The Literary Influences of Robert E. Howard: Pirates and Buccaneers by Todd B. Vick

Pirates and Buccaneers, their exploits, adventures, and duels, make a strong mark on many of Robert E. Howard’s stories. The sources for these inspirations are somewhat broad. There are nonfiction books about pirates, their history, their adventures and deaths that Howard read early in his life. Then there is the fiction Howard read that impacted his own stories with swashbuckling duels, high adventure, treasure hunts, and the like. All these pirate histories and fictional works played a pivotal role in Howard’s creation of various characters, especially his more famous Puritan duelist, Solomon Kane, and several Kane stories. 

At an early age Howard discovered and became fascinated with pirates and buccaneers. This is evident in T. A. Burns’ essay for the 10 July 1936 issue of The Cross Plains Review where she explained that a young Howard (likely age 12 or 13 at the time) proudly introduced himself and his dog to her (during one of her frequent outings to read and enjoy the outdoors) and declared that someday he was going to write pirate stories. There are any number of resources for Howard’s interest in pirates. The most difficult to determine are the books he read prior to the age of 15. But by age 15 and beyond, Howard mentions several works that fueled his passion for pirate tales. Howard wrote a brief essay for his English Class No. 3 at Cross Plains High school dated February 7, 1922. A few weeks prior he had turned 16. In this essay, Howard mentions that when he was younger, he read a Captain Kidd biography and various fictions about the pirate. These works enamored him. Here are Howard’s exact words: “Reading his [Captain Kidd’s] biography and fiction based on his eventful life, caused me to determine at an early age, to lead a life of piracy on the high seas. Tales of Blackbeard and Morgan clinched my resolve.” [Howard, Back to School, 271] 

Sometime later, Howard set aside his puerile notion of leading a pirate’s life after reading a different book. According to this same high school essay, the author’s name and the title of this other book escaped Howard’s memory. But he explained that this author “wrote an authentic book about piracy and by some means I secured it [. . .] and devoured it with avidity but was shocked to find that it contained a harrowing account of the deaths of Kidd, Blackbeard, and other noted gentlemen.” [Ibid.] Howard described, in his typical hyperbolic fashion and vivid detail, that the book contained a gruesome image of a known pirate, shortly after his execution, with a spike driven through his head. The contents and that illustration from the book caused Howard to reconsider his vocational desire of piracy on the high seas. It did not, however, deter his passion for pirate tales. In fact, it probably fueled it. 

Howard began reading pirate tales from around the age of eight or earlier. One of the earliest works Howard experienced in the literary crafting of high adventure is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Apropos to Howard’s interest or maybe even the cause, Stevenson’s tale is about buccaneers and buried treasure. What more could an impressionable boy desire than to be a buccaneer who uses a map to find buried treasure? Stevenson’s story ignited young imaginations around the globe. And that motif lasted for more than a century, first in fiction and later in films. Howard jumped on this creative bandwagon in multiple ways. In fact, his poem, “Flint’s Passing” is an homage to Stevenson’s story and characters, Captain Flint and Long John Silver. But what about that authentic account mentioned in Howard’s essay, that spurned his notion of living the pirate’s life? 

Illustration by Pyle

It is anyone’s guess what book Howard is referring to. I recently spent several weeks online searching for pirate books that might have matched Howard’s description, but also discovered books he may have encountered that further ignited his passion. I found several. The first is written by Howard Pyle, the popular late nineteenth century pirates and buccaneers aficionado (and illustrator), titled The Book of Pirates (1895). While perusing the contents of Pyle’s book, I realized it was not a strong contender for the book Howard mentioned in his essay. None of the images matched the one Howard mentioned (a pike through the head of a pirate). However, Pyle’s book has a chapter titled, Jack Ballister's Fortunes. The name Jack Ballinster is strikingly close to Howard's character Jack Hollinster from “The Blue Flame of Vengeance.” All things considered; Pyle’s book could be one of the biographical accounts Howard indicated he read that influenced his notion of being a pirate on the high seas. And it is possible that Pyle’s book influenced Howard’s Solomon Kane fiction, especially based on Pyle’s illustrations. 

I came across another book that I thought might be a contender: Captain William Kidd And Others of the Pirates Or Buccaneers who Ravaged the Seas, the Islands, and the Continents of America Two Hundred Years Ago by John Stevens Cabot Abbott (1876). The contents of Abbott’s book is close to what Howard described in his essay, “it contained a harrowing account of the deaths of Kidd, Blackbeard, and other noted gentlemen.” [Ibid.] Some of the illustrations where gruesome for their day, and this image was toward the back of the book but did not depict exactly what Howard described.

Illustration from Abbott's Captain William Kidd

While I was poring over pirate books, I began corresponding with Howard scholar Rusty Burke. I told Burke about my research for this article and he immediately turned a light switch on. He said he had done something similar some time ago and the best book he could find that fit Howard’s description was The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers by Charles Ellms (1837). The contents matched and in the middle of the book is an image of the head of Benavides stuck on a pole (below).

The Literary Influences of Robert E. Howard: Robert W. Service by Todd B. Vick

From a very early age Robert E. Howard loved poetry. This was in large part due to his mother and her passion for verse. From the time Robert was born, Hester Howard recited poetry to her son. So naturally, Robert grew to love poetry. And there were a number of poets who influenced him as a reader and a writer. One such poet was Robert W. Service. His work loomed large in its influence of Robert E. Howard.

