Robert E. Howard - Revision history

Tgaitskell: /* Writing */

2015-02-15T13:14:51Z

Writing

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	==Writing==		==Writing==

	Howard wrote stories in many genres, but his most famous were [[sword and sorcery]], a genre of [[fantasy literature\|fantasy]] based on war, fighting and magic. Indeed, many consider him the father of the genre in the same way that [[Tolkien]] is considered the father of epic fantasy. He created one of the most popular of all fantasy characters in the barbarian warrior [[Conan the Barbarian\|Conan]], who first appeared in ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'' in December 1932. To add realism and depth to his new character Howard developed the fictional [[Hyborian Age]]. His other characters include the [[Atlantis\|Atlantean]] [[King Kull]], the [[Puritan]] adventurer [[Solomon Kane]], the [[Picts\|Pict]] [[Bran Mak Morn]], and the female warriors Dark Agnes de la Fere and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the latter the prototype for the better known [[Red Sonja]] of [[Marvel Comics]] fame.		Howard wrote stories in many genres, but his most famous were [[sword and sorcery]], a genre of [[fantasy literature\|fantasy]] based on war, fighting and magic. Indeed, many consider him the father of the genre in the same way that [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] is considered the father of epic fantasy. He created one of the most popular of all fantasy characters in the barbarian warrior [[Conan the Barbarian\|Conan]], who first appeared in ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'' in December 1932. To add realism and depth to his new character Howard developed the fictional [[Hyborian Age]]. His other characters include the [[Atlantis\|Atlantean]] [[King Kull]], the [[Puritan]] adventurer [[Solomon Kane]], the [[Picts\|Pict]] [[Bran Mak Morn]], and the female warriors Dark Agnes de la Fere and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the latter the prototype for the better known [[Red Sonja]] of [[Marvel Comics]] fame.

	Another field in which he was successful was supernatural horror, where he borrowed heavily from his peer and correspondent [[H.P. Lovecraft\|Howard Phillips Lovecraft]], adding his own trademarks of quickly paced action and strong characterization. His original creations like the forbidden tome [[Nameless Cults]] by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] are now considered 'canon' in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].		Another field in which he was successful was supernatural horror, where he borrowed heavily from his peer and correspondent [[H.P. Lovecraft\|Howard Phillips Lovecraft]], adding his own trademarks of quickly paced action and strong characterization. His original creations like the forbidden tome [[Nameless Cults]] by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] are now considered 'canon' in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].

Squashua at 18:36, 10 February 2006

2006-02-10T18:36:40Z

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	[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	[[Category:Historic Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Historic:Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]

	Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]		Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Squashua at 22:50, 2 February 2006

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	[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	[[Category:~~Historical~~ Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Historic Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]

	Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]		Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Squashua at 15:31, 31 January 2006

2006-01-31T15:31:50Z

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	* {{isfdb name\|id=Robert_E._Howard\|name=Robert E. Howard}}		* {{isfdb name\|id=Robert_E._Howard\|name=Robert E. Howard}}

	[[Category:~~1906 births~~\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	~~[[Category:1936 deaths\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~		[[Category:Historical Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	~~[[Category:American short story writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Suicides\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Fantasy writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:American fantasy writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Texas writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:People from Texas\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Robert E. Howard\|~~ ]]
	[[Category:Historical ~~novelists~~\|Howard, Robert E.]]

	Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]		Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

PoC: /* Writing */

2006-01-11T10:41:14Z

Writing

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:41, 11 January 2006
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	Howard wrote stories in many genres, but his most famous were [[sword and sorcery]], a genre of [[fantasy literature\|fantasy]] based on war, fighting and magic. Indeed, many consider him the father of the genre in the same way that [[Tolkien]] is considered the father of epic fantasy. He created one of the most popular of all fantasy characters in the barbarian warrior [[Conan the Barbarian\|Conan]], who first appeared in ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'' in December 1932. To add realism and depth to his new character Howard developed the fictional [[Hyborian Age]]. His other characters include the [[Atlantis\|Atlantean]] [[King Kull]], the [[Puritan]] adventurer [[Solomon Kane]], the [[Picts\|Pict]] [[Bran Mak Morn]], and the female warriors Dark Agnes de la Fere and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the latter the prototype for the better known [[Red Sonja]] of [[Marvel Comics]] fame.		Howard wrote stories in many genres, but his most famous were [[sword and sorcery]], a genre of [[fantasy literature\|fantasy]] based on war, fighting and magic. Indeed, many consider him the father of the genre in the same way that [[Tolkien]] is considered the father of epic fantasy. He created one of the most popular of all fantasy characters in the barbarian warrior [[Conan the Barbarian\|Conan]], who first appeared in ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'' in December 1932. To add realism and depth to his new character Howard developed the fictional [[Hyborian Age]]. His other characters include the [[Atlantis\|Atlantean]] [[King Kull]], the [[Puritan]] adventurer [[Solomon Kane]], the [[Picts\|Pict]] [[Bran Mak Morn]], and the female warriors Dark Agnes de la Fere and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the latter the prototype for the better known [[Red Sonja]] of [[Marvel Comics]] fame.

