Clark Ashton Smith

[I, Brian]

Another golden age author here - the name is very familiar, but I'm not able to put any stories to the name. Although I have a list of books by him, I'm uncertain of the themes of his writing, and also what sort of influence he may have had.

Can anyone please satiate my curiosity?

[knivesout]

Contemporary of Lovecraft. Writer of horror and fantasy. If Polymorphikos - who Iknow is also a big fan - doesn't weigh in with more, I shall do so later.

[polymorphikos]

The hooded-one flatters me with his assessment.

CAS wrote very description-centred pieces with a wealth of language in them, that dealt with verbal images more than character. He had a brilliant imagination and created some fascinating stories where the horror, or plot-punch, or whatever, was often something uncertain and menacing for the fact that it existed, and not the number of teeth it had. He considered himself primarily a poet, and so his works reflect the language aspect of his writing the most. He has a very laconic, honeyed turn of phrase that makes everything seem very rich and vivid like dyed silk. I havemn't actually read that many of his stories, but I'd definitely recommend buying the "Lost Worlds" anthologies.

[I, Brian]

Do I recall his name from a volume of work of writers writing stories based in the Cthulhu Mythos? I know august Derleth and Brian Lumley were there - I also have a sneaking suspicion that Clark Ashton Smith was, too. Darn it, where did my copy of that go?

[knivesout]

Yup, he too contributed to the mythos and was a friend and correspondant of old HPL's.

[j. d. worthington]

On the idea of Smith contributing to the Mythos... that's something of a thorny one. He invented Tsathoggua in his story "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros", a rather deft blending of irony, horror, and outright comedy. Lovecraft was so taken with the creation that he inserted it into both the revision he was working on at the time for Zealia Reed Bishop ("The Mound"), as well as in his "The Whisperer in Darkness", which I believe saw print before Smith's original story did. Smith did occasionally add quotations from the Necronomicon, but did little else to add to the Mythos proper; he had his own mythology he developed in several stories, which could be said to be marginally related to what Lovecraft was doing, but they were entirely Smith's own.

Smith was primarily a poet -- he began that way, and garnered praise from such figures as George Sterling and Ambrose Bierce, among others; and he continued to write vivid, quite exceptional poetry throughout his life. The stories were often a way to bring in money for him to take care of his ailing parents and, once they died, the story-writing almost stopped for many years, with one or two brief spurts of activity thereafter. But in those years where he was writing stories, he wrote some of the most lapidary prose you'll ever encounter; at times that seems at odds with the stories he's telling, but in most cases it works very well, adding that "distancing" effect, as well as allowing more more elusive, ethereal ideals, imagery, and emotions... see, for example, "A Night in Malneant", "Sadastor", or any of his prose-poems, such as "The Shadows" or "From the Crypts of Memory".

He was very precise in his choice of words, for he brought the sensibility of a fine poet to the writing of his prose as well; and when he used an obscure word, it was for a specific reason. Emperor of Dreams, a volume in the Fantasy Masterworks, collects together a sizable selection of his stories from throughout his career, while Night Shade Books is putting out a 5-volume set of his complete fantasies in critical editions, and Hippocampus Press is putting out a 3-volume set of his complete poetry. (In fact, his translation of Baudelaire's Le fleurs du mal is one of the more highly-prized ones; his translations from other poets are also well worth reading.) Somewhere around here is a copy of his "Medusa", which is a very good example of his poetry ... powerful stuff; it contains one of my own favorite phrases from poetry: "Time caught in meshes of Eternity"....

Smith is not for everyone, with his jewelled prose, his often poetic cadences and rhythms, and his tendency to both a rather vicious, mordant irony and depictions of decadent societies that are surprisingly modern, in some ways, but I highly recommend his work to anyone who enjoyed a truly unique voice.

As for his influence: he certainly influenced Bradbury, Vance, Moorcock, Leiber, and Moore, to varying degrees; and Harlan Ellison makes no bones as to his debt to Smith. He has also influenced others as well, not so illustrious (Lin Carter, for example). He was never as popular as Lovecraft or Howard, but his influence continues to be felt, especially as he's been rediscovered off and on by the younger writers of the past 30-40 years.

[Fried Egg]

I loved Smith's stories but I know someone who thought his prose was "boastful". Like he was just showing off.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Fried Egg

I loved Smith's stories but I know someone who thought his prose was "boastful". Like he was just showing off.

Yes, I know Asimov was of that view. However, I'd say, from reading his letters and notebooks and such, this was simply the way CAS wrote, and even talked, to a great degree; just as those who knew HPL have said that he talked exactly the way he tended to write in his letters, with precision, erudition, and a vocabulary that would be the envy of anyone who truly loves words. (Or, has been said, when he spoke, "it was like a dictionary falling open and talking at you".) Nor did either of them have to pause for the correct words... these were everyday words for them; they just spoke (and wrote) with extreme precision for exactly the nuance they were attempting to convey -- an extremely rare thing, I'd say.

[HoopyFrood]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

(Or, has been said, when he spoke, "it was like a dictionary falling open and talking at you".)

LOL! I like that. What a brilliant simile!

[Blue Tyson]

I had been sadly negligent before, and had not read any of his work. I am working my way through a whole bunch now.

He's really good.

Clark Ashton Smith - The Eldritch Dark

Going to see if I can get 'em all read and blog listed this year!

[j. d. worthington]

Glad you like his work, Blue Tyson... he was definitely a unique voice. Don't know how you are about poetry (it's interesting to me how, until the beginning of the twentieth century, poetry was so popular with all types of readers, but even the most traditional poetry is so often disregarded now), but there's an excellent selection of his best fantastic poetry available and, as I mentioned elsewhere, a complete 3-volume set of his poetry is forthcoming. For sheer beauty and imaginative power, I highly recommend it....

[Blue Tyson]

No, I am not much for poetry, really. Might read the occasional item. The eldritch dark site appears to have a whole lot of that, too, for those interested.

[The Wanderer]

He's namechecked at the beginning of 'Nova'

[The Wanderer]

Originally Posted by The Wanderer

He's namechecked at the beginning of 'Nova'

From Wikipedia's Exploration of 'Nova'

There is also a strong similarity in names between the scientist, Ashton Clark, who, in Nova, has invented the cyborg plugs and sockets centuries before, which pervade the novel, and the name of the fantasy and science fiction writer from the 'thirties and 'forties, Clark Ashton Smith.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by The Wanderer

From Wikipedia's Exploration of 'Nova'

There is also a strong similarity in names between the scientist, Ashton Clark, who, in Nova, has invented the cyborg plugs and sockets centuries before, which pervade the novel, and the name of the fantasy and science fiction writer from the 'thirties and 'forties, Clark Ashton Smith.

That would make sense, considering CAS's penchant for melding various types of organisms together via some form of "surgery" -- be it sorcerous or otherwise -- usually to enhance the strangeness and decadence of the milieu he was depicting... and to increase its "picturesqueness". (Think of the Maze of Maal Dweb" for example.)