Robert W. Service

Service was born on January 14, 1874 in a small village named Preston, in Lancashire England just 20 or so miles northeast of the port town Liverpool. Service began writing poetry at an early age, heavily influenced by these Victorian poets: Tennyson, Browning and Keats. Several of these same poets, along with Robert W. Service played an integral part in influencing Howard’s verse. Service eventually moved to Canada, and settled in the Yukon territory. It took Service a bit of time to get his poetry published. Frankly, most poems and/or poets never make a living at their craft. With little success as a writer, to support himself Service took a job as a banker in the Pacific Northeast at the Canadian Bank of Commerce. All the while, he continued to write. Eventually Service managed to secure a publisher in London for his first collection of verse (Songs of Sourdough), published in 1907.

In the United States, Edward Stern and Company of Philadelphia published the same volume under a different title, The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses. This volume gained a large amount of readers in the early twentieth century. Robert E. Howard owned the United States edition of Service’s first collection, and he particularly enjoyed “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.” In fact, this poem eventually became one of the most memorized in the United States a few years after its publication. A few years later another collection by Service, Ballads of a Cheechako, garnered almost equal success as The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses, and Service was able to quit his job at the bank, write full-time and travel.

The Spell of the Yukon
and Other Verses
1907 edition

Robert W. Service’s influence can clearly be seen in many of Howard’s own poetry. Their rhyme and meter, heavily influenced by the Victorian poets, was similar. And among Howard's close friends, in particular Tevis Clyde Smith, Service's poetry was highly praised. According to Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, [Tevis Clyde Smith] Clive, considered Robert W. Service the greatest poet of all-time. Steve [Robert E. Howard] declared that Service was second only to Rudyard Kipling. [POSR, 74] Due to its content, Service’s poetry was ripe for the working class. This is likely one of the reasons Howard and Smith liked it. Without much sophistication, Service was able to delineate the common man and their struggles in his verse. Moreover, the content of many of Service’s verse was about frontier life in the Canadian Yukon, gold rushes, and man’s toil to survive. Of course, Howard loved those topics making Service’s verse resonate in his own imagination. Service’s poems were about the simple, ordinary life, and Howard especially liked this. In fact, on one occasion Howard told Lovecraft: “My tastes and habits are simple; I am neither erudite nor sophisticated. I prefer jazz to classical music, musical burlesque to Greek tragedy, A. Conan Doyle to Balzac, and [Robert] Bob Service’s verse to Santayana’s writing, a prize fight to a lecture on art.” [CL 3.66]

After his death, several of Service's books were present in Howard's personal book collection and donated to the Howard Payne College library; titles such as The Pretender, Ballads of a Bohemian, Rhymes of a Red-Cross Man, and The Spell of the Yukon and Others. Some of these books are now displayed in a bookcase at the Howard House and Museum in Cross Plains, Texas.

Works Cited
CL           Collected Letters
POSR      Post Oaks and Sand Roughs (Grant edition)

The Literary Influences of Robert E. Howard: James Branch Cabell by Todd B. Vick

Now that I have a bit more time to blog, I’ve decided to do a series about certain writers Robert E. Howard encountered in his life. Each post will cover one author whose work had some kind of influence on Howard’s life (as a reader) and/or his own work (as a writer). To inaugurate this series, I’ve chosen James Branch Cabell.

James Branch Cabell

Cabell was born April 14, 1879 in Richmond, Virginia, to an affluent family of medical doctors and politically connected Virginia ancestors. Because of this, Cabell was raised in what many believed to be an aureate environment. At fifteen, Cabell was enrolled in the prestigious College of William and Mary. He graduated four years later at age nineteen. Even then, Cabell was a master wordsmith and linguist, with a strong command of several languages. So much so, he taught French and Greek courses as a nineteen-year-old. He later became a journalist and began writing short stories and essays for Harper’s and the Saturday Evening Post. The latter being the most likely place Howard first encountered Cabell’s work. Cabell would eventually write novels, of which Jurgen: A Comedy Of Justice (1919) would be one of his most popular.

Cabell’s work has ebbed and flowed in popularity over the past century. When Cabell was alive and writing, H. L. Menken and Sinclair Lewis held the esteemed writer in high regard. Predominantly popular with the reading public of the 1920s and 1930s, Cabell wrote fantasy fiction, fictional satire, and was a master writer of essays written primarily for their aesthetic effect.; the latter likely being the main reason Menken enjoyed Cabell. Simply stated, Cabell was a wordsmith of the highest order. To be such and reach the masses required a near perfect balance between the common and highly sophisticated, a balance not easily reached by too many writers in literary history. This is also probably the reason Robert E. Howard enjoyed Cabell’s work, though the two writers are diametrically opposite in their styles and interests. Cabell’s sophisticated humorous sexual innuendos are what Howard most likely enjoyed.

             Cabell had little influence over Howard as a writer. Howard's humorous fiction was never as elaborate or as sophisticated as Cabell's, but much more low-brow and jocular; a slapstick style like the vaudevillian performances. The only time Howard ever emulated Cabell’s style was when he wrote his so-called book review of Cabell’s Something About Eve for The Junto. Besides the Junto, other places Howard’s review can be found is Amra volume 2, number 47 (August 1968), The Conan Grimoire (Baltimore: Mirage Press, 1972), and The Spell of Conan (New York: Ace Books, 1980).  In the Junto review, Howard assumes that the other Junto participants may have not heard of James Branch Cabell. He wrongly assumes this because he thinks that Cabell is not widely read. That might have been the case in the central Texas area of Cross Plains, but it was certainly not the case among  the broader population of readers in the United States and around the world. Cabell was, in fact, a quite popular author at the time Howard wrote his review of Something About Eve.

