Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

. As a poet, Smith is grouped with the West Coast Romantics alongside Joaquin Miller, Sterling, and Nora May French and remembered as "The Last of the Great Romantics" and "The Bard of Auburn". Smith's work was praised by his contemporaries. H. P. Lovecraft stated that "in sheer daemonic strangeness and fertility of conception, Clark Ashton Smith is perhaps unexcelled", and

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...

said that Smith "filled my mind with incredible worlds, impossibly beautiful cities, and still more fantastic creatures". Smith was one of "the big three of '' Weird Tales'', with Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft", but some readers objected to his morbidness and violation of pulp traditions. The fantasy critic L. Sprague de Camp said of him that "nobody since

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

has so loved a well-rotted corpse." Smith was a member of the Lovecraft circle and his literary friendship with Lovecraft lasted from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937. His work is marked by an extraordinarily rich and ornate vocabulary, a cosmic perspective and a vein of sardonic and sometimes ribald humor. Of his writing style, Smith stated: "My own conscious ideal has been to delude the reader into accepting an impossibility, or series of impossibilities, by means of a sort of verbal black magic, in the achievement of which I make use of prose-rhythm, metaphor, simile, tone-color, counter-point, and other stylistic resources, like a sort of incantation."

Biography

Early life and education

Smith was born January 13, 1893, in Long Valley,

Placer County, California Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the G ...

, into a family of English and New England heritage. He spent most of his life in the small town of Auburn, California, living in a cabin built by his parents, Fanny and Timeus Smith. Smith professed to hate the town's provincialism but rarely left it until he married late in life. His formal education was limited: he suffered from psychological disorders including intense

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can i ...

, and although he was accepted to high school after attending eight years of grammar school, his parents decided it was better for him to be taught at home. An insatiable reader with an extraordinary eidetic memory, Smith appeared to retain most or all of whatever he read. After leaving formal education, he embarked upon a self-directed course of literature, including '' Robinson Crusoe'', ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

'', the fairy tales of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

and Madame d'Aulnoy, the ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' and the poems of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. He read an unabridged dictionary word for word, studying not only the definitions of the words but also their

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

. The other main course in Smith's self-education was to read the complete

11th edition 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested ...

of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' at least twice. Smith later taught himself French and Spanish to translate verse out of those languages, including works by

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

, Paul Verlaine, Amado Nervo,

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented ...

and all but 6 of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fr ...

's 157 poems in '' The Flowers of Evil''.

Early writing

His first literary efforts, at the age of 11, took the form of fairy tales and imitations of the Arabian Nights. Later, he wrote long adventure novels dealing with Oriental life. By 14 he had already written a short adventure novel called ''The Black Diamonds'' which was lost for years until published in 2002. Another juvenile novel was written in his teenaged years: ''The Sword of Zagan'' (unpublished until 2004). Like ''The Black Diamonds'', it uses a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, ''Arabian Nights''-like setting, and the ''Arabian Nights'', like the fairy tales of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

and the works of

, are known to have strongly influenced Smith's early writing, as did William Beckford's ''

Vathek ''Vathek'' (alternatively titled ''Vathek, an Arabian Tale'' or ''The History of the Caliph Vathek'') is a Gothic novel written by William Beckford. It was composed in French beginning in 1782, and then translated into English by Reverend Sa ...

''. At age 17, he sold several tales to '' The Black Cat'', a magazine which specialized in unusual tales. He also published some tales in the ''

Overland Monthly The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. History The '' ...

'' in this brief foray into fiction which preceded his poetic career. However, it was primarily poetry that motivated the young Smith and he confined his efforts to poetry for more than a decade. In his later youth, Smith made the acquaintance of the San Francisco poet George Sterling through a member of the local Auburn Monday Night Club, where he read several of his poems with considerable success. On a month-long visit to Sterling in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and municipal corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its n ...

, Smith was introduced by Sterling to the poetry of

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

. He became Sterling's

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and Sterling helped him to publish his first volume of poems, ''The Star-Treader and Other Poems'', at the age of 19. Smith received international acclaim for the collection. ''The Star-Treader'' was received very favorably by American critics, one of whom named Smith "the Keats of the Pacific". Smith briefly moved among the circle that included

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

and

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

, but his early fame soon faded away.

