Clark Ashton Smith Documentary Interview

Yesterday Kyle and I were interviewed for a Clark Ashton Smith documentary by Darin Coelho Spring.  Darin found out about us through our work in Spectral Realms and after finding out where we lived and that we were a couple, he wanted to interview us on CAS and his poetry.  He told us that he was intrigued that we were both young and fans of CAS and wanted to include that aspect in the film.

(Touching up on my CAS a few weeks prior to the interview.)

We all met at Kyle's house and then from there, we ate lunch at the Matador in downtown Fullerton, which had the most amazing carnitas by the way, and where he gave me the Shadow of the Unattained: The Letters of George Sterling ad Clark Ashton Smith as a gift.  During lunch, we talked about different topics so Darin could get a feel of what to ask during the interview and what we could touch upon.  He also brought us his copies of Spectral Realms for us to sign.

After lunch, we headed to a park where we sat on some autumn-leaf covered stone stairs.  We discussed many fascinating topics.  Let's see if I can remember everything.  We held up Spectral Realms and talked a little about who we are and how we're influenced and/or inspired by CAS and Kyle talked a little bit about his book.  We discussed how Kyle and I's relationship started over poetry and how CAS fit into subject matter and writing and how we share him as a common interest.  I read the Witch with Eyes of Amber and explained why it is my favorite poem and how it's awesome.  I had to read it like 3 times though because I was a tad nervous.  Kyle and I touched upon a few of CAS's stories such as the City of the Singing Flame and the Isle of Torturers.  And I was asked to give my opinion on why women might like reading CAS.  That was a curve ball for me.  I didn't think I'd have to speak for a whole gender.

(Gotta look good for the camera!)

This was an extremely fun and hopefully successful interview (we had some wind that might've affected the sound).  Definitely not bad for our first interview!

I really look forward to seeing this documentary come to life.  Other interviewees include S. T. Joshi, Wilum H. Pugmire, Donald Sidney-Fryer, and Harlan Ellison.

Darin hopes to get this played at the HPL Film Festival and that would be amazing if that happens.          

My Copies of Barbarian Crowns and the Devil's Armory.

I forgot to post pictures of these.  I got these the same day Kyle got the Crimson Tome, so these books immediately got placed aside.  You can't read it, but my name is on the cover of both.  :)

When you order them, you have a choice of which cover you prefer on the front and which you want on the back.  These were my front cover choices.

Spectral Realms No. 3 Has Arrived!

I think Hippocampus Press might've rushed a bit on this one.  The ToC is inaccurate.  It lists my poems on pages 34, 80, and 102.  My poems are really on pages 35, 77, and 100.  So I'm sure everyone else's poems are off as well.  There's also an inconsistency that I noticed in 2 of my poems.  My poem, A Queen in Hell, is dedicated to Poe and a few spaces underneath the title it reads 'For Edgar Allan Poe'.  My poem, A Perfect Rose, is dedicated to French and directly underneath the title it reads '(For Nora May French)'.  That may seem like nothing to some, but it bugs me.  They should look the same and be in the same spot.  Other than that though, the book is filled with great authors that I look forward to reading.  This should prove to be another excellent volume of weird poetry from Hippocampus Press.

 

THE CRIMSON TOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a long appointment at the dentist for a 2 wisdom teeth extraction, Kyle was able to open up his package.  And they contained all these beauties.

(No, this is not me.  This is the Nightmare Muse.)

(Kyle wrote me a love note and signed a copy for me.)

(My face is in the book!  Shown here.  After the picture of me below.)

My Recording of Dark Poetry by K. A. Opperman

My recording of Kyle's poem Dark Poetry which can be found in his book the Crimson Tome.

Barbarian Crowns Promo Pics!

In celebration of the release of Barbarian Crowns from Horrified Press, Juan has made memes with some of the contributors posing with weapons.  You can order your copy here with free shipping!  Here are mine and Kyle's pics!

 

Book Review- The Book of Jade: A New Critical Edition compiled by David E. Shultz and Michael J. Abolafia

Kyle introduced me to the Book of Jade, which the majority can be read on it's website, and I immediately saved it to my bookmarks where I would often open it up and read it a little everyday.  I loved it so much that I had to get the print-on-demand copy.  Once I acquired I read the whole thing immediately in one sitting.  His dark, Gothic verse instantly lured me in and I was happy to add it to my poetry collection.

Not much is known about the Book of Jade and its author and much of what is 'known' is shady at best.  During the reading of this critical edition I learned he was born in 1877 and 1878 and died of a heart attack due to an enlarged heart while falling down the stairs, suicide, suicide by overdose on opium and died at 23, 24, and 25.  The year he died, 1901, seems to be something all can agree on, making him either 23 or 24 depending on what year we can agree he was born in.  The majority say 1978 which I hope would be correct for 23 is the age listed at the back of the book.  :)  

When I heard Hippocampus Press was making a new edition and calling for submissions, I was excited.  I was also happy that Kyle was going to write an essay for it.  I was not going to write one at first because there isn't much known about the book and the author as I mentioned above.  But as I considered this, I realized that the Book of Jade and David Park Barnitz were obscure and maybe I was one of the few people who have read this and admired the work therein.  So instead of focusing on the author, I focused on my favorite poem, the Grotesques, or should I say "crown of sonnets comprising [of] four sonnet-length stanzas that come as essentially four slightly different variations on the same sonnet, each echoing lines and phrases from the others," (Chuck Caruso, PhD., 274).  Then my essay, the Grotesques: Sins Against the Afterlife, was born.  It is a rather short essay covering Park Barnitz's views of the beauty of the corpse and the lack of an afterlife in that poem.  I think it is a rather interesting yet unconventional essay, especially among the majority of the other critical essays inside, but Park Barntiz was unconventional during his time so I feel it is fitting!

Well I cannot speak of the beauty of the corpse without mentioning Kyle's essay, the Perfection of the Corpse: Necrophilia in the Book of Jade.  Now that is a fascinating essay and what a head turner!  If corpses and grotesqueries aren't your thing however, (if not, why are you reading the Book of Jade?!) then there are plenty of other fascinating and intriguing essays in this critical edition, such as "I Am Weary of That Lidless Eye": Gazing into the Hegelian Abyss of Subjectivity in the Mad Sonnets of Park Barnitz, by Chuck Caruso, PhD, Renaissance by David E. Shultz, and Gavin Callaghan's Park Barnitz: A Biography.