1927 edition, illustrated by
Frank C. Papé

In his review, Howard calls Cabell the ablest writer of the present age. Along with many other readers back then, Howard was seized by Cabell’s command of the English language. Something About Eve is Cabell at his finest. But Howard is especially attracted to Cabell’s cynicism, something to which Howard could relate. Cabell pokes fun at his own art, his readers, and the world in general. In Something About Eve, his sardonic humor is communicated through a nineteenth century romance gone awry that bores the protagonist so much he quickly acquiesces to the devil’s invitation of a wild promiscuous adventure elsewhere. In his Junto review, Howard’s focus is not on the plot or events of the Cabell’s novel so much as on the sexual innuendos, the way women are presented in the story, and Cabell’s linguistic prowess. In his review of Something About Eve, Howard attempts to emulate Cabell’s linguistic style. As far as I’ve been able to determine, this is the only place Howard does this. It’s uncertain which edition Howard reviewed. If it was the Robert M. McBride & Company 1929 edition, illustrated by Frank C. Papé, Howard would have delighted in the illustrations and likely mentioned those in his reviews. But he did not, so there’s no telling which edition he read.

In reading Howard’s collected letters, there are two letters where Cabell is mentioned. The first, is a humorous poem (“A Fable for Critics”) Howard sent to his Brownwood friend, Tevis Clyde Smith (CL 1:272). In it, several writers are mentioned in a comical way. Cabell is mentioned, knees knocking, embarrassed at the modern school (of writers) who drank and whored. On a second occasion, in a February 14, 1936 letter (Valentine’s Day) to Novalyne Price, Howard responds to Price’s struggle with a Cabell book she was reading. Howard indicates that he has not read that particular work by Cabell, but asks her to wait a few days until he can visit and go through the book with her. (CL 3:420). The title of Cabell’s book Price is struggling with is not mentioned. But it is interesting that Howard is confident that he can help her understand its contents. This would imply that he believed he had read enough of Cabell’s work to communicate confidently his ability to understand its contents.

 In late 1934 or early 1935, Howard was still buying Cabell’s work. In fact, on a date with Novalyne Price, they drove to Brownwood to visit Dublin’s Bookstore. Howard had his eye on a different edition of Omar Khayyam's The Rubáiyát. Being one of his favorite stories, he already had one copy, but this edition offered something the other, perhaps, did not. In addition, Price indicated that Howard also had his eye on a book by Cabell (OWWA, 92). She does not indicate the title of Cabell’s book, but this tells us that Howard was still actively buying and reading Cabell. Price was introduced to Cabell’s work through Howard and, on one occasion, she was apparently arguing with her cousin Mary Enid Gwathmey, likely about the sordid content of a Cabell book, which was interrupted by Gwathmey’s realization that Price was ill and had no business teaching that day. (OWWA, 123) Nothing else is said about Cabell, but this indicates that Price, probably because of Howard, was reading Cabell’s work.

1927 illustration by Frank C. Papé for "Something About Eve."

I have not been able to ascertain any indication that Howard was so influenced by Cabell that his own writing style and sentence structure changed in any of his own stories. Even so, Cabell did play an important role in Howard’s passion for literature, at least of a certain kind. The strongest indication of this is clearly seen in his review of Something About Eve. After Howard’s death, Cabell’s popularity slowly waned, especially once the second world war began. However, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the advent of The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, spearheaded by Lin Carter, James Branch Cabell made a brief but relatively strong resurgence in popularity. The Cabell titles chosen by Carter for The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series included: The Silver Stallion (August 1969), Figures of Earth (November 1969), The High Place (February 1970), Something About Eve (March 1971), The Cream of the Jest (September 1971), Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship (March 1972). Though there are likely other titles by Cabell that Howard read, the titles we know he read include: Something About Eve and The Cream of the Jest. The latter book was part of the Howard Payne University holdings, books from Robert’s personal collection given to the college by Dr. Howard after his son’s death.

I can’t help but wonder if Howard, despite his claims that he wrote for a paycheck, and the restrictive markets he was (in a sense) chained to, secretly desired to write on a level equivalent to Cabell. Among other authors, Howard pays Cabell some of his highest praise. And though Howard, likely to save face for some silly argument, disagreed with H.P. Lovecraft's opinion that writing could be considered a form of art, Cabell was probably the one writer who might have changed Howard’s mind on that opinion.

Works Cited
CL                The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard
OWWA         One Who Walked Alone

Advocating the Need for Critical Research: Robert E. Howard in Academia by Todd B. Vick

When I first read Tower of the Elephant back in 1981[1], I never imagined that 34 years later I'd be reading that work again with a critical mind and, using it as resource material for an upcoming article about Conan the Cimmerian for the 2016 PCA/ACA (Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association) conference in Seattle, Washington. But over the last 34 years, that is exactly where Robert E. Howard’s stories have migrated—to critical academic studies. In too many ways, this trend has been slower than a snail traveling through peanut butter. Additionally, many Howard fans have resisted the transition of their favorite author being placed under the academic microscope; sometimes with ardent vituperation against such a thing.

But, studying Howard and his works is, perhaps, not the ruination many have claimed it might be. In fact, I’m fairly confident the opposite will occur. REH criticism and studies will only elevate Howard to 1) a larger and broader audience, and 2) to greater opportunities for more material being published about Howard and his works, thus making the man and his work more important. More important than what, you might ask? The hard and fast answer: more important than being merely delegated to a hack pulp fiction writer. Robert E. Howard is anything but a hack writer. Of course, not all of Howard’s material is actually worthy of academic consideration, but a lot of it is. Additionally, there is a long history of pulp (popular) writers who have transitioned from being called “hacks” to being studied: Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and many others.

