Robert E. Howard and Materialism

Ancient History

Ancient History

Acolyte
In December 1930, H. P. Lovecraft sent a letter to Robert E. Howard, and also enclosed a "philosophical article" by HPL—which one, exactly, isn't named and the letter is no longer extant, but from Howard's response it seems very likely that it was "Idealism and Materialism." Howard's response:

And I enjoyed your philosophical article very much. I am hardly capable of judging it, since I never devoted any study to theology, philosophy or science, but I do not think that anyone could have handled the subject in a more masterly manner. I particularly like the point you made in that truth and necessity not always coinciding, some religion is necessary for the masses. I have always maintained this, myself. As for myself, neither idealism nor materialism appeals to me greatly. That life is chaotic, unjust and apparently blind and without reason or direction any one can see; if the universe leans either way it is toward evil rather than good, as regards life and humanity. That there is any eventual goal for the human race rather than extinction, I do not believe nor do I have any faith in the eventual super-man. Yet the trend of so many materialists to suppress all primitive emotions is against my every instinct. Civilization, no doubt, requires it, and peace of mind demands it, yet for myself I had rather be dead than to live in an emotionless world. The clear white lap of science and the passionless pursuit of knowledge are not enough for me; I must live deeply and listen to the all of the common clay in me, if I am to live at all. Without emotion and instinct I would be a dead, stagnant thing.

A materialistic resignation to unalterable laws is sensible but repellent to me. I will freely admit the necessity and desirability of such a resignation which is no more than recognizing natural laws—if such things be. A man who does not resign himself is like a caged wolf who breaks his heart and beats his brains out against the bars of his cage. Yet I must admit that such a course appeals to me more than that of calm submission. Foredoomed to failure, a man can still snarl and tear. Many and many a time, when one is reeling and dizzy and sick at heart and soul, broken and tossed by the blows of fate or destiny or whatever is is that makes life a hell on earth, one may wish for the ability of philosophic resignation; but with a slight renewal of strength the old blind fighting lust comes surging back and makes him break his fangs on the iron bars anew.

I'm no philosopher, but resignation isnt in my blood. I wish it was. It isn't necessarily a hope to win that makes a man rebel against the infamies of life, vainly. Defeat is the lot of all men, and I come of a breed that never won a war. Men and women too, of my line have fought for hopeless lost causes for a thousand years. Defeat waits for us all, but some of us, worse luck, cant accept it quietly.
Click to expand...
—Robert E. Howard to H. P. Lovecraft, Dec 1930, A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard 1.112-113
 
Last edited:
More of the general populace may think they "know" Howard because of the Conan movies and TV.
Does REH have any critical champions? Glenn Lord comes to mind, though I think he is dead.
I used to drive through Cross Plains twice a year, there were never any markers about Two-Gun Bob.
Now there is a museum, though I no longer drive cross country.
I still read Howard once a year (Donald M Grant editions), but it is a pulpier experience than Lovecraft.
 
I'm getting deja vu about this so I might have had this discussion before. Everybody and their dog has written about Lovecraft but it seemed like there was fewer actual committed specialists, with a few people dominating. When I see Howard blogs and get-togethers it seems like there's more people who've been doing it for a long time.
The REH Foundation Awards also created this impression in me.
 
As with any author, you've got a relatively small, dedicated group of researchers that do the real on-the-ground legwork stuff - visiting archives, transcribing ledgers and manuscripts, etc. On the HPL side that is people like S. T. Joshi, Darrell E. Schweitzer, Kenneth W. Faig, Jr., etc. On the REH side is people like Rob Roehm, Rusty Burke, and Patrice Louinet. Beyond that, you have the ever-expansive number of biographers, critics, analysts, commenters, etc. - with much overlap. And some people take breaks from the scholarship for a while, and some of us focus on useful-but-noncritical secondary tasks (like when I compiled the index to REH's Collected Letters) and even just fun stuff (like when I put the Robert E. Howard Bar Guide together). So it can be tricky to keep track of who-is-doing-what except when they publish. I'd still say there are more people writing academically about Lovecraft, although few are devoted solely to his study - even Joshi works on other stuff on occasion.
 
My pet peeve?

Lovecraft at least gets grudging respect from some academics outside the field of weird fiction; but Howard is still regarded by most serious critics as a pulp hack. Even in the weird field, a usually perceptive critic like Joshi still holds that view.

It's a pity. "Pigeons From Hell," "Worms of the Earth," "The Valley of the Worm" and "Beyond the Black River" are among the best stories of their kind. And some of Howard's prose is breathtakingly brilliant. I've never found it hard to understand what Lovecraft and Leiber loved in Howard's fictions.
 
Ucasuni said:
Ancient History said:
Robert Adam Gilmour said:
I thought there were more RE Howard scholars than Lovecraft Scholars?
Click to expand...

Depends on your definition of each. There are more bodies writing about Lovecraft, and they get the wider press and distribution. NecronomiCon is a couple orders of magnitude bigger than Howard Days.
Click to expand...

Unless Howard Days only has, like, 15 attendees, I think you may be overstating NecronomiCon's attendance...
Click to expand...
Okay, okay, one order of magnitude. Still. Howard Days might get 130-200 people, NecronomiCon gets 1,300-2,000 people.
 
Druidic said:
My pet peeve?

Lovecraft at least gets grudging respect from some academics outside the field of weird fiction; but Howard is still regarded by most serious critics as a pulp hack. Even in the weird field, a usually perceptive critic like Joshi still holds that view.
Click to expand...

There is a serious disconnect between the perception of him among artists and the perception of him among critics. The modern fantasy authors I respect most (Wagner, Moorcock, GRRM) have all treated Howard with due reverence as a giant in the field.

Solomon Kane is my favourite of Howard's heroes. Wish he had written more of him.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for posting, Ancient History. This quote alone convinced me to purchase a copy of Howard's horror stories. Can't wait to dig in.
 
This thread has inspired me to have a Solomon Kane reread. Just finished Red Shadows. Howard's artistry is all there fully formed.
 
Penguin Classics published a Howard collection called Heroes in the Wind a few years back. Not sure how much respect that got him.
 
Wordsworth also has some Howard titles in their Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural line. Never quite sure if that was separate line to their Classics or a subset.
 
Stu said:
Wordsworth also has some Howard titles in their Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural line. Never quite sure if that was separate line to their Classics or a subset.
Click to expand...

Definitely a subset. It's a shame that line wasn't successful enough to continue but it's not surprising that a lot of it didn't have a wide appeal.
 
From the time when the earth was too hot to support human life to the time when it will be too cold, will be a mere instant in the earth’s history, compared to the millions of years before and the millions of years after man’s complete disappearance from its face. Man is an elemental being, bound by the same basic and fundamental rules which bind all elements. He is cursed with a consciousness of Life, a blessing which is a curse, as are all such blessings. He realizes his inability to control his own destiny and he rebels. He demands a special creative act, a kinship to Deity, a life and an afterlife entirely different from the rest of earth’s creatures. He rants and he roars, he boasts and he shouts, but after all, after all his self glorifying, he dies and the chemicals in his body disintegrates back to the elements which produce him.
Click to expand...
- Robert E. Howard to Harold Preece, 1928, CL1.198
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top