THE DEEP ONES: "The Hounds of Tindalos" by Frank Belknap Long
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1semdetenebre
"The Hounds of Tindalos" by Frank Belknap Long
Discussion begins January 11.
ONLINE VERSIONS
http://www.donaldcorrell.com/long/hounds.html
PRINT VERSIONS
The Hounds of Tindalos
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
The Science Fiction Century
MISCELLANY
http://toomuchhorrorfiction.blogspot.com/2011/01/hounds-of-tindalos-by-frank-bel...
http://tinyurl.com/7259m38
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/frank-belknap-long/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Belknap_Long
Discussion begins January 11.
ONLINE VERSIONS
http://www.donaldcorrell.com/long/hounds.html
PRINT VERSIONS
The Hounds of Tindalos
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
The Science Fiction Century
MISCELLANY
http://toomuchhorrorfiction.blogspot.com/2011/01/hounds-of-tindalos-by-frank-bel...
http://tinyurl.com/7259m38
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/frank-belknap-long/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Belknap_Long
2artturnerjr
From the Wikipedia article on Long:
Long died on January 3, 1994 at the age of 92, survived by his wife, Lyda. Due to his poverty, he was interred in a potter's field for indigents. Friends and colleagues, on learning of this indignity, had his remains moved and reinterred at New York City's Woodlawn Cemetery, in a family plot near that of Lovecraft's grandparents. Despite a seven-decade career as a writer, he had died impoverished after many years living in the Chelsea District of Manhattan; Long's fans contributed over $3000 to have his name engraved upon the tombstone of his family plot.
Long died on January 3, 1994 at the age of 92, survived by his wife, Lyda. Due to his poverty, he was interred in a potter's field for indigents. Friends and colleagues, on learning of this indignity, had his remains moved and reinterred at New York City's Woodlawn Cemetery, in a family plot near that of Lovecraft's grandparents. Despite a seven-decade career as a writer, he had died impoverished after many years living in the Chelsea District of Manhattan; Long's fans contributed over $3000 to have his name engraved upon the tombstone of his family plot.
3artturnerjr
Some links you might find helpful as you read the story:
John Dee
Plotinus
Emanuel Moscopulus
Thomas Aquinas
Frenicle de Bessy
Ernst Haeckel
Bertrand Russell
Theosophy
I trust everybody here already knows about Einstein and Darwin. ;)
***
{More to come later}
John Dee
Plotinus
Emanuel Moscopulus
Thomas Aquinas
Frenicle de Bessy
Ernst Haeckel
Bertrand Russell
Theosophy
I trust everybody here already knows about Einstein and Darwin. ;)
***
{More to come later}
4paradoxosalpha
The cover of the WT issue in which "Hounds" first appeared:
No cover billing, just goat butt.
No cover billing, just goat butt.
5paradoxosalpha
If you really like "The Hounds of Tindalos," there's more. Long wrote another story featuring some of the same concepts, called "Gateway to Forever." It was first published in Crypt of Cthulhu #25 (1984) where I have it. I don't know if it's been reprinted.
7paradoxosalpha
> 3
That 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittanica article on magic squares (you linked via "Emanuel Moscopulus") is awesome.
That 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittanica article on magic squares (you linked via "Emanuel Moscopulus") is awesome.
8brianjungwi
well...it's the eleventh in my time zone, so i guess i'll start?
I liked this story, partially because I'm a sucker for math (although i'm horrible at it). The use of math reminded me of Lovecraft's The dreams in the witch house i think it was. Iliked the imagery of using plaster to rid his room of angles.
I was reminded of Dennis Hopper's zoned out character in Apocalpyse Now in the beginning, I didn't expect drug use, but thought it worked well enough here.
I liked this story, partially because I'm a sucker for math (although i'm horrible at it). The use of math reminded me of Lovecraft's The dreams in the witch house i think it was. Iliked the imagery of using plaster to rid his room of angles.
I was reminded of Dennis Hopper's zoned out character in Apocalpyse Now in the beginning, I didn't expect drug use, but thought it worked well enough here.
9paradoxosalpha
"Frank, Frank, a terrible and unspeakable deed was done in the beginning. Before time, the deed, and from the deed—"
This speech put me in mind of Goethe's Faust: Im Anfang war der Tat ("In the beginning was the deed," parodying John I:1). Faust too, flirts with a drug -- though it seems that he intended to suicide with it -- in the final hours of Holy Saturday in Goethe's Part I.
