While trawling eBay the other day I found a copy of "In Memoriam: Clark Ashton Smith" (evidently published as a fanzine-type side stapled pamphlet by Jack Chalker in '63) up for auction. Not having heard of this particular title before, I naturally searched for it here and found that there was very little detail to be had. Fortuitously, it turns out that my local University's library has a copy, which my wife as an employee was able to check out. I should have it in-hand tonight. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to post some information here. There seem to be a couple of CAS pieces in it, as well as some appreciations by other writers (most notably in my opinion Fritz Leiber, which is half of why I'm so interested). At very least I'll post the table of contents.

Sounds like an interesting find,
looking forward to seeing what you dig up.

Not a find, as such. It's been in the Cornell U. library since it was published, evidently (rebound). I have it now. Contents as follows:

"pre-foreword" (undocumented in table of contents): poem (bad) by "Ladye Carolyn" entitled "DEDICATED TO CLARK ASHTON SMITH". Presumably this is by his wife.

Foreword, by Jack L. Chalker (basically a statement on publishing this item, plus credits).

Introduction, by Ray Bradbury (identical, far as I can tell, to the one in A Rendezvous in Averoigne.)

Contents Page

Illustration/Title Page by David Prosser (flattering line drawing portrait of CAS, birth/death years, HPL quote)

CAS poem by Theodore Sturgeon (I'm not qualified to judge if it's good or not, though I find it interesting that such a prominent SF author went to the trouble, esp. at the height of his career, very nice)

"The Sorcerer Departs" by Donald Fryer (I assume this has been printed elsewhere, though I've not read it)

Autobiography (1 page, obviously by CAS)

"As I Remember Klarkash-Ton" by George F. Haas

poetic interlude, by CAS

"Poet of Eternity" by Litteric Farsaci

poetic interlude, by CAS

"Reminiscences" by Ethel Heiple

poetic interlude

"The Prose Tales of Clark Ashton Smith" by L. Sprague de Camp (I've read this one, it's the usual semi-insulting treatment that REH and HPL got from the talent-less wonder)

poetic interlude, by CAS

"Clark Ashton Smith: An Appreciation" by Fritz Leiber (a fairly insubstantial commentary on CAS, though it includes definitive proof that FRL met with CAS one time, which I wasn't sure of before today)

"The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan" by CAS (the story)

"The Dead Will Cuckold You" by CAS (play)

I have the thing from Cornell (or technically my wife does) for a year! so if there is enough interest I'll scan the thing in its entirety and put it up on photobucket or something. Not going to go to the trouble unless there's a considerable response... If someone wants to know something specific, feel free to reply.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 18 Oct 11 | 09:45PM by Radovarl.

Radovarl, I really must object to your description of L. Sprague DeCamp as a "talent-less wonder". Others on this site have expressed similar opinions, largely because of his harshly critical biographies of REH and HPL and his less-than-successful pastiches of the Conan stories. These works of his may be out of favor today (perhaps deservedly so--I haven't read his bios) but to write off the man's entire career is simply uncalled for.

His science fiction and fantasy may not be your cup of tea, but honestly, can you really call a man who wrote Lest Darkness Fall, Judgement Day, Language for Time Travelers, A Gun for Dinosaur, The Command and The Emperor's Fan a "talent-less wonder"?

DeCamp did some things well and other things poorly. Can we agree to that?

And before anyone else writes in, let me just say that I completely agree that the "additions" to the Conan canon by DeCamp and Carter just do not work. What's more, I could tell that they didn't the very first time I read them at the age of 14.

Okay, fine. He had a talent for writing bad, if eminently saleable scifi. Perhaps "self-aggrandizing jackass" would be a better description. I've not read the REH biography, but I have read the HPL bio, and it's a pretty sloppy bit of work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 19 Oct 11 | 06:12AM by Radovarl.

