Tag Archives: Howard Days

Report on Robert E. Howard Days 2018

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This past weekend, Howardians made their annual pilgrimage to Cross Plains. The emphasis this year was on Howard’s fans.

I was afraid the weather was going to be horrendous.  The temperatures were forecast to be around 105F.  Fortunately, things didn’t get that bad, although on Saturday they got close.  The thunderstorms that rolled in Thursday night helped to cool things off.

(l.to r.) Ty Johnston, Jason M. Waltz, your intrepid blogger, David J. West

The highlight of the weekend for me was meeting some folks I’ve been friends with online but not met in person. I knew David J. West was going to be there, but I hadn’t know Jason M. Waltz and Ty Johnston would be attending.  Jason is the editor and publisher of Rogue Blades Entertainment. He’s recently retired and plans to reinvigorate RBE.  Ty is an author who has written some terrific fantasy (start here). They all had a great time and want to come back. These are some great guys who fit right in. (Jason moved to Texas earlier this year, so I expect out paths will cross again soon.)

Indy Cavalier giving his GoH speech.

Friday was the usual day for postal cancellations, hot dog lunch, and panels.  The banquet Friday night was held in the gymnasium of First Baptist Church.  We’d outgrown the Community Center.  The Staghorn Cafe catered the chicken fried steak dinner. As usual, it was delicious. I only spent $15 dollars at the silent auction this year.  For the last few years I’ve been spending less money, probably because I’ve either gotten everything I want or I can’t afford it.  Bill “Indy” Cavalier was the GoH. His speech was entitled “Robert E. Howard Saved My Life”, and was about the impact REH had on his life during some rocky times.

One of the big items of interest this year was the excavation of the cellar.  Jeff Shanks is an archaeologist with the National Park Service. The Howard House in on the National Register of Historic Places, which places it under National Park jurisdiction.  The cellar was excavated earlier this spring.

Jeff Shanks (far center) discusses the excavation of the cellar.

Jeff gave a tour of the cellar, meaning he stood outside the tape along with everyone else and discussed the process of the excavation. The plan as I understand it is to preserve the cellar and try to figure out a way to keep it visible for future visitors. Until that happens, it will be covered back up.  Volunteers filled in the cellar Sunday.  You could see where the pressure from the dirt was causing the walls to begin to curve inward.

The photo on the right shows some of the items recovered from the cellar.  The helmet is a baseball helmet. The jar in the front left still has its content intact. A number of jars were recovered that survived being buried.  Jeff was asking us what we thought.  The most popular response was pinto beans.  I thought it looked more like some type of vegetable soup.  There were some things in the jar that looked to me like corn.  Jeff said they also had jars with peach pits, so he knew whoever had stored the jars had been canning peaches.  The contents of the cellar will be discussed in a report for the Parks Service.  Jeff joked that it will probably be the most read archaeological report from the Service.

Bobby Derie makes a point to Dierk Gunther during the Solomon Kane panel.

This year marked the 90th anniversary of Solomon Kane.  I was eating lunch at the Stag Horn on Friday and missed the birthday cake. But I had a great time with friends old and new and wouldn’t trade it for the cake.  (I didn’t need the sugar anyway.)

(l. to r.) Scott Cupp, James Reasoner, David Hardy, Jason Carney, and Mark Finn discuss what it takes to go From Fan to Pro

The panels, both the fan oriented and the academic papers were good.  I missed part of the Foundation Awards.  I stepped out of the room for a few minutes to return a call from my wife.  Congratulations to the winners.

The barbeque on the grounds of the Howard House was excellent as always. It was followed by the poetry reading. People said goodnight and in many cases goodbye.  The usual informal breakfast was Sunday and the 2018 Howard Days came to a close. From what I understand, it was a success, with a higher than usual attendance.

I’m looking forward to next year.

The Rogue Blades gang displays their invisible blades.

Reading Robert E. Howard on National Poetry Day

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I saw somewhere that today is supposed to be National Poetry Day, so I thought I would read some selections by one of my favorite poets.  Robert E. Howard is held in pretty high esteem in these here parts.  This is a side of Howard’s writing that isn’t as well known as it should be.The volume you see on the left is over 700 pages in length. It was published by the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press.  If you don’t have a copy, that’s unfortunate. It’s out of print.  (And you ain’t gettin’ mine.)

Here are some of my favorites. Continue reading →

Report on Howard Days 2017

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I know I should have posted this almost two weeks ago, but I’ve been pretty swamped.  I’m teaching a class at the moment that’s taking up most of my time.  But since I don’t feel like grading exams on a Friday evening, I’ll blog instead.

This year’s theme was “Howard Detectives: The Ongoing Search for Undiscovered Information”.  Since there weren’t any anniversaries this year, things were a little low key compared to recent years.  That was fine with me. The attendance was down a little, which was disappointing.

