Jesting with Kuttner

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Today, April 7, marks Henry Kuttner’s birthday (1915-1958). Kuttner is one of the most revered authors in these here parts. I’ve been in a Weird Tales kind of mood lately, probably because it the Weird Tales centennial. I’m going to try to get some posts up about that soon.

But I digress.

For today’s post, I’m going to look at one of Kuttner’s early stories for Weird Tales, “The Jest of Droom-Avista”. Kuttner was still learning  the ropes on this one, so it’s a little rough around the edges. It was first published in the August 1937 issue.

The basic plot goes like this: Continue reading →

A Collaboration Between Poe and Bloch

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Today, in observance of the birthday of Robert Bloch (1917-1994), we’re going to look at a “collaboration” between Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Bloch, “The Lighthouse”..

I put the word “collaboration” in quotes because what this really is, is a completion of a fragment Poe left unfinished. Not entirely unlike the “posthumous collaborations” of Derleth and Lovecraft, except that Bloch acknowledges he finished this story at the urging of the leading Poe scholar at the time.

“The Lighthouse” was first published in the January-February 1953 issue of Fantastic. I read it in the paperback collection Pleasant Dreams – Nightmares. (Note: the contents of this volume differ from the Arkham House collection of the same title. Of the four stories blurbed on the back cover, only one is actually in this book.) Continue reading →

My Wife Is Going Into the Prison System

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She has to report to the Robertson Unit in Abilene in a few days for processing.

I’ll be accompanying her, although I’ll stay at the hotel while that’s going on.

Once the new employee paperwork is done, we’ll go to where she’ll actually be working.

As you might can guess, there are some big changes going on behind the scenes here at Adventures Fantastic, which is why I’ve not posted anything for nearly two months. I didn’t realize it had been that long. I’ve also been focusing on fiction writing. More on that in a later post.

I’ll try to get a few things up over the next few days, a birthday post on Robert Bloch and another on Henry Kuttner and a guest post from Will Oliver. I’m about halfway through a collection for review, but that one is a few days out.

Third Times the /charm Ballot

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2023 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards Ballot

Here is the ballot with the final nominees for the 2023 Robert E. Howard Awards and the link for Foundation members to vote for the winners. The Awards committee had its work cut out for us this year, as several of the categories had too many great nominees made and we had to decide on the top five that were the best among such a fantastic field in those categories. To the nominators, we thank you for your help in bringing attention to the worthy scholars and artists. To the final nominees and all of the other nominees who didn’t make the final list, congratulations! Final day to vote is by 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, March 1, 2023, The link to vote is at the bottom of the list. You will be required to put in your email address that is on file with the REHF to be verified to vote as a current member of the REHF. Thank you for your help with the nominations and with the voting:

The Atlantean—Outstanding Achievement, Book*

Dennis McHaney (Ed.): Robert E. Howard in the Pulps (Lulu.com) – https://www.lulu.com/shop/dennis-mchaney/robert-e-howard-in-the-pulps/paperback/product-zqrg68.html

*It has been brought to the Foundation’s attention that the Award Committee made an error in the ballot, which has now been corrected. We apologize for any confusion this has caused and vow to do better in the future. We sincerely apologize to both Paul Herman and Dennis McHaney for our blunder. As you will see now when you go to the ballot page, the Poetry Book has been removed from the category. Continue reading →

Corrected 2023 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards Ballot

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There was an error in the previous post. That post has been deleted. The correct ballot is below.  Apologies for the error and any inconvenience.

Here is the ballot with the final nominees for the 2023 Robert E. Howard Awards and the link for Foundation members to vote for the winners. The Awards committee had its work cut out for us this year, as several of the categories had too many great nominees made and we had to decide on the top five that were the best among such a fantastic field in those categories. To the nominators, we thank you for your help in bringing attention to the worthy scholars and artists. To the final nominees and all of the other nominees who didn’t make the final list, congratulations! Final day to vote is by 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, March 1, 2023, The link to vote is at the bottom of the list. You will be required to put in your email address that is on file with the REHF to be verified to vote as a current member of the REHF. Thank you for your help with the nominations and with the voting:

The Atlantean—Outstanding Achievement, Book

Paul Herman (Ed.): The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, Vol. 1 (Robert E. Howard Foundation Press) – https://rehfpress.com/books/ultimate/tcp-vol1/

Dennis McHaney (Ed.): Robert E. Howard in the Pulps (Lulu.com) – https://www.lulu.com/shop/dennis-mchaney/robert-e-howard-in-the-pulps/paperback/product-zqrg68.html

The Valusian—Outstanding Achievement, Book (anthology/collection)

