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Post by ropardoe on Apr 7, 2017 14:14:16 GMT
Non-readers of Ghosts & Scholars may not be aware that Derleth was the person that M.R. James referred to in one of his letters to Gwendolen McBryde, included in Letters to a Friend: "I have here a letter from a native of Wisconsin who asks me to send him a list of books on antiquarian subjects, and feels that it could be as comprehensive as it is possible to make it: assigning as a reason that he has 'been fortunate enough to have access' to my stories. He is evidently one of those who feel that there is no harm in asking". Ouch!
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 7, 2017 14:15:09 GMT
Said the Traveller, knocking on the moonlit door. (Couldn't resist) ‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller, Knocking on the moonlit door; A ghost came out and hit him a clout, and he never went back no more. I hope Walter de La Mare doesn't read this website.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 7, 2017 14:23:51 GMT
Non-readers of Ghosts & Scholars may not be aware that Derleth was the person that M.R. James referred to in one of his letters to Gwendolen McBryde, included in Letters to a Friend: "I have here a letter from a native of Wisconsin who asks me to send him a list of books on antiquarian subjects, and feels that it could be as comprehensive as it is possible to make it: assigning as a reason that he has 'been fortunate enough to have access' to my stories. He is evidently one of those who feel that there is no harm in asking". Ouch! I'll get back about this when I've read the book. Wasn't it Roger Johnson who identified August Derleth? Coincidentally, I've just had an e-mail from him (Roger Johnson, not August Derleth).
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Post by ropardoe on Apr 8, 2017 9:00:06 GMT
Non-readers of Ghosts & Scholars may not be aware that Derleth was the person that M.R. James referred to in one of his letters to Gwendolen McBryde, included in Letters to a Friend: "I have here a letter from a native of Wisconsin who asks me to send him a list of books on antiquarian subjects, and feels that it could be as comprehensive as it is possible to make it: assigning as a reason that he has 'been fortunate enough to have access' to my stories. He is evidently one of those who feel that there is no harm in asking". Ouch! I'll get back about this when I've read the book. Wasn't it Roger Johnson who identified August Derleth? Coincidentally, I've just had an e-mail from him (Roger Johnson, not August Derleth). Yes, it was indeed - or at least, it was he who set me on the hunt to confirm it.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 8, 2017 12:46:21 GMT
Non-readers of Ghosts & Scholars may not be aware that Derleth was the person that M.R. James referred to in one of his letters to Gwendolen McBryde, included in Letters to a Friend: "I have here a letter from a native of Wisconsin who asks me to send him a list of books on antiquarian subjects, and feels that it could be as comprehensive as it is possible to make it: assigning as a reason that he has 'been fortunate enough to have access' to my stories. He is evidently one of those who feel that there is no harm in asking". Ouch! I'll get back about this when I've read the book. Wasn't it Roger Johnson who identified August Derleth? Coincidentally, I've just had an e-mail from him (Roger Johnson, not August Derleth). Yes, it was indeed - or at least, it was he who set me on the hunt to confirm it. Going by memory, August Derleth wrote to M.R. James for information on "books on antiquarian subjects" to help with his University thesis "The Weird Tale in English Since 1890” (completed in 1930). It was last reprinted, without its bibliography, in Crypt of Cthulhu 94 (Necronomicon Press, Hallowmas 1996). I have a copy of it. It is entirely accessible but is more descriptive than analytical. It is still available from Necronomicon Press: necropress.com/product-category/crypt-of-cthulhu/
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 12, 2017 12:28:15 GMT
Letters to Arkham - The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth is now sold out. Did anyone else get a copy? There is literally something of interest on every page for readers of the Vault. The correspondence about August Derleth's running of Arkham House and his horror anthologies, and his editing of Ramsey Campbell's first fiction etc, is an excellent read. Even though I already knew about it, in the light of his first letters, when Ramsey Campbell mentioned that he was fifteen it made my jaw drop.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 12, 2017 18:57:46 GMT
when Ramsey Campbell mentioned that he was fifteen it made my jaw drop. Yes, hilarious! I just started this one, and I have a question---does anybody die in it? I read that book that collects the correspondence of Lovecraft and some young boy, and at the end Lovecraft dies! It was emotionally overwhelming. I am only 55, by the way.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 12, 2017 20:10:30 GMT
I have now read a little further. Out of the blue, Derleth brings up the topics of masturbation and homosexuality. Then he asks young Ramsey to send a photo of himself. Where is this going?
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 13, 2017 17:21:37 GMT
I am penetrating even further into the lurid document that is LETTERS TO ARKHAM. Derleth, having sent young Ramsey to Paris to look for "really good homosexual novels," explains what the prostate gland, with which his protégé is unfamilar, is. You keep reminding yourself that they never actually met, but still the suspense is nearly unbearable.
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Post by helrunar on Apr 13, 2017 21:04:55 GMT
Fascinating. I'd never heard of old Auggie having such, erm, esoteric interests before.
And God Herself knows there wasn't much good homosexual fiction around back in 1960... few but roses all, as I think Plato said of the Lesbian...
cheers, H.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 14, 2017 12:32:07 GMT
That's enough scurrilous gossip. I didn't want to mention the naughty bits in Letters to Arkham, which are only incidental. I assure you that it is the book's insights into editing and writing that have kept me up (!) for the last three nights.
August Derleth did so much work that I'm surprised that he didn't die much sooner than he did.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 14, 2017 19:59:26 GMT
I assure you that it is the book's insights into editing and writing that have kept me up (!) for the last three nights. You will agree that that is not the part that stands out, though.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 14, 2017 20:11:58 GMT
Oh, and we are informed that Ravi Shankar knew Clark Ashton Smith. Say what?
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Post by Michael Connolly on Apr 15, 2017 12:32:52 GMT
I assure you that it is the book's insights into editing and writing that have kept me up (!) for the last three nights. You will agree that that is not the part that stands out, though. I finished the main text of the book last night. There is one of the later letters that I wish I had not read. Beware if you have any Arkham House books. August Derleth may have handled them!
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 15, 2017 12:49:34 GMT
There is one of the later letters that I wish I had not read. Is it the one about how he fixed the erection problems of one of his young employees? This book raises some questions in my mind. 1. Is Derleth's son still alive? 2. How did they trick Campbell into allowing this stuff to be published?
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