Marquette University

When I entered Marquette University back in August of 2001 to work on a Ph.D in philosophy, the graduate school had one professor who was in the process of getting a book published titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale.[2] At the time I thought that was rather strange. Here I had just wrapped up my Master’s degree, was entering into a prestigious university to complete my education on what I considered a serious field of study and one of my professors was working on the philosophical aspects of a comic book character/television show. At the time I honestly thought this was crazy, but when he later told me that there was a whole branch of popular culture studies doing that very thing (PCA/ACA), and it was gaining in popularity, I stopped to ponder the possibilities. Years later, in 2012, when I attended my first Robert E. Howard Days and Jeff Shanks discussed his recent trek to the latest PCA/ACA conference, my ears immediately perked up. I remembered what my former professor told me back at Marquette. I got excited. Here was a great way to dig my heals into something I had been interested in since back in 1981 when I first encountered The Tower of the Elephant. I must admit, it has been an uphill climb ever since.

Here’s what I mean by uphill climb. I went home from that 2012 REH Days and began to try and dig up academic material on/about Robert E. Howard. At the time, there was scant material available. What was previous published several decades ago was difficult to find. When I did manage to find it, the sellers asked for enormous amounts of money. Bottom line: it was very frustrating. So, I did what any hardcore fan would do, I kept searching. I hoped that eventually I would encounter a listing for one of the half dozen academic books that had actually been published since 1984. Sure enough, I ran into an inexpensive copy of The Dark Barbarian edited by Don Herron. When the book arrived, it was not what the seller had advertized, so I quickly complained and ended up getting the book for free. That was a nice break. The book that was sent to me was an ex-library copy. Let me stress this: An EX-LIBRARY copy. The library was getting rid of it probably because it had not been checked out in a decade or longer. While I was happy to get a copy of the book, the fact that the Tacoma Public Library was getting rid of it was a good sign that it was 1) outdated, and 2) no longer being checked out or used. I say all that to say this.

From 1984 to 2012 when I first began searching for academic material on Howard, only a handful of material had been “published.” I put published in quotation marks because much of that material was published independently and not widely available. In 2012 when I began looking, here’s what was available[3]:

1. The Dark Barbarian edited by Don Herron. This book is the granddaddy of REH criticism. I’m using the term granddaddy in the sense that it is the first and oldest academic work out there (published in 1984). Many libraries are now selling their copies off. Since 2012, I’ve seen dozens of other ex-library copies at various online book seller’s sites. While this book is very important, it is also old for an academic book. Since 1984 there has been so much more information uncovered and written about Robert E. Howard (especially from 2012 to the time of this article in 2015). This means that this book is 1) becoming more and more outdated and thus in several ways obsolete, and is 2) in need of a revision or an updated version with newly written material.
   
2. Cromlech: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Criticism edited by Marc A. Cersini & Charles Hoffman. This series (which only includes 3 volumes over a three year period) was first published in 1985. It was, however, published independently and is extremely difficult to find today. The first volume of this series actually contains what is considered to be the first academic essay[4] ever written[5] on/about one of Robert E. Howard’s characters—Conan the Cimmerian. This series ended after volume three was published in 1988.
3. The Dark Man Journal: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies edited by Rusty Burke. This academic journal was the brainchild of Rusty Burke with the help of Marc Michaud. Unfortunately, the journal was not well received by fans when it was first released back in 1990. That’s correct, REH fandom lamented that this type of academic journal would be the ruin of Robert E. Howard. Fortunately (no surprise at all) that never happened and the Journal, under the editorial work of Mark Hall, is still alive and kicking today. Also, back issues are fairly easy to find, and you can usually get them for about $5.00 to $10.00.

All the above, along with a few intentionally unmentionable works prior to 1984, were what fans and would-be-scholars of REH had to work with from 1984 to 1990 (and pretty much into the early 2000s). Each of these works are important in their own way but are scarce (or very expensive) and a bit dated for academic works. Moreover, if you go to a university library or public library you’ll be out of luck.[6] As for biographies about Howard, only three existed from 1976 to 1986 that could actually be called biographies: The Last Celt edited by Glenn Lord, Dark Valley Destiny by L. Sprague de Camp, and One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price Ellis. From 1986 until 2006 no other biographies existed (except for a brief biography by Rusty Burke). Then, in 2006 (20 years after Novalyne Price Ellis’ One Who Walked Alone) Mark Finn published Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard. The biographical arena for REH Studies is still very much wide open and in great need of additional attention.

Additionally, about a decade or so ago, as everyone should know, Del Rey published eleven volumes of Robert E. Howard’s work. All of these works were published in their original publication format and each edition included nice introductions and appendices with academic essays. Moreover, the Del Rey series in itself was an academic achievement and to that end are crucial in furthering REH studies[7].  So, getting Howard’s primary works is quite easy. But, secondary works, which is what many scholars also use when doing research, are hard to come by. Fortunately, this scarcity and difficulty is slowly changing. Since my first visit to REH Days in 2012, several academic collections that include works on/about Robert E. Howard have been published. All of these are readily available at any university or public library (esp. through interlibrary loan).

Since 2012, these are the academic collections that have included works on/about Robert E. Howard:

1. Pulp Fiction of the 1920s and 1930s (Critical Insights) edited by Gary Hoppenstand. This work actually contains a wide variety of essays (chapters) on various pulp fiction writers and a wide variety of topics. Jeff Shanks has an article in this collection titled History, Horror, and Heroic Fantasy: Robert E. Howard and the Creation of the Sword-and-Sorcery Subgenre. I recently managed to find a copy for a meager $13.95 from an online seller. However, you don’t even have to buy this book since it is fairly easy to get a reading copy (bound or ebook) through interlibrary loan.
   