Health breakdown period

A little later, Smith's health broke down and for eight years his literary production was intermittent, though he produced his best poetry during this period. A small volume, ''Odes and Sonnets'', was brought out in 1918. Smith came into contact with literary figures who would later form part of H.P. Lovecraft's circle of correspondents; Smith knew them far earlier than Lovecraft. These figures include poet

Samuel Loveman Samuel E. Loveman (January 14, 1887 – May 14, 1976) was an American poet, critic, and dramatist probably best known for his connections with writers H. P. Lovecraft and Hart Crane. Early life and career He spent the first 37 years of his lif ...

and bookman George Kirk. It was Smith who in fact later introduced

Donald Wandrei Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)Minnesota Death Certificates Index
. ...

to Lovecraft. For this reason, it has been suggested that Lovecraft might as well be referred to as a member of a "Smith" circle as Smith was a member of a Lovecraft one. In 1920 Smith composed a celebrated long poem in blank verse, ''The Hashish Eater, or The Apocalypse of Evil'' which was published in '' Ebony and Crystal'' (1922). This was followed by a fan letter from H. P. Lovecraft, which was the beginning of 15 years of friendship and correspondence. With studied playfulness, Smith and Lovecraft borrowed each other's coinages of place names and the names of strange gods for their stories, though so different is Smith's treatment of the Lovecraft theme that it has been dubbed the "Clark Ashton Smythos." In 1925 Smith published ''Sandalwood'', which was partly funded by a gift of $50 from

Donald Wandrei Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)Minnesota Death Certificates Index
. ...

. He wrote little fiction in this period with the exception of some imaginative vignettes or prose poems. Smith was poor for most of his life and often did hard manual jobs such as fruit picking and woodcutting to support himself and his parents. He was an able cook and made many kinds of wine. He also did well digging, typing and journalism, as well as contributing a column to ''The Auburn Journal'' and sometimes worked as its night editor. One of Smith's artistic patrons and frequent correspondents was San Francisco businessman Albert M. Bender.

Prolific fiction-writing period

At the beginning of the Depression in 1929, with his aged parents' health weakening, Smith resumed fiction writing and turned out more than a hundred short stories between 1929 and 1934, nearly all of which can be classed as weird horror or science fiction. Like Lovecraft, he drew upon the nightmares that had plagued him during youthful spells of sickness. Brian Stableford has written that the stories written during this brief phase of hectic productivity "constitute one of the most remarkable oeuvres in imaginative literature". He published at his own expense a volume containing six of his best stories, ''The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies'', in an edition of 1000 copies printed by the ''Auburn Journal''. The theme of much of his work is egotism and its supernatural punishment; his weird fiction is generally macabre in subject matter, gloatingly preoccupied with images of death, decay and abnormality. Most of Smith's weird fiction falls into four series set variously in Hyperborea,

Poseidonis Poseidonis is the fictional last remnant of the lost continent of Atlantis, mentioned by Algernon Blackwood in his short story "Sand" (published in 1912) in his collection ''Four Weird Tales'' and also detailed in a series of short stories by Cl ...

Averoigne Averoigne is a fictional counterpart of a historical province in France, detailed in a series of short stories by the American writer Clark Ashton Smith. Smith may have based Averoigne on the actual province of Auvergne, but its name was probabl ...

and Zothique. Hyperborea, which is a lost continent of the Miocene period, and Poseidonis, which is a remnant of Atlantis, are much the same, with a magical culture characterized by bizarreness, cruelty, death and postmortem horrors. Averoigne is Smith's version of pre-modern France, comparable to James Branch Cabell's Poictesme. Zothique exists millions of years in the future. It is "the last continent of earth, when the sun is dim and tarnished". These tales have been compared to the

Dying Earth ''Dying Earth'' is a fantasy series by the American author Jack Vance, comprising four books originally published from 1950 to 1984. Some have been called picaresque. They vary from short story collections to a fix-up (novel created from olde ...

sequence of Jack Vance. In 1933 Smith began corresponding with Robert E. Howard, the Texan creator of

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...

