The Fantasy Fan Magazine Presents (Unabridged)

Collected here are all of Clark Aston Smith's writings he submitted to The Fantasy Fan Magazine. The Fantasy Fan Magazine was a periodical dedicated to people professing their love of and celebrating fantasy and weird fiction. In addition to the opinion pieces and non-fiction articles, The Fantasy Fan also included many short stories and poems by some of the authors it celebrated such as H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, a personal favorite of editor Charles D. Hornig. Smith contributed quite a variety of stories, poems and articles to The Fantasy Fan over its two-year tenure. From the weird and creepy journeys to unknown worlds of "The Kingdom of the Worm" and "The Primal City" to the strange and haunting poetry of "A Dream of the Abyss" and "Necromancy" to the insightful essays on M. R. James and fantastic fiction in general, Smith shows the breadth of his writing skill within the pages of this sadly short-lived 'zine.

Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) was an American writer, poet, and artist whose work remains a cornerstone of speculative fiction and weird literature. Born in Long Valley, California, Smith's early life was marked by illness and isolation, which fueled his voracious reading and self-education. By his teens, he had mastered French and Spanish, translating works by Baudelaire and other symbolist poets, which deeply influenced his own writing.Smith's literary career took off in the 1920s when he became associated with the circle of writers around H.P. Lovecraft and the pulp magazine *Weird Tales*. His contributions to the genre were notable for their lush, baroque prose and imaginative scope, often exploring themes of cosmic horror, decadence, and the supernatural. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Smith's work was distinguished by its poetic quality and philosophical depth, drawing comparisons to Edgar Allan Poe and Lord Dunsany.A polymath, Smith was also a talented painter and sculptor, creating otherworldly landscapes and figures that mirrored the fantastical realms of his stories. His influence extended to contemporary writers like Ray Bradbury and Jack Vance, who admired his ability to blend the macabre with the sublime.Despite his literary prowess, Smith's work was not without controversy. His explicit depictions of sexuality and death often clashed with the conservative sensibilities of his time, leading to both censorship and acclaim. Today, Clark Ashton Smith is celebrated as a visionary who expanded the boundaries of speculative fiction, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire and challenge readers and writers alike.