2. Undead in the West I & Undead in the West II edited by Cynthia J. Miller & A. Bowden Van Riper. Both these volumes cover all kinds of weird western works from the pulps and otherwise. Jefferey Shanks and Mark Finn have a collaborated essay (chapter) in volume two titled Vaqueros and Vampires in the Pulps: Robert E. Howard and the Dawn of the Undead West. Once again, I managed to find both these volumes for just under $30.00 each. But both are available in university and public libraries.
3. Conan Meets The Academy: Multidisciplinary Essays on the Enduring Barbarian edited by Jonan Pridas. This edition is one of the first academic works to solely focus on Howard’s character, Conan the Cimmerian. Jeff Shanks & Frank Coffman (mainstays in REH studies) have chapters in this volume. The book covers a wide variety of topics from Hyborian Age archaeology to Statistics in the Hyborian Age (Stylometry in REH’s stories) to issues of masculinity and video gaming.
4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and the Birth of Modern Fantasy by Deke Parsons.  This work is a part of the “Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy” series (47) and takes a look at the birth of modern fantasy via Tolkien and Howard.
5. Race and Popular Fantasy Literature by Helen Young. I have only read the first chapter of this work, but it is available at the University of Texas at Arlington library (and other university libraries as well), so I’ll be reading the full book soon. Young deals with the issue of race in the works of Howard and Tolkien.
6. The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror edited by Justin Everett and Jeffrey H. Shanks. This is a newly published collection of academic essays on the history of Weird Tales (the pulp magazine) and its authors (e.g. H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith). Topics range from the first decade of Weird Tales, the Lovecraft circle, to Lovecraft and postmodernism and world building and gender studies in Weird Tales. 

The above are six (actually #2 counts as two, so seven) good examples of newly published academic works in REH (and Weird Tales) studies that have been published since 2012.[8] I am sure I have missed a few. The good news is, this list will only continue to grow. Even so, the crucial element in academic works is their easy availability. Do university and public libraries have them on their shelves, or at least have the ability to get them? The broader a works availability, the more often it will be accessed and used (cited from).

Moreover, as all the above six (actually seven) volumes have been published, the Dark Man Journal also continues to be published. But, as with any good peer reviewed academic journal, The Dark Man Journal needs to be listed on JSTOR (short for Journal Storage). The last time I checked on their site, it was not present. Why is this important? For two reasons: first, all university libraries access this site, and second, the public also has access to the site now. Back when I was at Marquette, JSTOR could only be accessed by universities, that has changed since then. This is also one of the go to places for academic research using journals, and there are millions of academic journals out there. Once The Dark Man Journal is on JSTOR, that will help open a larger door for a solid academic reference for REH Studies.[9]

A few months back several other things happened in the arena of REH Studies that is a plus. First, The Dark Barbarian & The Barbaric Triumph were put in eBook format.[10] While this will make it much more affordable for interested parties to obtain a copy, it still does not help those two works presence in university or public libraries. Most university students doing research will track a book through their library first. Plus, Don Herron did not update or improve either of the two volumes. Second, Brian Leno, who used to post regularly on the Two-GunRaconteur (TGR) website,[11] also released an eBook of some of his best material[12] titled Lovecraft’s Southern Vacation: A Robert E. Howard LitCrit Triple Punch Pack. I recently ordered a copy and look forward to reading its contents.[13]

So, all in all, REH studies & criticism is on the rise. A lot of first rate material is being released, and I know there will be even more in the future. And, despite the naysayers, these kinds of work will only increase Howard’s popularity amongst readers who may have never heard of him nor read any of his works. But more importantly, REH Studies will also help insure that future readers and researchers will be established to help carry the works of the Texas tale-spinner into the future.

Notes:

[1] I first read Tower of the Elephant from an Ace paperback edition titled Conan with Frank Frazetta's cover art for the story Rogues in the House. Howard, Robert E., De Camp L. Sprague, and Lin Carter. Conan. New York: Ace, 1967. Print.

[2] South, James B., ed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale. Chicago: Open Court, 2003.

[3] I use “available” loosely here, since most of this material was next to impossible to find.

[4] Conan the Existential by Charles Hoffman. An interesting fact, Charles Hoffman was the guest speaker at my first REH Days back in 2012. He discussed this work in detail in one of his panels. This led me to track down the Cromlech 3 volume set. It took me 2 years to actually find a copy of the set.

[5] It could be debated that the first real academic essay ever to be written on/about Robert E. Howard (or one of his characters) belongs to P. Schuyler Miller and John D. Clark, Ph.D. titled A Probable Outline of Conan’s Career published in 1938. A copy of that essay can be obtained through Jeffrey Shanks’ Skelos Press (www.Skelospress.com)

[6] With the exception of The Dark Barbarian. However, several libraries told me they no longer had a copy (I’m sure they sold theirs) and they were not able to get it via interlibrary loan due to it becoming scarcer.

[7] Easily accessible primary materials are crucial in any academic endeavor. The Del Rey collection did a fine job of replacing the older Lancer/Ace works and pastiches (and the various textual interpolations).

[8] I should note here that back in 2008, S.T. Joshi published a work titled Barbarism vs. Civilization: Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft in Their Correspondence. This article first appeared in the journal Studies in the Fantastic No. 1, Summer 2008.

[9] From my understanding, or at least I’ve heard it through the grapevine, Mark Hall is in the process of getting The Dark Man Journal on JSTOR.

[10] These two works can be purchased together strictly on Kindle eReaders.

[11] From my understanding, Brian has recently requested his material be removed from TGR. This is quite unfortunate, especially since he seemed to have a fairly solid following on that site. I used to read his material faithfully at TGR.

