, wouldn't you agree?
John Hitz

John - I must confess I do not agree that Poe's stories are
historically more important. Hollywood, of course, through
Vincent Price, has captured them on film to some extent, but
in the University you will find the poetry receives far more
attention. When I think of Poe, the first thing that comes to
mind is Annabelle Lee, Lenore, the Bells, and of course, the
Raven. I do not mean that I think Poe's poetry particularly
good, but that it is considered more important historically
(primarily as an example of openly self-conscious uses of
alliteration). I much prefer Clark's poetry to Poe's, if only
because it demands more of the reader and is more carefully
crafted in its layers, and more elegant in the richness of
its "multifarious dimensions".

Dear Dr. Farmer:
Thanks for the comments! I daresay most
of us who have derived great enjoyment from
Smith's fiction over the years would love to
gain a better understanding of the his poetry,
which as you say demands more of readers than
Poe's verses do. Pray pardon my unequivocal
claim that the latter's tales must be regarded
as a more significant event in literary
history-- although the preponderance of
evidence offered by critical analysis supports
this opinion. Would you agree that "Ligeia"
and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" were earth-
shaking landmarks in the development of the
short story, the one from an artistic
standpoint, the other as formulating the
detective genre? But let's get back to the
subject of Smith's fiction. I suggest that
any view that relegates his prose to a position
of secondary importance (or elevates the verse
to the ascendancy if you prefer) is prejudicial
unless the person adopting it abstains from
EXISTENTIAL considerations (the fact that
he wrote fiction as a livelihood), and answers
the ESSENTIAL claim that he authored about
30 tales that can stand toe-to-toe with
the best of his poetry. And contrary to
the impression which may have been created
by some previous discussions on this website,
this "upper echelon" (I spelled it correctly
this time)is not all that hard to specify:
I would say every piece in OUT OF SPACE AND
TIME is a bona-fide masterpiece except for
"The End of the Story", "The Second Interment",
"The Return of the Sorcerer", "The Testament of
Athammaus", "The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan",
and "Ubbo- Sathla" (the latter is sort of a
lesser version of "The Chain of Aforgomon", as
is "The Planet of the Dead" for that matter).
From LOST WORLDS, add "The Tale of Satampra
Zeiros", "The Empire of the Necromancers",
"The Beast of Averoigne", "Xeethra",
"The Plutonian Drug", "The Maze of the
Enchanter", "Necromancy in Naat", and
"The Letter From Mohaun Los" to the honor roll.
From GENIUS LOCI: the title story plus
"The Eternal World", "A Star-Change",
"The Colossus of Ylourgne", and "The
Garden of Adompha"...
From THE ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO:
"The Dweller in the Gulf", "The Witchcraft
of Ulua", and "The Dark Age" (underrated)...
From TALES OF SCIENCE AND SORCERY:
"Mother of Toads", "The Maker of Gargoyles",
"The Seed From the Sepulcher", & "Morthylla"
From OTHER DIMENSIONS: "The Ghoul", and,
finally, "The Red World of Polaris", proving
that even when writing under the cheapening
influence of Hugo "the Rat" Gernsback, CAS
could produce a work of cynical & sinister
genius. These 30 tales considered as his
best work in prose (along with the prose
poems) are submitted not for controversy,
but merely to supply a sense of completion
lacking in the previous discussions, by this
humbled and humiliated glossarist.

Yours for the sempervirent phasmidae,
John Hitz

best stories has proven to be more difficult

himself or herself to the

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Dear John - I deeply admire your enthusiasm for Clark's work. I must confess
that from the time of Clark's death until last year, besides myself, I met or
heard of three people who had ever heard of Clark Ashton Smith. I regularly
re-read my personal favorite stories regularly over that 40 years, and often
included my favorite poems in concert readings which I gave from time to time.
One other devotee was a High School kid in oregon to whom I gave a signed
poem of Clark's, and a Navy friend of my son whom I never met, but whose
enthusiasm was reported to me. I have never been involved in the role of
"critic" or analyst, nor am I the least interested in the typical academic
exercises of listing influences, writers he influenced, bibliographies, etc. -
Clark was just my very dear and good friend with whom I shared long discussions
over the last 8 years of his life of writers, his works, theories of literature,
and our opinions of the great and near great folk we knew in common. I know,
for example, that John Mcdonald was a very great influence on him because he
told me so - whether he ever mentioned this to anyone else is unknown to me.
The year I graduated from Syracuse Univ. (1960), I had had a master class with
Robert Graves and had read a good deal of his stuff - I enthusiastically shared
this experience with Clark, who, as usual, had already read the works, and was
particularly familiar with "The White Goddess" -
At any rate - Clark's preference for the poetic labor over prose labor is well
known to me. His belief that his poetry was the truest expression of his art
is based on direct conversation - he did not denigrate the stories, but he
greatly preferred the possibilities of expression in poetry. This I know as
an incontrovertible fact direct from his own mouth. The carving was next in line;
in both cases, the artist is doing something he must to keep from exploding - the
thing produced flows from him with no thought of financial gain or even whether
his "children" will be adopted and loved by anyone else - they are works that
simply must be done - good or indifferent, or the value placed by some future
public is of little relevance - though I think Clark had a true sense of his
importance to literature - it was certainly important to him that his manuscripts
be in the hands of those who, like myself, have cherished them and the memory
of our friendship down these many years.

Dear Dr. Farmer:
I will read those authors you mentioned during the
current break from my duties at the local Community
College (would that it were a permanent break)!
The interest generated in Smith's poetry through
this website is amazing, for as you've indicated,
his verse has "historically" been unduly neglected.
I read "The Ice-Demon" yesterday-- is that one of
your particular favorites? It's almost like a long
prose poem, and builds to a beautiful (and "baleful")
finish. I was re-reading it because I neglected to
include it in my "top 30"; "The Maker of Gargoyles"
is hereby displaced on said list, much as I like
its setting and denouement. More "importantly",
what about a list of any length identifying some
of your personal favorite poems?
Thanks so much for your e-mail-- honestly,
it is the most interesting message I've ever received.

Sincerely Yours,

John Hitz










[i][/i]

John,

Look for my memoir in the prefatory sections of "the Sword of Zagan"
coming out in Jan. A list of my most beloved poems of Clark's, would
also include a list of some of his favorites by other authors. At this
precise moment, I can't take time to make that list for you. Perhaps
my tastes might not be of interest to the general group, and if you
write me at the email I can more humbly accomadate you. But the
first poem that always leaps to mind is "Not altogether sleep";
begins - " Blithe love..." The final lines are to me, some of the
best in the language - "...where time shall have none other
pendulum than the remembered pulsings of thy heart." This poem
read aloud with its genteel consonance ranks very high with me
indeed. Another I am fond of begins, "The sunset gonfgalons are
furled...".

Also, for stories, Clark and I read together one of my favorites -
"The Black Abbott of Puthuum" - and you might take another look
at poor Avoosl Wuthoquuam - the sophisticated urbanity of the
monster guarding the pit of jewels is one of the funniest pieces
he ever wrote.