Arthur Machen

[Malone]

Here's an enjoyable tribute article to Arthur Machen in today's Guardian newspaper.if you click on the comments section,you'll also find reference made to Ligotti.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/sep/29/arthur-machen-tartarus-press

[Evans]

I am disapointed by the lack of Horlicks magazine...

[qcrisp]

This thread seems to be in a strange place, so I'm not sure this is the most appropriate place for it, but here's a link to a 2013 article by John Gray, about Machen:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22648328

[Druidic]

Hey, Ibrahim! May I call you Abe?

I'm glad I found another who appreciates those two stories.
I've never been disappointed in Machen's later work because I don't expect to find another "Great God Pan." What I find and what I enjoy are well written works that contain echoes of those great works of the past. It's enough for me.

I'm very fond of all three stories you mention!

Great luck with Malpurtius.

I don't think his post-The Secret Glory fiction is generally as powerful or memorable, but there is the odd exception with The Great Return, N and a few others. I like Change.

I think he had mostly said everything he had to say with his fiction before the advent of WW1, which accounts for the general decline in quality, but his lesser WW1 era material at least provides an interesting insight into the period.

[Druidic]

I think Machen is showing similarities with "the telekinetic kid" and the damage he causes when compared to the artist and the twisted thing he gives birth to. There are more complex explanations, no doubt.

I simply saw it as using a technique from"The White People."

The same diversion is in his novel The Green Round. I generally enjoy Machen's rambling, but at times it dilutes the impact of his work. Novel of the Black Seal is a lot more focused than something like Out of the Picture and achieves a greater unity of effect, and the same goes for The Hill of Dreams when compared to The Green Round.

I still enjoy later, lesser Machen, but I am aware of his weaknesses and how, as with many writers of such fiction, the quality tapered off towards the end, though Ritual, N and others are pleasant stories I find myself returning to.

[Ibrahim]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

Hey, Ibrahim! May I call you Abe? I'm glad I found another who appreciates those two stories. I've never been disappointed in Machen's later work because I don't expect to find another "Great God Pan." What I find and what I enjoy are well written works that contain echoes of those great works of the past. It's enough for me. I'm very fond of all three stories you mention! Great luck with Malpurtius.

As i recall, you have called me Abe before, Druidic, and no- i don't mind at all. It's basically the same name.

I think the later works are interesting especially in the way that they reflect and echo and distort or comment upon his past works and themes.
But then, i tend to appreciate Late Style in a lot of artists and authors and composers. They tend to be more ferocious & genuinely indifferent to reception or reputation at this stage.

Tartarus have put The London Adventure back in print. Now just waiting for the 1890s Notebook.

The Turn of the Screw is clearly a strong influence, but it also bears the unmistakable miasma of Novel of the Black Seal, unless I have got the wrong end of the stick.

I wonder if Sarban was influenced by Walter de la Mare's Seaton's Aunt when he wrote his (underread) gem Number 14. I know he had read the collection it was in.