I do not recall Clark discussing de Camp's work, but I well recall that they were good friends -
As to the "In Memoriam" volume, I have had it since it's inception given to me by Carol - they were unable to contact me for an entry as I was at that time a Navigator/Bombardier for the USAF busy clearing land for farming from the air in Viet Nam - (and unofficially, parts of Cambodia) ergo, not easily located - If any of you want info about Ethel Heiple, I am sure that other than Don Fryer, I am the only person connected with this forum who know Ethel - she lived up the hill from me, and we were very close friends - she guided me to my first meeting with Clark -

and please, don't let this thread devolve into a mutual blood-letting over de Camp - those interchanges are unfruitful, and the denigration of another person's opinion - particularly in an anonymous setting sets a tone of discourtesy that causes the shade of old Clark to begin to incarnadine -

Calonlan, thanks for reminding me that the high road is always the best course to take. You are right--everyone is entitled to both their opinion and the free expression of it. Radovarl and I will just have to agree to disagree.

I actually enjoyed much of Sprague's biography on HPL for the biographical information it provided, and I am always interested to see what other writers have to say concerning Lovecraft's weird fiction. The book came out just at the time that I was becoming an obsess'd Lovecraft freak. I was in the E.O.D. and visiting every week-end with H. Warner Munn who lived nearby, and I was corresponding with many of the original Lovecraft Circle gang. Sprague was a warm and generous correspondent, a really nice guy who loved the genre. I ended my friendship with him when I came out as queer, became militant and would not tolerate any form of homophobia. Sprague innocently wrote that it might be possible for me to be "cured" of my sexuality, and thus I stopped having anything to do with him. I regret it now, as I avoided him when he was a guest at Norwescon and I could have actually met him. I have never read any of his fiction.

"I'm a little girl."
--H. P. Lovecraft, Esq.

What?--you have changed your signature! I always did like the opening lines from "The Ancient Track"--full of implication.

Perhaps my favorite bit in all of Lovecraft's poetry: "This is the hour when moonstruck poets know / what fungi sprout in Yuggoth..." (from "Yuggoth" sonnet XIV. "Star-Winds")

calonlan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do not recall Clark discussing de Camp's work,
> but I well recall that they were good friends -
> As to the "In Memoriam" volume, I have had it
> since it's inception given to me by Carol - they
> were unable to contact me for an entry as I was at
> that time a Navigator/Bombardier for the USAF busy
> clearing land for farming from the air in Viet Nam
> - (and unofficially, parts of Cambodia) ergo, not
> easily located - If any of you want info about
> Ethel Heiple, I am sure that other than Don Fryer,
> I am the only person connected with this forum who
> know Ethel - she lived up the hill from me, and we
> were very close friends - she guided me to my
> first meeting with Clark -
>
> and please, don't let this thread devolve into a
> mutual blood-letting over de Camp - those
> interchanges are unfruitful, and the denigration
> of another person's opinion - particularly in an
> anonymous setting sets a tone of discourtesy that
> causes the shade of old Clark to begin to
> incarnadine -


Smith mentions that he liked de Camo's "The Tritonian Ring."
I echo Dr. Farmer's request for us to refrain from attacking de Camp. His work on HPL and REH is controversial, but the only thing that I can say against his writings on CAS is that he didn't do credit to the poetry in his "Sierra Shaman" sketch. On the whole, he did well by Smith in general.

K_A_Opperman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What?--you have changed your signature! I always
> did like the opening lines from "The Ancient
> Track"--full of implication.
>
> Perhaps my favorite bit in all of Lovecraft's
> poetry: "This is the hour when moonstruck poets
> know / what fungi sprout in Yuggoth..." (from
> "Yuggoth" sonnet XIV. "Star-Winds")


The former is my usual forum signature; but I am now writing a story for S. T.'s forthcoming anthology, BLACK WINGS III, and the story is based on Grandpa's poems wherein he mentions Zaman's Hill -- so it inspir'd my change of signature.

I echo the sentiment that we not trash our fellow writers, editors &c. There is so much that is positive and cause for celebration in this genre and we who work within it. There are such wonderful riches with which we are blessed. We are living in such an exciting time for our genre, thanks primarily to the small press.