	Another field in which he was successful was supernatural horror, where he borrowed heavily from his peer and correspondent [[Howard Phillips Lovecraft]], adding his own trademarks of quickly paced action and strong characterization. His original creations like the forbidden tome [[Nameless Cults]] by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] are now considered 'canon' in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].		Another field in which he was successful was supernatural horror, where he borrowed heavily from his peer and correspondent [[H.P. Lovecraft\|Howard Phillips Lovecraft]], adding his own trademarks of quickly paced action and strong characterization. His original creations like the forbidden tome [[Nameless Cults]] by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] are now considered 'canon' in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].

	Howard also wrote in other genres:		Howard also wrote in other genres:

PoC at 10:40, 11 January 2006

2006-01-11T10:40:14Z

New page

[[Image:Robert_E_Howard.jpg|left]]
'''Robert Ervin Howard''' ([[January 22]], [[1906]] – [[June 11]], [[1936]]) was a [[author|writer]] of [[fantasy]] and historical [[adventure novel|adventure]] [[Pulp magazines|pulp]] stories published mainly in ''[[Weird Tales]]'' magazine in the [[1930s]].

==Early life==

Howard was born in [[Peaster, Texas]], the son of Dr. Isaac Mordecai Howard and Hester Jane Ervin Howard. His family had lived in various places in south, east and west Texas, as well as western Oklahoma, before settling in [[Cross Plains, Texas|Cross Plains]] in central Texas in 1919.

He began to write at age 15, and was first published four years later when his story ''Spear and Fang'' appeared in the July 1925 edition of ''[[Weird Tales]]''. Many more of his stories were published in ''Weird Tales'' and he had his first 'cover' in 1926.

==Writing==

Howard wrote stories in many genres, but his most famous were [[sword and sorcery]], a genre of [[fantasy literature|fantasy]] based on war, fighting and magic. Indeed, many consider him the father of the genre in the same way that [[Tolkien]] is considered the father of epic fantasy. He created one of the most popular of all fantasy characters in the barbarian warrior [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan]], who first appeared in ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'' in December 1932. To add realism and depth to his new character Howard developed the fictional [[Hyborian Age]]. His other characters include the [[Atlantis|Atlantean]] [[King Kull]], the [[Puritan]] adventurer [[Solomon Kane]], the [[Picts|Pict]] [[Bran Mak Morn]], and the female warriors Dark Agnes de la Fere and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the latter the prototype for the better known [[Red Sonja]] of [[Marvel Comics]] fame.

Another field in which he was successful was supernatural horror, where he borrowed heavily from his peer and correspondent [[Howard Phillips Lovecraft]], adding his own trademarks of quickly paced action and strong characterization. His original creations like the forbidden tome [[Nameless Cults]] by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] are now considered 'canon' in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].

Howard also wrote in other genres:

* Fantasy/horror based in the American South and South-West. For example, ''[[Pigeons from Hell]]'', and other stories featuring sherriff [[Kirby Buckner]].
* Historical fiction. For example, his story ''Gates of Empire'' involves a fictional character in the struggles between [[Shirkuh]], [[Shawar]], and [[Amalric I of Jerusalem|Amalric]] for the control of Egypt, the story culminating in one of [[Saladin]]'s famous early battles in the spring of [[1167]] [[Anno Domini|AD]].
* Boxing stories. Especially the tales of [[Sailor Steve Costigan]] (sometimes known as [[Sailor Dennis Dorgan]]).
* Westerns. Especially the humorous yarns featuring [[Breckinridge Elkins]].

Howard envisioned almost all of his sword-and-sorcery stories to take place in the same literary 'universe', starting with the prehistoric adventures of James Allison's pre-incarnations, evolving in the Valusian saga of [[Kull]], then moving forward to the times of [[Atlantis]] and [[Lemuria]] (from where [[Kathulos/Skull Face]] comes), onward to the [[Hyborian Age]] of [[Conan]] and then to known history.

Howard engineered his tales so that a great Cataclysm always came to seal and divide each era from the next one, so each civilization was barely conscious of the ones that came before, and even then only in myths and legends (for example Allison's slaying of the 'Great Worm' provided us with the myths of Siegfried and Beowulf).

In one of the most memorable Howardian tales ever ([[Kings of the Night]]) a cross-over between different sagas is presented as the Pictish chieftain [[Bran Mak Morn]] magically conjures [[Kull]] the Valusian from his time to aid him in battle against the Romans and their allies.