No Nominees

The Hyrkanian—Outstanding Achievement, Essay

Remco Van Straten: “Conan in Holland” – https://turniplanterns.wordpress.com/2022/03/05/conan-in-holland/

John Bullard & Bill Cavalier: “‘Is That Robert E. Howard?’: A Look At Two Photographs” – http://adventuresfantastic.com/is-that-robert-e-howard-a-look-at-two-photographs-part-1/

Nicole Emmelhainz: “Gender Performativity in Howard’s ‘Sword Woman'” – New Edge Sword & Sorcery #0 – https://www.amazon.com/New-Edge-Sword-Sorcery-Magazine/dp/B0BGSHT1G5

Willard M. Oliver: “Three Lost Interviews About Robert E. Howard” – http://adventuresfantastic.com/three-lost-interviews-about-robert-e-howard-part-1-by-will-oliver/

The Cimmerian—Outstanding Achievement, Scholarship

Anthony Conrad Chieffalo: “Gendered and Genrefied: Transgressive Heroism in Sword and Sorcery” in The Dark Man vol. 12, no. 2, Mar 2022 – https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Man-Journal-Robert-Studies/dp/B0B28FLBJ4/

Willard M. Oliver: “Howard and Strange Tales” in The Dark Man vol. 12, no. 2, Mar 2022 – https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Man-Journal-Robert-Studies/dp/B0B28FLBJ4/

The Venarium—Emerging Scholar

Anthony Conrad Chieffalo (“Gendered and Genrefied: Transgressive Heroism in Sword and Sorcery”)

Antonio Marco Collares (Brazilian scholar focusing on Robert E. Howard, involved in many projects)

Nicole Emmelhainz (Co-editor of The Dark Man, “Gender Performativity in Howard’s ‘Sword Woman'”)

The Black Lotus—Outstanding Achievement, Web-based

The Cromcast ( http://thecromcast.blogspot.com/ ): The Howard Days 2022 video recordings and the Cromcast Chronicle #3.

Ståle Gismervik: The REH World ( https://REH.world) website and associated articles, interviews, and resources hosted there.

Gary Romeo: The L. Sprague de Camp Fan ( https://spraguedecampfan.wordpress.com/ ) website and associated reviews and articles.

The Costigan—Literary achievement

Teel James Glenn (author): “The Cowboy and the Conqueror: A Bob Howard Adventure” – https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Conqueror-Bob-Howard-Adventure/dp/B09TRXHSWZ/

Steven Hubbard (author): A Conspiracy of Ravens – https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Ravens-Codex-Wretches-Kings/dp/B0B3RC69WV/

Andrew Leman & Sean Branney (writers): Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Black Stone – https://www.hplhs.org/darttbs.php

David C. Smith (author): “Shadow of the Serpent” in Terra Incognita: Lost Worlds of Fantasy and Adventure – https://www.amazon.com/Terra-Incognita-Worlds-Fantasy-Adventure/dp/195617303X/

S. M. Stirling (author): Blood of the Serpent – https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Serpent-Chronicles-Greatest-Barbarian/dp/1803361832/

The Rankin—Artistic achievement

Mahmud Asrar – cover/page artist for King Conan #1-6 (Marvel) – https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/31981/king_conan_2021_-_2022

Rodney Buchemi – page artist for Bêlit & Valeria: Swords vs. Sorcery #1-5 (Ablaze) – https://www.ablaze.net/products?c=53

Gio Guimarães – cover artist for O Rebelde (Script Editora) – https://www.catarse.me/rebelde

Stevan Subic – artist for Conan le Cimmérien–Xuthal la Crépusculaire (Éditions Glénat) – https://amazon.com/Conan-Cimm%C3%A9rien-Xuthal-Cr%C3%A9pusculaire-French/dp/2344035818/

Darell Tuchton – cover artist for Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Black Stone – https://www.hplhs.org/darttbs.php

The Black River—Special Achievement

Jason Ray Carney – Editor of The Dark Man, organizer of SpiralCon and the Trigon Awards, promoted Robert E. Howard through a TED Talk and an article in the LA Review of Books – “Reading Sword-and-Sorcery to Make the Present Less Real”: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/reading-sword-and-sorcery-to-make-the-present-less-real/

Stephen Roelants, Alexis and Yannis Metzinger: “The Sources of Fantasy: Robert E. Howard” ( https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/098408-004-A/aux-sources-de-la-fantasy/ )

The Crom Award

Nominees will be made, (if there are any nominations for it) and voted on only by the REHF Board of Directors.

The Black Circle Award

Fred Blosser

L. Sprague De Camp (Posthumous)

Additional nominees may be made by the REHF Board, but the final list will only be voted on by the REHF Board of Directors

 

The link for members to vote is:

Robert E. Howard Awards 2023 Ballot (google.com)

 

Thanks again for your help in creating this year’s 2023 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards.