. From 1933 to 1936, Smith, Howard and Lovecraft were the leaders of the Weird Tales school of fiction and corresponded frequently, although they never met. The writer of oriental fantasies

E. Hoffmann Price Edgar Hoffmann Price (July 3, 1898 – June 18, 1988) was an American writer of popular fiction (he was a self-titled "fictioneer") for the pulp magazine marketplace."Price, E. Hoffmann" in Server Lee. ''Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers''. ...

is the only man known to have met all three in the flesh. Critic Steve Behrends has suggested that the frequent theme of 'loss' in Smith's fiction (many of his characters attempt to recapture a long-vanished youth, early love, or picturesque past) may reflect Smith's own feeling that his career had suffered a "fall from grace":

Mid-late career: return to poetry and sculpture

In September 1935, Smith's mother Fanny died. Smith spent the next two years nursing his father through his last illness. Timeus died in December 1937. Aged 44, Smith now virtually ceased writing fiction. He had been severely affected by several tragedies occurring in a short period of time: Robert E. Howard's death by suicide (1936), Lovecraft's death from cancer (1937) and the deaths of his parents, which left him exhausted. As a result, he withdrew from the scene, marking the end of ''Weird Tales

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

. He began sculpting and resumed the writing of poetry. However, Smith was visited by many writers at his cabin, including

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

, Rah Hoffman, Francis T. Laney and others. In 1942, three years after

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...

founded Arkham House for the purpose of preserving the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Derleth published the first of several major collections of Smith's fiction, ''Out of Space and Time'' (1942). This was followed by ''Lost Worlds'' (1944). The books sold slowly, went out of print and became costly rarities. Derleth published five more volumes of Smith's prose and two of his verse, and at his death in 1971 had a large volume of Smith's poems in press.

Later life, marriage and death

In 1953, Smith suffered a coronary attack. Aged 61, he married Carol(yn) Jones Dorman on November 10, 1954. Dorman had much experience in Hollywood and radio public relations. After honeymooning at the Smith cabin, they moved to

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, ...

, where he set up a household including her three children from a previous marriage. For several years he alternated between the house on Indian Ridge and their house in Pacific Grove. Smith having sold most of his father's tract, in 1957 the old house burned – the Smiths believed by arson, others said by accident. Smith now reluctantly did gardening for other residents at Pacific Grove, and grew a goatee. He spent much time shopping and walking near the seafront but despite Derleth's badgering, resisted the writing of more fiction. In 1961 he suffered a series of strokes and in August 1961 he quietly died in his sleep, aged 68. After Smith's death, Carol remarried (becoming Carolyn Wakefield) and subsequently died of cancer. The poet's ashes were buried beside, or beneath, a boulder to the immediate west of where his childhood home (destroyed by fire in 1957) stood; some were also scattered in a stand of blue oaks near the boulder. There was no marker. Plaques recognizing Smith have been erected at the Auburn Placer County Library in 1985 and in Bicentennial Park in Auburn in 2003. Bookseller Roy A. Squires was appointed Smith's "west coast executor", with

Jack L. Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a ...

as his "east coast executor". Squires published many letterpress editions of individual Smith poems. Smith's literary estate is represented by his stepson, Prof William Dorman, director of CASiana Literary Enterprises. Arkham House owns the copyright to many Smith stories, though some are now in the public domain. For 'posthumous collaborations' of Smith (stories completed by Lin Carter), see the entry on

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. ...

Artistic periods

While Smith was always an artist who worked in several very different media, it is possible to identify three distinct periods in which one form of art had precedence over the others.

Poetry: until 1925

Smith published most of his volumes of poetry in this period, including the aforementioned ''The Star-Treader and Other Poems'', as well as ''Odes and Sonnets'' (1918), ''Ebony and Crystal'' (1922) and ''Sandalwood'' (1925). His

long poem The long poem is a literary genre including all poetry of considerable length. Though the definition of a long poem is vague and broad and unnecessary, the genre includes some of the most important poetry ever written. With more than 220,000 (1 ...

''The Hashish-Eater; Or, the Apocalypse of Evil'' was written in 1920.