Howard's prose is straightforward, colorful, and exciting more than subtle and literary, and it attempts to entertain rather than instruct, but it is not without sophistication. Howard tells of worlds where violence is usually the best solution to problems, and where gold, jewels, and beautiful women are often the hero's reward; yet, distancing himself from the more pedestrian emulators and epigons Howard's works have a shade of macabre, even malignant humour in contrasting his square jawed heroes' efforts with their ultimate futility in the greater pciture of things, and yet, as true Nietzscheans heroes, they accept their toil of suffering, bloodshed, passion and pain without even lamenting or complaining about it, thus achieving ultimate freedom from it.

:"Although he had his faults as a writer, Howard was a natural storyteller, whose narratives are unmatched for vivid, gripping, headlong action. His heroes... are larger than life: men of mighty thews, hot passions, and indomitable will, who easily dominate the stories through which they stride. In fiction, the difference between a writer who is a natural storyteller and one who is not is like the difference between a boat that will float and one that will not. If the writer has this quality, we can forgive many other faults; if not, no other virtue can make up for the lack, any more than gleaming paint and sparkling brass on a boat make up for the fact that it will not float." [[L. Sprague De Camp]]

Howard corresponded with other pulp authors of the day, such as [[H. P. Lovecraft]] and [[Clark Ashton Smith]].

On June 11, 1936 at around 8 o'clock in the morning, after learning his [[tuberculosis|tubercular]] mother was unlikely to regain consciousness from her [[coma]], Howard settled into the front seat of his car with a borrowed .38 Colt automatic and shot himself in the head. He never recovered consciousness, and died at 4 o'clock that day. His mother died the following day, and they shared a funeral on June 14th. Both are buried in Greenleaf Cemetery in [[Brownwood, Texas|Brownwood]].

On the morning of June 11th, 1936, Howard wrote this poem, which was found typed on a strip of paper in his billfold in his hip pocket:

<blockquote>All fled—all done, so lift me on the pyre—<br>
The Feast is over, and the lamps expire.</blockquote>

(This couplet, once thought to be a paraphrase from [[Ernest Dowson]]'s poem "''Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae''," is actually from a little-known poem entitled "The House Of Cæsar" by Viola Garvin.)

==External links==
{{Wikisource author}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.conan.com Conan's official website]
*[http://www.amrathelion.com/ Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com]
*[http://www.crossplains.com/howard/ A more detailed biography]
*[http://lovecraft.cjb.net "The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List"] - Listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more.
*[http://www.rehoward.com/ www.rehoward.com]
**[http://www.rehoward.com/reh-bio.htm A Short Biography of Robert E. Howard] by Rusty Burke

*[http://users.rcn.com/shogan/howard/howard.htm Robert E. Howard Archive]

*[http://www.rehupa.com/ Robert E. Howard United Press Association]
*[http://www.thecimmerian.com/ The Cimmerian - the premier journal concerned with the life and writings of Robert E. Howard]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118163/ ''The Whole Wide World'' (1996)] A film relating his relationship with Novalyne Price

*[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hour_of_the_Dragon The Hour of the Dragon] Howard's full length Conan novel at Wikisource.
*[http://www.blackmask.com/Pulp_Fiction/Robert_E__Howard/index.html Black Mask Collection of free Howard ebooks]
*[http://www.howardworks.com/howard.htm A comprehensive bibliography of Robert E. Howard's works]
* [http://members.shaw.ca/zav_sto/reh.htm A Robert E. Howard bibliography including pictures of book covers]
* [http://www.robert-e-howard.org/AnotherThought4ws02.html A document on the copyright and ownership status of Robert E. Howard's works (including list of works in the public domain)]
* {{isfdb name|id=Robert_E._Howard|name=Robert E. Howard}}

[[Category:1906 births|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:1936 deaths|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:American short story writers|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:Suicides|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:Fantasy writers|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:Texas writers|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:People from Texas|Howard, Robert E.]]
[[Category:Robert E. Howard| ]]
[[Category:Historical novelists|Howard, Robert E.]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:31, 31 January 2006
Line 65:		Line 65:
	* {{isfdb name\|id=Robert_E._Howard\|name=Robert E. Howard}}		* {{isfdb name\|id=Robert_E._Howard\|name=Robert E. Howard}}

	[[Category:~~1906 births~~\|Howard, Robert E.]]		[[Category:Writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	~~[[Category:1936 deaths\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~		[[Category:Historical Authors\|Howard, Robert E.]]
	~~[[Category:American short story writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Suicides\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Fantasy writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:American fantasy writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Texas writers\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:People from Texas\|Howard, Robert E.]]~~
	~~[[Category:Robert E. Howard\|~~ ]]
	[[Category:Historical ~~novelists~~\|Howard, Robert E.]]

	Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]		Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]