Black Lizard's THE BIG BOOK OF ADVENTURE STORIES (ed Otto Penzler), sequel to THE BIG BOOK OF PULP STORIES, THE VAMPIRE ARCHIVES, and THE BIG BOOK OF BLACK MASK STORIES, is a huge collection of stories that are, I suppose, loosely about adventures of various kinds. It contains things by H Rider Haggard, Harold Lamb, Talbot Mundy, Edgar Rice Burroughs (the entirety of TARZAN THE TERRIBLE, the best Tarzan novel), and many more. I mention it here because it has Smith's "The Seed from the Sepulcher" in it. I just love these tomes, in particular because they have two-column text for easy reading.

People from The Robert E Howard Forum are well advised to stay away, however! Even though the book contains "The Devil in Iron," one of the worst Conan stories, Penzler's biography of the author is sure to raise their already elevated blood pressures to dangerous levels.

Quote:

Penzler's biography of the author is sure to raise their already elevated blood pressures to dangerous levels.

Let's see whether any of them lurk here. I'll check, by making a controversial statement:

"Shakespeare is a better writer than Robert E. Howard".


*ducks, and slips outside to purchase a Kevlar vest*

Absquatch Wrote:
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> Let's see whether any of them lurk here.

They lurk everywhere, hoping to be offended.

I am truly amused - try this on - Almost everyone is a better writer than REH - the fact that someone is a fun read hardly gives a clue to literary merit -

I am very fond of much of Howard's work. But Howard fandom is the most peculiar group of people I have ever come across. Among other things, they believe the most important fact about his life must not be mentioned.

Jojo Lapin X Wrote:
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> I am very fond of much of Howard's work. But
> Howard fandom is the most peculiar group of people
> I have ever come across. Among other things, they
> believe the most important fact about his life
> must not be mentioned.

I fail to see that Howard's suicide IS "the most important fact about his life", and the fact that many people seem content to focus on that rather than any other biographical anecdote is probably responsible for the (admittedly exaggerated) sensitivity towards it evident in the Howard community. With the exceptions of Thomas Chatterton, Sylvia Plath, and several ancient or oriental writers who killed themselves for various cultural reasons, I do not recall many other authors whose suicide is made more of than Howard's.

Suicide is not the first thing many think of when Hart Crane, John Berryman, Edward Lucas White, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, or James Tiptree, Jr. - among a few hundred others - are brought up. Why should this necessarily be the case with Howard?

I do not believe that Robert E. Howard scholars object to mention of Howard's suicide but to the exclusive biographical focus many have made on that single fact, let alone the plethora of pseudo-psychological interpretations that so many amateur and professional writers have felt compelled to graft onto it.

I wonder if anyone has seen "The Whole Wide World" with Renee Zellweger as Novalyne Price and Vincent D'Nofrio as Robert E. Howard? It's based on Price's book and it made me cry. It's a great film.

jimrockhill2001 Wrote:
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> Suicide is not the first thing many think of when
> Hart Crane . . . [is] brought up.

I am afraid the spectacular circumstances of his suicide are the only thing I think of when Crane is brought up, as I have not read any of his poetry.

> Why should this necessarily be the
> case with Howard?

1. It is the most striking feature of a short and otherwise unusually uneventful life.

2. It provides a major clue to the ultra-depressive outlook on life found in many of his stories.

Penzler's biographical sketch of Howard seems almost deliberately calculated to make certain people soil themselves---it is quite cruel, really. I cannot keep you in suspense any longer; here is the relevant part:

Quote:

A life-long depressive, Howard was inordinately close to his mother. When her tuberculosis reached its final stage and a nurse told him she would never again be conscious, he put a gun in his mouth and killed himself at the age of thirty . . .

Let the boycotts and email campaigns begin!

Obviously Mr. Penzler knows little or nothing about Robert E. Howard.Hence he should've done some research.

Jojo Lapin X Wrote:
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> I am very fond of much of Howard's work. But
> Howard fandom is the most peculiar group of people
> I have ever come across. Among other things, they
> believe the most important fact about his life
> must not be mentioned.

No, they don't. They believe that it isn't the sole fact of his life that should be mentioned.
It's a bit like Lovecraft's racism.

I am not aware of any group that organizes coordinated email attacks when somebody has mentioned Lovecraft's racism.

Maybe there should be. Great idea -- thanks!

Oh no!

Jojo Lapin X Wrote:
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> jimrockhill2001 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Suicide is not the first thing many think of
> when
> > Hart Crane . . . brought up.
>
> I am afraid the spectacular circumstances of his
> suicide are the only thing I think of when Crane
> is brought up, as I have not read any of his
> poetry.
>
> > Why should this necessarily be the
> > case with Howard?
>
> 1. It is the most striking feature of a short and
> otherwise unusually uneventful life.
>
> 2. It provides a major clue to the
> ultra-depressive outlook on life found in many of
> his stories.


As to Hart Crane, his suicide is not what comes to my mind, but rather the moment when he was introduced to his Patron, and rather than extending his hand, brought forth his private member, and dangling before all in a public place said, "Shake" - A performance somewhat inverse of "biting the hand that feeds you".