[12] You can get this latest release only on Kindle eReaders.

[13] I cannot speak of its academic prowess, but all the previous essays I’ve read from Brian Leno have been first rate and well worth reading.

Study This, Not That!: A Suggested Bibliography for REH Studies, Part Three

REH Secondary Works . . .

In any form of research secondary works/sources can be crucial. However, it should be pointed out that where there is a secondary source to support a primary source and the primary source is still available, always use the primary source. This is especially true if you end up writing articles/papers on the topic at hand. I don't say this in an attempt to dissuade the use of secondary sources but to emphasize the fact that primary sources are far superior to secondary sources. At the academic level of research to use a secondary source as if it is a primary source is intellectual dishonesty, and always frowned upon. 

However, secondary sources are wonderful resources, especially those from learned scholars and experts. And, if a secondary source is the only source available for specific information then by all means use it. But don't be quick to draw absolute conclusions based solely upon a secondary source. I'm not saying anything here that is not already widely accepted in academic circles, and this kind of research methodology has been in practice for decades (centuries even).  With that in mind, here are some of the best secondary sources that I have encountered in my research of Robert E. Howard.

History/Historical Documents . . .

Read This . . .

Current REH studies/scholarship is very fortunate to have Rob Roehm and his father Bob Roehm in the research field digging up REH history and historical documents. I love history. In fact, I love the type of history that most history buffs find boring. The gritty details about people's lives: where they are from, where they went to school, where they used to hang out, where they traveled, why they traveled to these places, how they were raised, who were their relatives, all the documents surrounding these facts, and why that all matters. This is the kind of history that the Roehms have researched, uncovered, and made known to everybody in REH scholarship and fandom. If you are unaware of their works, then you are missing out on one of the most important ingredients in REH studies. Aside from actually tracking down articles that Rob has written (e.g. old REHupa zines, the REH Two-Gun Raconteur website, and other various books/magazines) the Roehms currently have two books available. The first is titled Howard's Haunts: A Photographic Journey Through Robert E. Howard's Texas and Events of the Howard Centennial. I bought this book from the REH House and Museum three or four years ago. It was so interesting I read through the whole book in one sitting and have read it several more times since. It details places like Peaster, Dark Valley, Menard, Howard Payne University, Brownwood, Cisco, Rising Star, Fredricksburg, etc., It also covers events such as REH Days in Cross Plains, the 100th birthday bash for REH in Fort Worth, TX, REH Publications for 2006, and a chapter by Mark Finn  about The World Fantasy Convention in Austin, TX in 2006. The book is loaded with historical photographs and current photographs. Their second book is titled The Brownwood Connection: A Guide for Robert E. Howard Fans. This book provides historical details about REH's time in Brownwood during High School, College, and other visits he made to that city. This book is replete with photographs, scans of historical documents, school yearbooks, maps, newspaper articles, legal/court documents, time tables, etc. All accompany a solid written explanation of the facts, documents, events, etc. This book is so detailed at times that even train schedules from back in Howard's day are included. There's even a section about Novalyne Price in the appendices. Any serious researcher should not be without these two volumes. (Note: technically, a lot of this material—especially the actual historical/legal documents—are primary sources. Even so, I've included these works in the secondary sources section due to the current photographs and current travels accounts, esp. in Howard's Haunts, not being essential primary data/sources. However, any historical/legal documents, etc. from this material should be considered primary data and treated as such.)

Another book edited by Rob Roehm I recently purchased is titled School Days in the Post Oaks. As of this article I have yet to read this work so I really cannot review it for you, but I do know (and this is the reason I bought a copy) that it is a collection of newspaper articles about REH and his time/events in the Post Oak area. Click the link I've provided for further details.


Academia . . .

Read This . . .

Current Robert E. Howard fans are quite fortunate that they have a fairly nice size pool of rigorous academic (and academic type) material in which to swim. This certainly has not always been the case. I will not list single articles that are in larger anthologies here (see a few a those below*). There are single volumes devoted to nothing but Howard studies. It is important to note that with academic material the more current a work, the "better" it is. I do not mean "better" in terms of quality, but rather better in the sense that it is freshest, and the most up-to-date research (and usually considers previous research). The first volume that comes to mind in terms of academia, and the most dated, is Don Herron's edited volume titled The Dark Barbarian. This academic collection, published in 1984, was the first of its kind. And quite frankly, several of the articles still hold up today. For REH academic study I would actually recommend beginning with this volume. Now, I should point out several things here. First, some of the chapters mention dating issues of particular manuscripts, and these issues have currently been resolved thanks to the work of later scholars. Second, some of the chapters are not written in formal academic styles. This is only important in so far as that is probably what kept this volume from making serious inroads into academic circles. Third, there are current articles/volumes that are far more rigorous in their assessment, research, and presentation than this volume. But, as I mentioned before this volume set a precedent and therefore ought to have been taken much more seriously than it was. Another feature of REH studies that does not exist in other academic circles of the same kind is that REH studies/scholars have their own peer reviewed journal. I cannot stress how important this is. I also cannot stress how important it is for REH fans to support this effort and keep it alive by purchasing these journals when they are released. The peer reviewed journal is called The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies. The reason this journal is so important is that good solid university libraries always make an effort to obtain all peer reviewed journals in pretty much every field. To have one out there means that Howard's work has a far greater chance of being studied at the university level. Plus, The Dark Man journal must adhere to academic standards (e.g. writing in a particular academic style - MLS). If you can find back issues of these journals you will essentially have found a goldmine of REH articles and research. These journals are a must read in REH research/studies.