There's definitely a connection with "The Dreams in the Witch House," but Long seems to go even further than HPL did in connecting modern philosophy of space-time with traditional occult magic. It is in fact the case that magicians stand in protective circles and evoke demons into triangles. When Chalmers became possessed briefly, and attacked Douglas, I was reminded of Aleister Crowley's operation of the 10th Enochian Aethyr (using the "system" of John Dee and Edward Kelley), where he placed himself in the triangle, and ended up attacking his scribe Victor Neuburg, who was stationed in the circle.
Chalmers' historical kaleidoscope is pretty interesting. I was surprised and amused to read his witness of Babylonian temple prostitution, which has about as much verity as his oddball interpretation of Taoist origins. (The former was essentially fabricated by Herodotos and hallucinated by modern readers, according to The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity, an excellent study.)
This speech put me in mind of Goethe's Faust: Im Anfang war der Tat ("In the beginning was the deed," parodying John I:1). Faust too, flirts with a drug -- though it seems that he intended to suicide with it -- in the final hours of Holy Saturday in Goethe's Part I.
There's definitely a connection with "The Dreams in the Witch House," but Long seems to go even further than HPL did in connecting modern philosophy of space-time with traditional occult magic. It is in fact the case that magicians stand in protective circles and evoke demons into triangles. When Chalmers became possessed briefly, and attacked Douglas, I was reminded of Aleister Crowley's operation of the 10th Enochian Aethyr (using the "system" of John Dee and Edward Kelley), where he placed himself in the triangle, and ended up attacking his scribe Victor Neuburg, who was stationed in the circle.
Chalmers' historical kaleidoscope is pretty interesting. I was surprised and amused to read his witness of Babylonian temple prostitution, which has about as much verity as his oddball interpretation of Taoist origins. (The former was essentially fabricated by Herodotos and hallucinated by modern readers, according to The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity, an excellent study.)
10semdetenebre
"Hounds" is just brimming with barely-contained hysteria. You can practically read a young Frank Belknap Long's mind as he races to impress his mentor. Overall, I don't think it really works as a story. At any rate, nothing much happens beyond a couple of scenes which you'd fully expect, but that doesn't mean the tale isn't entertaining!
Long makes some interesting attempts at incorporating modern scientific ideas as a means of explaining the unnerving events (near the end, I loved the way in which the narrator invokes Einstein as a more-than-suitable substitute for the Lord's Prayer), but I do think that Fritz Leiber - another of HPL's young disciples - was always much more successful at pulling this off.
I really liked FBL's unexpectedly working in Taoism as a means of explaining Chalmer's intent! That's a pretty novel idea! Chalmers also makes a great mad scientist - I wonder if he's intended to be an answer to HPL's Crawford Tillinghast in the story "From Beyond"?
The "Occult Writer" newspaper story at the end doesn't work, and acts like a speed bump. It's not really written in a journalistic style (which Lovecraft could have done well), and is really just a continuation of the story up until then.
One thing that "Hounds" has in spades is plenty of great lines:
"The Hounds of Tindalos!" he muttered. "Thev can only reach us through angles. We must eliminate all angles from this room. I shall plaster up all of the corners, all of the crevices. We must make this room resemble the interior of a sphere."
"Forgive me." he cried. "I did not mean to offend you. You have a superlative intellect, but I—I have a superhuman one. It is only natural that I should be aware of your limitations."
"They are lean and athirst!" he shrieked. "The Hounds of Tindalos!"
"When I awake I may be able to supply the key to whatever is mysterious or incredible. I am not sure that I shall succeed, but if I do succeed"- his eyes were strangely luminous- "time will exist for me no longer!"
....and of course, the classic denouement:
"It is growing dark in the room. I must phone Frank. But can he get here in time? I will try. I will recite the Einstein formula. I will—God. they are breaking through! They are breaking through! Smoke is pouring from the coiners of the wall 'Their tongues—ahhhhh—"
Long makes some interesting attempts at incorporating modern scientific ideas as a means of explaining the unnerving events (near the end, I loved the way in which the narrator invokes Einstein as a more-than-suitable substitute for the Lord's Prayer), but I do think that Fritz Leiber - another of HPL's young disciples - was always much more successful at pulling this off.
I really liked FBL's unexpectedly working in Taoism as a means of explaining Chalmer's intent! That's a pretty novel idea! Chalmers also makes a great mad scientist - I wonder if he's intended to be an answer to HPL's Crawford Tillinghast in the story "From Beyond"?