Weird fiction: 1926–1935

Smith wrote most of his weird fiction and

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify ...

stories, inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. Creatures of his invention include Aforgomon, Rlim-Shaikorth, Mordiggian, Tsathoggua, the wizard

Eibon The Hyperborean cycle is a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith that take place in the fictional prehistoric setting of Hyperborea. Smith's cycle takes cues from his friends, H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard and their works. Lovecraf ...

, and various others. In an homage to his friend, Lovecraft referred in "The Whisperer in Darkness" and "The Battle That Ended the Century" (written in collaboration with R. H. Barlow) to an Atlantean high-priest, "Klarkash-Ton". Smith's weird stories form several cycles, called after the lands in which they are set:

, Hyperborea,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, Zothique. To some extent Smith was influenced in his vision of such lost worlds by the teachings of

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

and the writings of Helena Blavatsky. Stories set in Zothique belong to the Dying Earth subgenre. Amongst Smith's science fiction tales are stories set on

and the invented planet of Xiccarph. His short stories originally appeared in the magazines '' Weird Tales'', '' Strange Tales'', ''

Astounding Stories ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', ''

Stirring Science Stories Stir, STIR, stirred, or stirrer may refer to: Art and entertainment * Stir (band), a music group from 1994-2005 * ''Stir'' (film), a 1980 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace * ''Stir'' (TV series) * " Stirred", a ''West Wing'' episode ...

'' and '' Wonder Stories''. Clark Ashton Smith was the third member of the great triumvirate of ''Weird Tales'', with Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Many of Smith's stories were published in six hardcover volumes by

under his Arkham House imprint. For a full bibliography to 1978, see Sidney-Fryer, ''Emperor of Dreams'' (cited below).

S.T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critici ...

is working with other scholars to produce an updated bibliography of Smith's work. A selection of Smith's best-known tales includes: *"The Last Incantation" — ''Weird Tales'', June 1930 LW2 *"A Voyage to Sfanomoe" — ''Weird Tales'', August 1931 LW2 *" The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" — ''Weird Tales'' November 1931 LW2 *"The Door to Saturn" — ''Strange Tales'', January 1932 LW2 *"The Planet of the Dead" — ''Weird Tales'', March 1932 LW2 *"The Gorgon" — ''Weird Tales'', April 1932 LW2 *"The Letter from Mohaun Los" (under the title of "Flight into Super-Time") — ''Wonder Stories'', August 1932 LW1 *" The Empire of the Necromancers" — ''Weird Tales'', September 1932 LW1 *"The Hunters from Beyond" — ''Strange Tales'', October 1932 LW1 *"

The Isle of the Torturers "The Isle of the Torturers" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1933 issue of '' Weird Tales''. Publication history According to '' Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashto ...

" — ''Weird Tales'', March 1933 LW1 *"The Light from Beyond" — ''Wonder Stories'', April 1933 LW1 *"The Beast of Averoigne" — ''Weird Tales'', May 1933 LW1 *"The Holiness of Azedarac" — ''Weird Tales'', November 1933 LW1 *"The Demon of the Flower" — ''Astounding Stories'', December 1933 LW2 *"The Death of Malygris" — ''Weird Tales'', April 1934 LW2 *"The Plutonium Drug" — ''Amazing Stories'', September 1934 LW2 *"The Seven Geases" — ''Weird Tales'', October 1934 LW2 *" Xeethra" — ''Weird Tales'', December 1934 LW1 *"The Flower-Women" — ''Weird Tales'', May 1935 LW2 *"The Treader of the Dust" — ''Weird Tales'', August 1935 LW1 *" Necromancy in Naat" — ''Weird Tales'', July 1936 LW1 *"The Maze of Maal Dweb" — ''Weird Tales'', October 1938 LW2 *"The Coming of the White Worm" — ''Stirring Science Stories'', April 1941 LW2

Visual art: 1935–1961

By this time his interest in writing fiction began to lessen and he turned to creating sculptures from soft rock such as soapstone. Smith also made hundreds of fantastic paintings and drawings.

Bibliography

The authoritative bibliography on Smith's work is

S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critici ...

, David E. Schultz and Scott Conners. ''Clark Ashton Smith: A Comprehensive Bibliography.'' NY: Hippocampus Press, 2020. The first Smith bibliography, which foccussed on his short fiction, was ''The Tales Of Clark Ashton Smith,''published by Thomas G L Cockcroft in New Zealand in 1951.