Another excellent volume in the academic category is titled Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard. Now, while this volume is not published via an academic/university press, many of the articles are written by professors and scholars (e.g. S.T. Joshi, Frank Coffman, Glenn Lord, Charles Gramlich, Lorenzo DiTommaso, etc.). This anthology is still in print and that says a lot about the quality of its contents since it was published in 2006 (8 years ago since the posting of this article). Another academic volume that was recently published is titled Conan Meets the Academy. This volume was edited by Jonas Prida who is an assistant professor of English and Head of the English department at the College of St. Joseph, Rutland, Vermont. Published by McFarland it is the first academic volume to focus solely on one of REH's characters. The articles are geared more toward the cultural impact REH's character Conan the Cimmerian has had on culture. Even so, it is a great volume to own, the articles are well researched, thoughtful, and well documented.

*Other volumes with single articles about Robert E. Howard's work include Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming. This volume contains an article written by Jeffrey Shanks and Mark Finn titled Vaqueros and Vampires in the Pulps: Robert E. Howard and the Dawn of the Undead West. Jeff Shanks also has a nice article in an academic volume titled Pulp Fiction of the 1920s and 1930s. This volume is edited by Gary Hoppenstand and Jeff's article is titled History, Horror and Heroic Fantasy: Robert E. Howard and the Creation of the Sword and Sorcery Subgenre.

Journals, Fanzines, and Miscellaneous Books/Works . . .

Read This . . .

Over the decades many REH journals and fanzines have come and gone. If you are adventurous, like to collect things, and know where to look you can track down some real jewels. You won't have to work too hard though to get your hands on one of the last surviving REH journals, and one of the better ones to be created (which is probably why it was brought back). The journal I'm talking about is REH: Two-Gun Raconteur. This journal has been around since the 70s—yes, that's a long time. I've been buying copies for at least 5 or so years and have tracked down several back issues. The journal is toted as The Definitive Robert E. Howard Journal, and it lives up to that declaration. It has its origins in the mid 70s, and was the brainchild of Damon C. Sasser. Sasser told me he thought it up in the midst of the REH boom of the 70s when there were only three active fanzines in operation: Fantasy Crossroads (of which I have several issues), The Howard Review, and REH: Lone Star Fictioneer (of which I have several issues). The journal took a bit of a break around the late 80s early 90s and then started back up in 2003 and has since then been published to date. Damon C. Sasser is still the editor today. This journal is always loaded with excellent articles (some on a scholarly level). Here are some of the past contributors: Damon C. Sasser, Patrice Louinet, David Hardy, Brian Leno, Jeffrey Shanks, Barbara Barrett, Rob Roehm, Don Herron, Bill Cavalier, Steve Tompkins, Frank Coffman, Mark Finn, Jim and Ruth Keegan, Michael L. Peters (illustrations), Timothy Truman (illustrations), Charles R. Saunders, Deuce Richardson, Morgan Holmes, Rusty Burke, etc. (I'm sure I've missed a few names). It also includes stories by Robert E. Howard. Each issue is lavishly illustrated. Back issues of these journals are frequently sought. I've seen them sell for as much as $35.00 on Ebay. Current issues are for sale here.



Robert E. Howard: The Power of the Writing Mind is a small independent work allegedly edited by Ben Szumskyj (but in reality edited by Leo Grin, per a reliable source). Regardless of its editor, it is well worth tracking down. It has articles by Joe Marek, Patrice Louinet, Rusty Burke, Leo Grin, stories by Robert E. Howard (An Untitled Story, The Devil's Woodchopper, three autobiographical letters, Double Cross, The Right Hook - this is a photocopy of the actual manuscript, and a High School Theme) illustrations by Gary Gianni, Mark Schultz, images from the portfolio of Rick McCollum Rick Cortes, and David Burton.  There is also a nice interview with Glenn Lord. While this is not a crucial volume to own, it is a solid volume and worth getting.

A good solid book that has provided me with hours of fun reading and information not only about Robert E. Howard but about REH fandom has been The Man From Cross Plains: A Celebration of Two-Gun Bob Howard edited by Dennis McHaney. While this book is not necessarily one that makes for great study and research, it is one that will give you an excellent idea about Cross Plains, TX and REH fandom. I put it in here for that reason. There are some informative chapters that will go much deeper than merely fandom (e.g. Chris Gruber's chapter titled Atavists All? Howard's Boxing Hero's as Throwbacks) but most are fan related, Howard's influences on various people, Cross Plains as a home away from home, etc. Regardless, the book is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.


I hope that this three part series will at least give interested persons a good starting point to really dig their heels in and begin researching the Texas tale-spinner. Keep in mind this list is certainly not exhaustive. It's not intended to be. Anyone reading this who has other suggestions feel free to list them in the comments. I know for a fact more research material is slated to appear in the future, until then happy researching. Cheers!

The Robert E. Howard House and Museum and REH Days

If you have never visited Cross Plains, Texas to see that tiny little home off of highway 36, you are missing out on a truly historic place. On the western edge of Cross Plains sits the small one bedroom house where the greatest pulp fiction writer of the 20th century lived and dreamed. If it were not for the neat picket fence and historical marker in the front yard, the house would inconspicuously sit there off the main highway.


My first visit to the Howard home was back around 1982 or '83. At that time someone was living in it, and it looked quite different than it does today. The paint was peeling, the fence drooped, and the yard needed to be cut. There was a large pecan tree in the front left corner of the yard that is no longer there today. But you know what? I was 16 or 17 years old and I was staring at one of my favorite author's house. For me that was all that mattered.