The "Occult Writer" newspaper story at the end doesn't work, and acts like a speed bump. It's not really written in a journalistic style (which Lovecraft could have done well), and is really just a continuation of the story up until then.
One thing that "Hounds" has in spades is plenty of great lines:
"The Hounds of Tindalos!" he muttered. "Thev can only reach us through angles. We must eliminate all angles from this room. I shall plaster up all of the corners, all of the crevices. We must make this room resemble the interior of a sphere."
"Forgive me." he cried. "I did not mean to offend you. You have a superlative intellect, but I—I have a superhuman one. It is only natural that I should be aware of your limitations."
"They are lean and athirst!" he shrieked. "The Hounds of Tindalos!"
"When I awake I may be able to supply the key to whatever is mysterious or incredible. I am not sure that I shall succeed, but if I do succeed"- his eyes were strangely luminous- "time will exist for me no longer!"
....and of course, the classic denouement:
"It is growing dark in the room. I must phone Frank. But can he get here in time? I will try. I will recite the Einstein formula. I will—God. they are breaking through! They are breaking through! Smoke is pouring from the coiners of the wall 'Their tongues—ahhhhh—"
11paradoxosalpha
> 10
The literary merits of "Hounds" far surpass "Gateway to Forever," which I re-read during my commute this morning. That one has a romantic subplot (or is it a core plot) that doesn't really go anywhere, and an assortment of clunky and ineffective language. One thing I did like about it was the use of deja vu and perplexing "impossible" memories in a story that hasn't yet revealed itself to be about time travel.
The literary merits of "Hounds" far surpass "Gateway to Forever," which I re-read during my commute this morning. That one has a romantic subplot (or is it a core plot) that doesn't really go anywhere, and an assortment of clunky and ineffective language. One thing I did like about it was the use of deja vu and perplexing "impossible" memories in a story that hasn't yet revealed itself to be about time travel.
12semdetenebre
>3 artturnerjr:
Art - I forgot to thank you for compiling that little list of explanatory links for the names.
>8 brianjungwi:
I liked this story, partially because I'm a sucker for math (although i'm horrible at it).
Brian, I know what you mean! :)
>9 paradoxosalpha:
Can you recommend a particular biography of Crowley?
The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity - paradoxosalpha, your correlations to the contents of esoteric volumes new and old never fails to impress!
>11 paradoxosalpha:
And yet 55 years separate the writing of "Hounds" (1929) and "Gateway" (1984)!
Art - I forgot to thank you for compiling that little list of explanatory links for the names.
>8 brianjungwi:
I liked this story, partially because I'm a sucker for math (although i'm horrible at it).
Brian, I know what you mean! :)
>9 paradoxosalpha:
Can you recommend a particular biography of Crowley?
The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity - paradoxosalpha, your correlations to the contents of esoteric volumes new and old never fails to impress!
>11 paradoxosalpha:
And yet 55 years separate the writing of "Hounds" (1929) and "Gateway" (1984)!
13paradoxosalpha
> 12 biography of Crowley?
There sure are a lot of them.
The current reference standard (happily superseding the execrable hit-job of Symonds' The Great Beast) is the rather mammoth Perdurabo. The same author has written a much shorter treatment that includes some digest information on Crowley's teachings, published as The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley.
A Magick Life is quite good, and fairly substantial. It's addressed more to a lay public, rather than Thelemites and magicians. Do What Thou Wilt is a little more scholarly, but still manageable.
There sure are a lot of them.
The current reference standard (happily superseding the execrable hit-job of Symonds' The Great Beast) is the rather mammoth Perdurabo. The same author has written a much shorter treatment that includes some digest information on Crowley's teachings, published as The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley.
A Magick Life is quite good, and fairly substantial. It's addressed more to a lay public, rather than Thelemites and magicians. Do What Thou Wilt is a little more scholarly, but still manageable.
14AndreasJ
Ah, yet another protagonist afflicted with an unconquerable impulse to write in the face of death! To the point of actually writing down the final "ahhhhh" of terror. Would that real-life victims of mysterious deaths were equally graphomaniac.
A sin of implausibility commited by many other weird writers, certainly, but particularly jarring here as a more convincing alternative is all but suggested by the text itself - Chalmers could have phoned Frank a final time and delivered his final words that way as the Hounds interrupted him.