Books published in Smith's lifetime

*1912: ''The Star-Treader and Other Poems''. San Francisco: A.M. Robertson, Nov 1912. 100 pages. 2000 copies. Some copies have a frontispiece photo by Bianca Conti; others lack it. *1918: ''Odes and Sonnets''. San Francisco: The Book Club of California, June 1918. 28 pages. 300 copies. *1922: ''Ebony and Crystal: Poems in Verse and Prose''. Auburn CA: The Auburn Journal Press, Oct 1925. 43 pages. Limited to 500 copies signed by Smith. Some copies are found with corrections in Smith's hand to typos in the text. *1925: ''Sandalwood''. Auburn CA: The Auburn Journal Press, Oct 1925. Verse. 43 pages. Limited to 250 (i.e. 225) numbered copies signed by Smith. Some copies are found with corrections in Smith's hand to typos in the text. *1933: ''The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies''. Auburn, CA: The Auburn Journal Press, 1933. Short stories. Limited to 1000 copies in grey paper wrappers. *1937: ''Nero and Other Poems''. Lakeport CA: The Futile Press, May 1937. 24 pages. c.250 copies. The poems herein were revised by Smith from their first appearances in ''The Star-Treader and Other Poems.'' Some copies have laid in the three page essay "The Price of Poetry", on Smith's verse, by David Warren Ryder, which was printed to accompany the book. According to the official Smith bibliography,the volume was also issued with a broadside, "Outlanders" - a 1934 sonnet which made its first appearance in print here. Roy A. Squires purchased spare sheets of the volume from Groo Beck of Futile Press, sufficient to produce a 'second state' of 13 copies,which was specially bound by Kristina Etchison and published by bookdealer Terence McVicker. (This 2nd state not noted in the official bibliography.) *1951: ''The Dark Chateau and Other Poems''. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, Dec 1951. 63 pages. 563 copies. *1958: ''Spells and Philtres''. Sauk City: Arkham House, March 1958. Verse. 54 pages. 519 copies.

Books published posthumously

*1962: ''The Hill of Dionysus – A Selection''. Pacific Grove, CA: Roy A. Squires and Clyde Beck. Verse. This volume was prepared while Smith was still living but he died before it could see print. It was published 'In memoriam'. *1971: ''Selected Poems''. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, Nov 1971. This volume was delivered by the author to Arkham House in December 1949 but remained unpublished until 1971.

Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ...

* ''The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith'' 5-volume work *'' Miscellaneous Writings''. Originally announced as ''Tales of India and Irony'' (a collection of non-fantasy/science fiction/horror tales, planned to be available only to subscribers of above collection). Now commercially available. *'' Red World of Polaris'' (complete tales of Captain Volmar)

Hippocampus Press

* ''The Complete Poetry and Translations of Clark Ashton Smith'' (3 vols) * ''The Black Diamonds''. A juvenile Oriental fantasy. * ''The Last Oblivion: Best Fantastic Poems of Clark Ashton Smith'' * ''The Sword of Zagan and Other Writings''. Juvenile Oriental fantasy. * ''The Shadow of the Unattained: Letters of George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith'' * ''The Freedom of Fantastic Things: Selected Criticism on Clark Ashton Smith'' * ''The Hashish-Eater''. (2008). Edited with notes etc. by Donald Sidney-Fryer. Introduction by Ron Hilger. Includes a CD audio recording of Sidney-Fryer reading "The Hashish-Eater" and (on a hidden track) a selection of other poems by Smith. * ''The Averoigne Chronicles: The Complete Averoigne Stories of Clark Ashton Smith'' * ''Zothique: The Final Cycle by Clark Ashton Smith''

Arkham House

*'' Out of Space and Time'' *''

Lost Worlds The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The g ...

'' *''

Genius Loci and Other Tales ''Genius Loci and Other Tales'' is a collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories by American writer Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1948 and was the author's third book published by Arkham House. It was released in a ...

