Today, is July 11. In addition to being my brother’s birthday, it’s also the birthday of Hugh B. Cave (1910-2004), Cordwainer Smith (1913-1966), and Roy G. Krenkel (1918-1983). Two writers and oen aritist. Here”s a brief look at each.

Hugh B. Cave was a prolific writer of wierd fiction in the thirties and early forties. Some of his work was collected in Murgunstrumm, published by Carcosa Press. There is an ebook edition available. Cave wrote across multiple genres, including mystery, westerns, and romance in addition to fantasy, horror, and science ficiton. His best known pen name was Justin Case.

After the war, he moved to the Carribean where he bought and managed a coffee plantation until the government confiscated it. During this time, Cave wroter for the slicks.

Upon his return to the US, he wrote more fantasy and horror. Few if any of these stories have been collected. They should be. He also published an autobiography, Cave of a Thousand Tales.

I doubt there has been another writer who wrote like Cordwainer Smith. His real name was Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger. In his short career, he published some of the most original science fiction of anyone. Most of his work was set in a future called the Instrumentality of Mankind where animals have been genetically modified to have speech and intelligence.

Roy G. Krenkel was one of the artists who illustrated, among other things, the covers of Edgar Rice Burroughs books. Here are some samples of his work.