That off my chest, there's plenty to like in the story too, particularly in the first two sections. (As KentonSem says, the final newspaper bit is weak.) One little thing I liked in section III is the suggestion that the narrator of I-II will be arrested for the apparent murder.
A sin of implausibility commited by many other weird writers, certainly, but particularly jarring here as a more convincing alternative is all but suggested by the text itself - Chalmers could have phoned Frank a final time and delivered his final words that way as the Hounds interrupted him.
That off my chest, there's plenty to like in the story too, particularly in the first two sections. (As KentonSem says, the final newspaper bit is weak.) One little thing I liked in section III is the suggestion that the narrator of I-II will be arrested for the apparent murder.
15lammassu
I liked the story, and I agree with kentosem, in regards to the 'periodical' falling flat. Overall, the structure of the story is pretty formulaic, and it's apparent HPL is Long's mentor by how the story is arranged. I like that one quote from Chalmers: "All time and space is an illusion!" Man, I've been saying that for years now! Finally, I enjoyed the treatment Long gave to Astral travel, it reminded me somewhat of Liber Thisarb. I got the impression that while Chalmers was traveling through time, he was doing so from the eyes of his past incarnations. I don't know if that was Long's intent, but it's pretty kewl. One question, where did the term 'Tindalos' come from? I'm curious, because Long sorta springs the name on us without really delving into what he's referring to.
16paradoxosalpha
> 15
I've always assumed "Tindalos" was an original coinage, but it does have a sort of Hellenistic flavor to it, as contrasted with the often-Semitic character of proper names invented by Dunsany and HPL.
The whole "past incarnations" take reminds me of The Star Rover.
I've always assumed "Tindalos" was an original coinage, but it does have a sort of Hellenistic flavor to it, as contrasted with the often-Semitic character of proper names invented by Dunsany and HPL.
The whole "past incarnations" take reminds me of The Star Rover.
17lammassu
Yeah, that's the one thing my brain can't wrap around, because Chalmer's claims that when he travels to the very beginning of time to that "deed" that shouldn't have happened, he explains that there are no shapes or light or spatial formation. The very fabric of time and space are seen as curves and angles. Maybe 'Tindalos' is from another language; it sounds Hellenistic to me as well, so could it at least have roots in Greek? I don't know, it reads like it's a place, but it might be a state of mind or psychological condition.
I'll have to read the Star Rover when I get home. I was like "yes, yes yes!" while reading Chalmers description of his astral travel, but I groaned at his interpretation of the Tao.
I'll have to read the Star Rover when I get home. I was like "yes, yes yes!" while reading Chalmers description of his astral travel, but I groaned at his interpretation of the Tao.
18paradoxosalpha
I just googled about some, and discovered that tindalo is a Melanesian word for ghost. Keep in mind that in the early 20th century, the Melanesian culture provided a paradigm for anthropological theories of magic, sorcery, and religious numina. See for example, this item from the lemma on "Magic" in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittanica:
a. Mana in Melanesia is a force, a being, an action, a quality, or a state; it is transmissible and contagious, and is hence associated with taboo; it may be regarded as material and seen in the form of flames or heard; it is the power which is inherent in certain spirits, among which are included such of the dead as are denominated tindalos; it may also be a force inherent in some inanimate object, such as a stone which causes the yams to grow, but it is a spiritual force and does not act mechanically; it is the power of the magician and of the rite; the magic formula is itself mana.
19AndreasJ
I assumed that Chalmers recognized the (?)creatures as something he'd read of under the name "Hounds of Tindalos" in his occult studies.
ETA: xpost with paradoxalpha
ETA: xpost with paradoxalpha
20semdetenebre
>17 lammassu:
I liked FBL's attempt at incorporating Taosim into the Mythos simply because it is a novel (if rather unlikely) approach. I give him points for trying in this case!
>18 paradoxosalpha:
Well Googled! I think that's a pretty bankable supposition.
I liked FBL's attempt at incorporating Taosim into the Mythos simply because it is a novel (if rather unlikely) approach. I give him points for trying in this case!
>18 paradoxosalpha:
Well Googled! I think that's a pretty bankable supposition.
21lammassu
>18 paradoxosalpha:
Okay kewl, "ghost hounds" sounds better than "hounds from Jersey". I'll have to study the Melanesian culture now.