"I'm a little girl."
--H. P. Lovecraft, Esq.

I'm going to come down on the side of those who argue against the usual extreme version of Sprague and his work. Yes, his biography of HPL has many, many flaws; it was also not only the first full-length biography of the man, but took him seriously and, despite the author's shortcomings in understanding where Lovecraft was coming from -- something de Camp confessed at the very beginning of the work, openly stating that this would often prevent him from being as sympathetic as many might wish -- he nonetheless painted him as a fascinating and complex individual who was, when all was said, a very talented, generous, warm human being.

It might pay to remember that, in his final summation, one of the things he had to say (and in fact B&N picked this as a blurb for the dust jacket of their reprint of the biography) is, I think, one of the best short comments on Lovecraft as a person that I have ever seen: "Despite his oddities, those who knew him loved him and were fascinated by him. He always tried to do the right thing. He kept learning and improving all his life; and that, it seems to me, is the best use to which a mind can be put" (p. 448).

I've not read his book on Howard at this point, though I have it set aside to read early next year, but I do understand it suffers from many of the same flaws. With a popular biography such as these are, I tend to take that into account anyway, so am perhaps more forgiving than some. (I prefer more scholarly biographies, but I have also learned things from the popular ones as well.)

On de Camp's work itself... it, too, was uneven. He sometimes cannibalized himself to a ridiculous degree; but when he was good, he could be very, very good. And as a person, despite his flaws, he was also a kind and generous man; this I gather from other accounts, as well as having met the man and talked to him for some time. I disagree with him strongly on various issues, but overall I would have to say that he was someone deserving courtesy and respect.

To return to his writings on CAS, HPL, REH, etc.; though he certainly argues with their views when he disagrees with them, the bulk of his comments tend to be quite favorable, even laudatory; and he championed their work for decades in venue after venue, unlike various other sff writers of the time. (There were, of course, others who did so, including Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.) So I would hardly call most of his comments, at any rate, "semi-insulting". Wrong-headed at times, perhaps. But insulting, on any level... no, I can't agree with that.

The portion of de Camp's HPL bio that really annoyed me was when he started harping on what an amateur Lovecraft was in his approach to writing and marketing his work -- this is also why I get so impatient with E. Hoffmann Price's attitude as he express'd it to HPL and in the letters he wrote to Nyctalops. Bloch told me, "Lovecraft was a complete professional as a writer," and that coincides with my own feelings. I loved Carter's book, but became livid with rage when he attacked HPL for being a poseur because Lovecraft considered himself a Literary Artist. I came to de Camp's defense in my letters to Mosig and other howlers, and even wrote a poem in praise of Sprague for my one-shot poetry zine, Visions from Khroyd'hon, that I published in the 1970's. I think, over time, I have become less and less enchanted with Sprague's book, to the point where, these days, I cannot read it without grumbling. But initially I loved it, because I hungered for anything to do with Lovecraft, and this was the first full-length biography (we cannot consider Carter's book such).

"I'm a little girl."
--H. P. Lovecraft, Esq.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 20 Oct 11 | 04:03PM by wilum pugmire.

My apologies. My original remark was written in a fit of pique at the de Camp piece appearing in the "In Memoriam" document (which is in my opinion dismissive and full of faint praise of CAS's work)--it brought back memories of some of the "liberties" I felt de Camp took with HPL's bio. The reply to the reaction to my remark was written first thing in the morning. I ought to know better than to get on the Internet before I have my coffee and cigarette... I had no intention of sparking an argument (my assumption initially was that de Camp was universally reviled, actually). To each his own. If anyone who isn't familiar with de Camp's contribution to this publication would like, I'd be happy to either type or scan it.. It's short.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 20 Oct 11 | 07:34PM by Radovarl.

I would be interested in seeing it, providing no legalities are breached. (If such is a concern, I can always access it through ILL.) However, I have a strong suspicion that at least some portions of this piece ended up in his piece on Smith for his series "Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers", which eventually became part of the Arkham House book of that title....