I got in on Thursday afternoon.  Like I did two years ago, I stayed at the isolated farmhouse down the hill from the cemetery.  There weren’t any creepy things this time, but then I had a better idea of what to expect.  There also wasn’t a working air conditioner.  I slept with the windows open.  At first I thought about going to a hotel, but if Two-Gun Bob could sleep without AC all his life, I could do it for a few nights. Continue reading →

Summer Schedule

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I’ve been kinda busy lately, but I thought I would give a short update.

Last week my son competed in the state solo and ensemble competition.  He didn’t play a solo, but his quartet scored a one.  (For those who don’t know, band scores are like golf scores; lower is better.)  I went along as a sponsor, and since I rode the bus rather than drove myself, I got some reading done.

I’ll try to post reviews soon, but I’ve been devoting what free time I’ve had to fiction writing.  I’ve got three stories in slush piles.  With one exception, which got a very nice rejection of the send-me-something-else variety, all the other stories I sent out earlier this year have placed.  I need to get some more stuff finished and out the door.  I’m hoping things will settle down next week.

Why not this week, you ask.  Summer classes started today, so normally I would be into a routine by the end of the week.  However, this weekend is my annual pilgrimage to the holy land, also know as Robert E. Howard Days.  I’m going down on Thursday afternoon (and in my car since my wife needs hers this weekend.  It will be an adventure.)

So look for a writeup on Howard Days next week.  If I can squeeze in a review before then, I’ll do it.  Otherwise, they’ll hit after I get back.

Report on Howard Days 2016

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Howard House 2016Yes, I know this year’s Howard Days was nearly 2 weeks ago, but we left for New Mexico on family vacation right after I got back.  (Other than no AC in the car when the temperature was 105F, we had a great time.)  I’m playing catch-up catch up on blogging.

Howard Days has grown, something that was emphasized since this year marked the 30th anniversary of the first Howard Days.  While things officially don’t start until Friday, people are showing up on Wednesday evenings.  Space is becoming a consideration, with events this year moved from the library to the high school auditorium or the Senior Center across the street from the library.  There were a number of new attendees, which is always a healthy thing for an event, and I’m not referring the 10,000 or so mosquitoes that showed up. Continue reading →

An Open Letter to …?

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This is going to be an open letter to two people, neither of whose identity is known to me.  I have a first name for one person (which I will not be revealing).  The other person’s identity I don’t know at all.  This is the person I would like to talk to.

I get most of my mail at a PO box for security reasons.  I want things with financial information safely locked away, not in a mail box on my porch.

Anyway, after lunch today I swung by the post office.  There were a couple of pieces of mail with computer generated addresses, such as an insurance statement, things like that.  On top of these envelopes was a letter-sized envelope with a hand-written address.  The handwriting was unfamiliar.  I glanced at the return address but didn’t look any closer than to see it was in town.   Through the envelope I could see and feel what appeared to be a card.

Wondering who it was from, I took a closer look at the return address.  There was no name, just a PO Box, city, and zip code.  My PO Box. Continue reading →

Howard Days 2015 is Almost Upon Us

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Robert E. Howard fenceIt’s Tuesday evening as I write this and in 48 hours, I’ll be in Cross Plains for Howard Days 2015, which officially kicks off on Friday.  I’ll provide a report next week.  In the meantime, I thought I would inquire as to what any of you any of you might like me to pay particular attention to.  The theme this year is the relationship between Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

Anyway, if you can’t make it and like me to report on something in particular, please let me know.

RIP, Miguel Martins

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Al and Miguel

Al Harron (left) and Miguel Martins atop Caddo Peak, Howard Days 2011

I’ve begun to hear from people in Robert E. Howard fandom that Miguel Martins has passed away.  I don’t have any details at this time.

I only met Miguel once, at Howard Days in 2011.  I liked him immediately.  Miguel was one of the first people to follow this blog.  When I met him, he complemented me on it.  That meant a lot to me, as I had been blogging for less than a year, and at one point a few months prior I had considered shutting it down.

This was the year that the Conan movie was released.  Miguel asked for my thoughts after a presentation on the movie Saturday afternoon at Howard Days.  I was somewhat caught offguard and babbled something.  It couldn’t have been too incoherent because Miguel took a drag on his cigarette and gave a reply that showed he had listened and seriously considered what I’d said.  That also meant a lot to me because I wasn’t as involved in Howard fandom then as I am now.  Someone who was much more involved wanted to know what I thought, and listened carefully.

Saturday evening at Howard Days is the barbeque and hike up Caddo Peak for those willing to brave the heat, the snakes, the prickly pear, and the steep climb.  I climbed the peak with Al Harron and Miguel.  We had a great time, managed to avoid any snakes and the copious thorns on the prickly pears that covered the top of the peak.  They asked me to take a picture of them, which I did.  It’s the one at the top of this post.  It was one of the best years as far as company on the hike, and company in general, was concerned.

I didn’t hear from Miguel after that, and he drifted away from Howard fandom over the next few years.  Since he was from France, I wasn’t surprised that I never saw him at Howard Days again, although I always hoped he’d be back.  Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Jeff Shanks has posted a tribute here.  Al Harron’s is here.  Barbara Barrett’s is here.  I’ll post other links as I become aware of them.