>20 semdetenebre:
Yeah, I'll give him props for incorporating Taoism, but his approach is definetly telling of the times when this story was written. Eastern philosophy still being a new and exotic concept to the western world in general. And the idea of Lao Tze taking a psychadelic to learn of the Tao reminds me of the pedophile wizard creature from "Your Higness".
Okay kewl, "ghost hounds" sounds better than "hounds from Jersey". I'll have to study the Melanesian culture now.
>20 semdetenebre:
Yeah, I'll give him props for incorporating Taoism, but his approach is definetly telling of the times when this story was written. Eastern philosophy still being a new and exotic concept to the western world in general. And the idea of Lao Tze taking a psychadelic to learn of the Tao reminds me of the pedophile wizard creature from "Your Higness".
22artturnerjr
>7 paradoxosalpha: & 12
The links were just something I did for my own amusement while I was rereading the story. Unfortunately I kind of ran out of gas before I was able to compile a more complete list.
>8 brianjungwi:, 14, & 15
So nice to see you folks here. Please continue to join us in the future!
>10 semdetenebre:
"Hounds" is just brimming with barely-contained hysteria. You can practically read a young Frank Belknap Long's mind as he races to impress his mentor. Overall, I don't think it really works as a story. At any rate, nothing much happens beyond a couple of scenes which you'd fully expect, but that doesn't mean the tale isn't entertaining!
You nailed it, Kenton. I felt like this tale had some really interesting ideas but was far too manic and staccato to be an effective piece of weird fiction. A lot of folks make fun of HPL's rolling, baroque, somewhat prolix style, but "Hounds" is (if nothing else) an effective demonstration of why that style works so well for weird fiction; you really need to develop the requisite atmosphere for the genre and that's difficult to do if you or one of your characters is jabbering away like a speed freak.
I, too, enjoyed the (perhaps deliberately addlepated) references to Taoism and Lao Tzu. Taoism is probably the religion that I find most harmonious to my own worldview, and I find the Tao Te Ching to be a sublime source of provocation and delight.
The links were just something I did for my own amusement while I was rereading the story. Unfortunately I kind of ran out of gas before I was able to compile a more complete list.
>8 brianjungwi:, 14, & 15
So nice to see you folks here. Please continue to join us in the future!
>10 semdetenebre:
"Hounds" is just brimming with barely-contained hysteria. You can practically read a young Frank Belknap Long's mind as he races to impress his mentor. Overall, I don't think it really works as a story. At any rate, nothing much happens beyond a couple of scenes which you'd fully expect, but that doesn't mean the tale isn't entertaining!
You nailed it, Kenton. I felt like this tale had some really interesting ideas but was far too manic and staccato to be an effective piece of weird fiction. A lot of folks make fun of HPL's rolling, baroque, somewhat prolix style, but "Hounds" is (if nothing else) an effective demonstration of why that style works so well for weird fiction; you really need to develop the requisite atmosphere for the genre and that's difficult to do if you or one of your characters is jabbering away like a speed freak.
I, too, enjoyed the (perhaps deliberately addlepated) references to Taoism and Lao Tzu. Taoism is probably the religion that I find most harmonious to my own worldview, and I find the Tao Te Ching to be a sublime source of provocation and delight.
23lammassu
>22 artturnerjr:
During college, I would carry a pocket size Tao Te Ching with me everywhere I went, and periodically open the book at random and read that verse (kinda like bibliomancy). To this day I still find comfort and joy within those pages.
During college, I would carry a pocket size Tao Te Ching with me everywhere I went, and periodically open the book at random and read that verse (kinda like bibliomancy). To this day I still find comfort and joy within those pages.
24artturnerjr
>23 lammassu:
I discovered the Tao Te Ching through what may be the most unlikely & inauspicious channel imaginable. I was reading Dennis O'Neil's Batman: Knightfall, which is a prose novelization of a Batman comic book story arc, and came across a reference to the Tao Te Ching in a passage describing Bruce Wayne's reading matter while convalescing after suffering from a particularly ferocious supervillain ass-whuppin'. It didn't really say anything about it other than it was short, but that was apparently sufficient to entice me to look for a copy the next time I was at my local public library (I picked up the Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English translation (ISBN: 0679724346), primarily because I liked the cover). I got it home and started to read it and was, like millions of others before me, blown away.
