theluxordream3

Clark Ashton Smith

Genius Loci and other tales (1948)

Clark Ashton Smith (January 13th 1893 – August 14th 1961)

was an American fantasy/sci-fi/horror writer and also an artist/poet.

The fantasy writer and critic L. Sprague de Camp said of him

that "nobody since Poe has so loved a well-rotted corpse"

Smith c.1912:

One of the 'big three' from the Weird Tales magazine

along with Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

I used to have a copy of the paperback

with the startling cover art but that has long-since vanished.

My old, comparatively understated, hardback edition provides ample consolation:

The main thing I really like about Clark's writing

is his extraordinary ability to describe landscapes.

The eponymous tale is a particularly notable example of this talent.

trivia corner:

I plagiarized the title 'The Ninth Skeleton' for an instrumental back in the 80s.

regards

Titus