I didn't see the house again until around 2002. That was when I found out that a group of Howard fans met there every year for what was called REH Days. I was with my step-father, we stopped by the Cross Plains Public Library to see copies of REH's original manuscripts. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the person I spoke with, but she gave me some literature on the house and REH Days. I had promised myself I would attend. On this trip, we were unable to find the person who gave the tours, so I was not able to go into the house. But, seeing facsimiles of REH's manuscripts was awesome.

Another visit to the house included my sister. Shortly after my step-father died, we were in our hometown (Abilene) taking care of estate issues. The trip I took with him to Cross Plains came up in our conversation and we decided to stop off in Cross Plains on our way back to Dallas. It was fairly early in the morning when we arrived. On this trip, there was a new pavilion that had been built next to the house on the old Butler property. There were several people at the pavilion, so my sister and I walked up to greet them. A guy was taking camera equipment out of a large bag, so I chatted with him about what was going on. He told me they were about to film a documentary about REH Days. Realizing that REH days for that year began the next day, I turned to my sister and explained to her what it was and how the person at the CP Public Library had given me information on it.

The camera man asked if we were in Cross Plains to attend. I said we were just passing through. I had to get my sister back to Dallas so she could catch a flight to Minnesota (where she lived). But inside I was screaming at myself for having to miss it. We asked if there was someone around who could let us into the house. Several people made calls, found someone, but it would be a few hours. We could not wait that long and had to leave. I thanked the guy for helping us and wished them luck on their documentary. I found out a few years later that this was the documentary crew I had met that day.

Once again, in that "lost decade" from first finding out about REH Days (in 2002) to this year when I finally attended, I missed out on all the fun. I was so close to attending the year I visited with my sister.

Around 2008 or '09, and I cannot remember the exact year, I finally told my wife that I had missed out on simply trying to visit Cross Plains and see the inside of the Howard home. So I told her to pack her stuff. "We're going!" I said. "Going where?" she asked. "To Cross Plains!" You have to understand, my wife is not a "spur of the moment" kind of gal. She likes to plan things, be prepared. So this was out of her comfort zone. But she did it. We jumped in the car, drove to Cross Plains, and decided to stay the night while we were there. 

We arrived in Cross Plains and immediately booked a room in the tiny motel adjacent to the pavilion on the Butler property. The Motel was called 36 West Motel. We then visited the public library, found a person who could let us into the house and set up a time for us to visit: 9 a.m. the following morning. So, here we were in tiny Cross Plains, Texas trying to decide what we could do. We hung out in the library for a few hours then grabbed a bite to eat, and went back to our motel room. I might add that the rooms in the 36 West Motel are paper thin. Seriously, you can hear everything outside and in the next room. My wife got a kick out of the motel because it reminded her of her grandparent's motel in Waxahachie, TX called The Drifter's Inn.

The next day, we took a tour of the house. Finally, I actually got to see inside REH's home. Believe me when I say this, I was in awe. The house is set up complete with furniture, books, pictures in the hallway, memorabilia in the kitchen, etc. The person giving us the tour provided us with a nice history of the house, explained which items actually belonged to the Howard's, and then let me enter REH's small nook of a bedroom to see the area where he worked.

The first visit is difficult to explain. All kinds of emotions were coursing through my being. To actually be in the very room where Howard created his characters, hammered his prose on his Underwood No. 5, is an experience that, well, you can only experience for yourself. At this point, I'd been reading Howard's work for three decades, so seeing his work space was like seeing the holy grail of fiction.

I was so impressed with this visit, I talked it up to my best friend. So, the next visit I made to the house was with him. I cannot remember the date we went (I think it was sometime in 2010).  But, we did sync our work schedules, set up a tour with a guide and decided to take a one day road trip. We arrived at the designated time, met the guide at the house and took the tour. I had introduced my friend to Howard a few years before, so he had already read several of the Conan stories. He had also heard me talk about Howard for years before this visit. When we were there he bought a Del Rey copy of The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian. We stayed in the house for a couple of hours and talked to the tour guide about all the people from around the world who had visited the house over the years. Then she took our picture in the shop at the back of the house.

The tour guide also talked about REH Days. I explained to her that I had been meaning to attend the last few years but never made the time. She gave me a much needed lecture on why I ought to attend and I merely nodded my head in shame.

After this trip, I talked about the REH house and museum with my brother. He was so compelled by what I was telling him he wanted to see the place for himself. This visit was on 6/20/2011. Notice the date? It is just after the 2011 REH Days. My brother was in town for a weekend, I had just been laid off as a teacher/aide by the State of Texas and was looking for a new job. Because I needed to "get away," we planned this trip around our schedules. My father wanted to tag along, so he went with us; not an easy trip for him, he was 75 at the time. We set up another tour of the house and decided to stay for the day. We took several pictures while we were there. Below is one of the pictures taken just outside the Cross Plains Public Library and on the front porch of the house.

That same trip, we visited REH's grave site at the Greenleaf Cemetery, in Brownwod, TX (where C. M. Grady, the famous Texas Ranger is also buried). After this visit, my brother was so impressed, he talked about attending the REH days the following year. We did. So, in 2012, I finally attended my first REH Days—ten years after finding out about it. Being in the house with other serious Howard fans is a real treat. Hearing how they were introduced to Howard's work while standing in the very place Howard created that work is an experience I'm not able to put into words.

If you have wanted to visit the Howard House and Museum and/or attend REH Days in Cross Plains, TX, don't do like I did and put if off. I  regret having so many near misses, and not rearranging my schedule to attend REH Days. Seeing the house and attending REH Days is like no other experience. So, if you have a chance, utilize every effort to make it happen. You'll be so glad you did. I promise.