So, yeah... if I ever cross paths with O'Neil at a comics con, I'll have to make it a point to shake his hand & say thanks. :D
I discovered the Tao Te Ching through what may be the most unlikely & inauspicious channel imaginable. I was reading Dennis O'Neil's Batman: Knightfall, which is a prose novelization of a Batman comic book story arc, and came across a reference to the Tao Te Ching in a passage describing Bruce Wayne's reading matter while convalescing after suffering from a particularly ferocious supervillain ass-whuppin'. It didn't really say anything about it other than it was short, but that was apparently sufficient to entice me to look for a copy the next time I was at my local public library (I picked up the Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English translation (ISBN: 0679724346), primarily because I liked the cover). I got it home and started to read it and was, like millions of others before me, blown away.
So, yeah... if I ever cross paths with O'Neil at a comics con, I'll have to make it a point to shake his hand & say thanks. :D
25semdetenebre
>22 artturnerjr:
I've got to see if I can dig up some correspondence between HPL and FBL in which they discuss "Hounds". After I finish the Victorian true-crime book The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, I think I might begin the second volume of Joshi's I Am Providence. There is bound to be some info in there.
Confession: "Hounds" is not the story I thought it was! It's been many years since I read it in the Hounds of Tindalos volume, but I was expecting the story to take place in a nursery, in which an extra-dimensional gate opens, threatening a child. I have to do some digging - now I'm thinking that story might actually have been by Leiber or maybe Bloch. It was a Mythos tale, though. Besides finding some excellent stories I haven't read, these DEEP ONES discussions are greatly assisting in reacquainting me with ones that I have!
>22 artturnerjr:, 23
I've always found Taoism to be the only religion that comes close to making sense. It's dogma free. It is a discipline, though, and I'm far too undisciplined to be a worthy adherent!
I've got to see if I can dig up some correspondence between HPL and FBL in which they discuss "Hounds". After I finish the Victorian true-crime book The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, I think I might begin the second volume of Joshi's I Am Providence. There is bound to be some info in there.
Confession: "Hounds" is not the story I thought it was! It's been many years since I read it in the Hounds of Tindalos volume, but I was expecting the story to take place in a nursery, in which an extra-dimensional gate opens, threatening a child. I have to do some digging - now I'm thinking that story might actually have been by Leiber or maybe Bloch. It was a Mythos tale, though. Besides finding some excellent stories I haven't read, these DEEP ONES discussions are greatly assisting in reacquainting me with ones that I have!
>22 artturnerjr:, 23
I've always found Taoism to be the only religion that comes close to making sense. It's dogma free. It is a discipline, though, and I'm far too undisciplined to be a worthy adherent!
26paradoxosalpha
From the Tao Te Cthulhu:
Those who know, don't talk.
They gibber incoherently.
Those who talk, don't know.
Lucky bastards.
Those who know, don't talk.
They gibber incoherently.
Those who talk, don't know.
Lucky bastards.
27semdetenebre
Some exciting May 11, 2021 news from S.T. Joshi:
"Let me begin this blog post with the most momentous news I can think of: Lovecraft’s letters to Frank Belknap Long have now reached the John Hay Library! I imagine many of you are aware of the long and at times frustrating effort to purchase these letters (more than 500 pages of handwritten manuscript) since they were purchased in late 2006 by L. W. Currey. Well, the goal has finally been achieved, thanks largely to Derrick Hussey’s Aeroflex Foundation, the crowdfunding campaign launched by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and, of course, my own sale of books from the library of W. H. Pugmire. It will no doubt take the library several months to scan the letters and make them available to David E. Schultz and me for editing; so one should not expect to see these letters in print until 2023. We hope to publish Long’s side of the correspondence (which survives in abundance) as well, so that in all likelihood this will be a two-volume job."
http://stjoshi.org/news.html
"Let me begin this blog post with the most momentous news I can think of: Lovecraft’s letters to Frank Belknap Long have now reached the John Hay Library! I imagine many of you are aware of the long and at times frustrating effort to purchase these letters (more than 500 pages of handwritten manuscript) since they were purchased in late 2006 by L. W. Currey. Well, the goal has finally been achieved, thanks largely to Derrick Hussey’s Aeroflex Foundation, the crowdfunding campaign launched by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and, of course, my own sale of books from the library of W. H. Pugmire. It will no doubt take the library several months to scan the letters and make them available to David E. Schultz and me for editing; so one should not expect to see these letters in print until 2023. We hope to publish Long’s side of the correspondence (which survives in abundance) as well, so that in all likelihood this will be a two-volume job."
http://stjoshi.org/news.html