The REHF Awards Committee

Blogging Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry: “Quest of the Starstone”

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C. L. Moore

Today, January 24, is the birthday of C. L. Moore (1911-1987). She was one of the best practitioners of the weird tale, and later, mostly with her husband Henry Kuttner, of science fiction.

Today for her birthday, I’m going to look at “Quest of the Starstone”, in which Northwest Smith and Jirel meet. This story was a collaboration with her future husband, Henry Kutner. This story was originally published in the November 1937 issue of  Weird Tales. Catherine and Hank didn’t marry until 1940.

His his introduction to the story in Echoes of Valor II, Karl Edward Wagner says it was a collaboration by mail. I’m going to rely heavily on that volume and a couple of others when I look at the two remaining stories in the Northwest Smith series. “Quest of the Starstone” is the final Jirel story. Continue reading →

C. L. Moore’s PS – A Guest Post by Will Oliver

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Yesterday was Robert E Howard’s birthday, and tomorrow is C. L. Moore’s. Will Oliver provides another guest post about their correspondence. Thanks will.

C.L. Moore’s P.S.

By Will Oliver

C.L. Moore (Catherine Lucille Moore, January 24, 1911—April 4, 1987) was a fan of Robert E. Howard’s writing. As she once explained to R. H. Barlow in an April 1934 letter, “I’d like to read everything Robert E. Howard has ever written. The first story of his I read was WORMS OF THE EARTH, and I’ve been a fanatic ever since.” Moore had a brief correspondence with Howard toward the end of his life and one of the early extant letters is dated January 29, 1935. She addresses a wide array of topics, praises Howard’s writing, and then signs-off. However, she added an interesting postscript that read:

P.S. I just wanted to remark that

‘We pinned our hope

To a rotten rope

And the Man from Galilee.’

In the faint hope that you’ll recognize it. Those three lines are another of my pet ha’nts, and absolutely anonymous so far as I’m concerned.

Continue reading →

Robert E. Howard Guest Birthday Post by Will Oliver

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Today, January 22, is the birthday of Robert E, Howard (1906-1936). I’ve done a number of birthday posts on Howard over the years. This year I decided to do something different and post an article by Will Oliver.

Will sent me this article a couple of months ago. We’ve gone back and forth on some of the words Howard uses in it. One particular racial term, actually. Will quotes Howard directly. I consider the word in question offensive. Most people do. But I also find whitewashing the past (no pun intended) offensive as well. If we don’t know the past with all its inherent ugliness, we risk repeating it.After some discussion, we’ve decided that I’m going to use the first letter of the word and replace the other letters with asterisks.

Consider this your trigger warning. If even Continue reading →

A. Merritt – Ruminations on His Birthday

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Well, this is a bit embarrassing.  I’ve been swamped lately and up to my ears in writing projects, travel, and preparing for classes and labs to start. So when I logged on a few minutes ago to do this post about A. Merritt, I was surprised to see the birthday post on Tolkien (what birthday post on Tolkien, you ask), was still in draft and hadn’t been posted.

Must have failed to hit the PUBLISH button. I also didn’t realize it had been nearly three weeks since I had posted.  There wasn’t much to it, more filler than anything of substance,  so I deleted it.

So getting on to today’s post. I’ve written about Merritt before. He’s sadly fallen out of favor in recent years.

But that is changing. Centipede Press just published Burn Witch, Burn! and my copy arrived the other day. I haven’t even had a chance to break the shrink wrap on it.

As you may know, Centipede Press titles aren’t cheap. This was $50. On the other pseudopod, though, Centipede Press books are some of the highest quality publications around.

I haven’t read this particular title yet. I’m going to try to work in as soon as possible. Both Robert Bloch and Karl Edward Wagner held it in high regard. With endorsements like that, I’m going to make the book a priority.

Now to make sure I hit the PUBLISH button.

Leigh Brackett and Eric John Stark

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Today is December 7 as I write this, and on this day in 1915, Leigh Brackett was born.

Brackett is a major favorite here at Adventures Fantastic. I’m not going to let her birthday go by unacknowledged.

Normally for these birthday posts, I read and review something by the author in question. I’m up to my armpits in alligators, writing deadlines, and trying to get ready for final exams (which start tomorrow).

So, that’s clearly not going to happen this year.

I also have been thinking about what to review. I’ve reviewed most of the short fiction that I consider to be my favorites. I’m not going to repeat myself. Also I don’t have time to comb through the rest of Brackett’s work and find something.

So I’m going to cheat. Continue reading →