'' *'' The Dark Chateau'' *'' Spells and Philtres'' *'' The Abominations of Yondo'' *'' Tales of Science and Sorcery'' *'' Poems in Prose'' *'' Other Dimensions'' (o.o.p.) *'' Selected Poems'' *'' The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith'' *''

A Rendezvous in Averoigne ''A Rendezvous in Averoigne'' is a collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror stories by American writer Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1988 by Arkham House in an edition of 5,025 copies. The collection contains stories from Sm ...

'' *''

Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith ''Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith'' is a book of letters by American writer Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 2003 by Arkham House in an edition of approximately 3,000 copies. The collection was edited by David E. Schultz and Scott Con ...

''Spearman'' (reprinted from Arkham House)

*''Lost Worlds'' hardcover 1971 *''Out of Space and Time'' 1971 *''Genius Loci'' hardcover 1971 *''Abominations of Yondo'' 1972

''Panther'' (reprinted from Arkham House)

*''Lost Worlds'' (published in 2 volumes, , ) *''Genius Loci'' *''The Abominations of Yondo'' *''Other Dimensions'' (published in 2 volumes, , ) *''Out of Space and Time'' (published in 2 volumes, , ) *''Tales of Science and Sorcery''

Ballantine Adult Fantasy series

*'' Zothique'' 1970 *'' Hyperborea'' 1971 *'' Xiccarph'' 1972 *''

'' 1973 *''Averoigne'' (reportedly compiled by series editor

, but never released)

Roy A. Squires

* Roy A. Squires, California-based bookman and letterpress printer, issued many limited edition pamphlets consisting of individual Smith poems and prose poems during the 1970s.

Wildside Press

*''The Double Shadow'' *''The Maker of Gargoyles and Other Stories'' *''The White Sybil and Other Stories''

Timescape Books

*''The City of the Singing Flame'' 1981 *''The Last Incantation'' 1982 *''The Monster of the Prophecy'' 1983

Gollancz

* '' Emperor of Dreams''. Ed, Stephen Jones. 2002. An omnibus edition in paperback of Smith's best tales.

Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it reta ...

*''In the Line of the Grotesque and Monstrous.'' Introduction by D.S. Black. Berkeley: The

Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it reta ...

, 2004. Prints the text of three letters by Smith to

. 50 copies only printed, in burnt orange wrappers. Printed on the Bancroft library's 1856 Albion handpress.

The RAS Press

* ''The Black Abbot of Puthuum''. Glendale, CA: The RAS Press, Oct 2007. Limited to 250 numbered copies.(This press was founded by Roy. A. Squires and is currently run by bookseller Terence McVicker).

HIH Art Studios

*''Shadows Seen and Unseen: Poetry from the Shadows''. San Jose, CA: HIH Art Studios, 2007. Edited by Raymond L. Johnson and Ardath W. Winterowd and signed by both editors. Limited to 540 copies. Hardcover in slipcase. Includes reproductions of poetry manuscripts by Smith, and color plates of several Smith paintings.

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critici ...
. 2014.

Other (Essays, Letters, etc)

* Smith, Clark Ashton. ''Planets and Dimensions: Collected Essays''. Edited by Charles K. Wolfe. Baltimore MD: Mirage Press, 1973. * David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi (eds). ''The Shadow of the Unattained: The Letters of George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith'' NY: Hippocampus Press, 2005. * David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi (eds). ''Dawnward Spire, Lonely Hill: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith.'' NY: Hippocampus Press, 2017. * David E. Schultz and S.T. Joshi (eds). ''Eccentric, Impractical Devils: The Letters of August Derleth and Clark Ashton Smith.'' NY: Hippocampus Press, 2020. * S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (eds). ''Born Under Saturn: The Letters of Samuel Loveman and Clark Ashton Smith'' NY: Hippocampus Press, 2021, an expanded edition of

's ''Out of the Immortal Night'' (2004) Scholars S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz are preparing various additional volumes of Smith's letters to such of his individual correspondents as

Donald Wandrei Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)Minnesota Death Certificates Index
. ...

and Robert H. Barlow.

Media adaptations

Visual

*"The Double Shadow" was filmed by Azathoth Productions, Newcastle, Australia, on Super 8 film in 1975, with a script by

Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the s ...

. *" The Return of the Sorcerer" was adapted for an episode of the television series '' Night Gallery'', starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

and

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist. Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...

. *"The Seed from the Sepulcher", "The Vaults of Yoh Vombis" and "The Return of the Sorcerer" were adapted as ten-page comics by Richard Corben, published in DenSaga 1, 2 and 3 respectively (Fantagor Press 1992–1993). * "Mother of Toads" was adapted as segment one of the six-segment horror anthology film ''

The Theatre Bizarre ''The Theatre Bizarre'' is a 2011 American Horror film, horror anthology film. The six segments are directed by Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory (filmmaker), David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Tom Savini and Richard Stanley (director), Ric ...

'' (2011).

Audio

* ''Clark Ashton Smith: Live from Auburn: The Elder Tapes''. In the late 1950s Smith recorded a number of his poems on the tape-recorder of his friend Robert B. Elder. Elder chose the 11 poems at random from Smith's books ''The Dark Chateau'' and "Spells and Philtres". (Elder had first met Smith when reporting on his 1954 wedding to the former Carol Dorman for ''The Auburn Courier'' and they became friends when Smith praised Elder's novel ''Whom the Gods Destroy''.) In 1995 Necronomicon Press released the audiocassette ''Clark Ashton Smith: Live from Auburn: The Elder Tapes'', which includes an introduction by Elder and then Smith reading his poems. The recording was produced by Wayne Haigh. The cassette was accompanied by a booklet featuring a c.1960 photo of Smith and reprints all 11 poems. Gahan Wilson provided the cover art for the cassette and booklet. The recording has not been released on CD. * ''The Hashish-Eater and Other Poems.'' Nampa, Idaho: Fedogan and Bremer, 2018. Running time 68 mins. Includes Donald Sidney-Fryer's readings of "The Hashish-Eater" and a selection of other Smith poems, identical to the selection on the CD which accompanied the 2008 Hippocampus Press volume "The Hashish-Eater"; here, however, an orchestral soundtrack by Graham Plowman has been added. Booklet notes by Ron Hilger.

References

Citations

General and cited sources

* * Herron, Don (October 2000). "Collecting Clark Ashton Smith". ''Firsts''. * Joshi, S. T. (2008). "Clark Ashton Smith: Beauty Is for the Few," chapter 2 in ''Emperors of Dreams: Some Notes on Weird Poetry''. Sydney: P'rea Press. (pbk) and (hbk). * Murray, Will. "The Clark Ashton Smythos" in Price, Robert M. (ed.). ''The Horror of It All: Encrusted Gems from the Crypt of Cthulhu''. Mercer Island WA: Starmont House, 1990. .

External links

The Eldritch Dark
– This website contains almost all of Clark Ashton Smith's written work, as well as a comprehensive selection of his art, biographies
a bibliography
a discussion board, readings, fiction tributes and more.

– A growing collection of authorized translations into

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...

for free distribution as ebooks.
Smith's poem "A Chant to Sirius"
read by

* * * * * *
Clark Ashton Smith: Poems
– A collection of Clark Ashton Smith's early poetry.
Clark Ashton Smith
at the '' Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''
Clark Ashton Smith
at the ''

Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work concerning fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael S ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Clark Ashton 1893 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American fantasy writers American horror writers American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American people of English descent American science fiction writers American short story writers Cthulhu Mythos writers People from Auburn, California People from Mono County, California People from Pacific Grove, California Pulp fiction writers Weird fiction writers Writers from California

Biography

Early life and education

Early writing

Health breakdown period

Prolific fiction-writing period

Mid-late career: return to poetry and sculpture

Later life, marriage and death

Artistic periods

Poetry: until 1925

Weird fiction: 1926–1935

Visual art: 1935–1961

Bibliography

Books published in Smith's lifetime

Books published posthumously

Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ...

Hippocampus Press

Arkham House

''Spearman'' (reprinted from Arkham House)

''Panther'' (reprinted from Arkham House)

Ballantine Adult Fantasy series

Roy A. Squires

Wildside Press

Timescape Books

Gollancz

Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it reta ...

The RAS Press

HIH Art Studios

Other (Essays, Letters, etc)

Media adaptations

Visual

Audio

References

Citations

General and cited sources

Further reading

Bibliographies

Journals devoted to Smith's life and work

Essays and standalone critical works

External links