SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Behrends, Steve. “The Lost Worlds of Clark Ashton Smith”, Appendix I of Strange Shadows. Discusses the unpublished and lost weird fiction.
De Camp, L. Sprague. “Sierran Shaman: Clark Ashton Smith”, Chapter VIII of Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1974. Fact -filled and entertaining account of Smith’s life, with limited criticism of the fiction and poetry.
Fryer, Donald S.: see Sidney-Fryer, Donald
Haas, George F. “As I Remember Klarkash-Ton” (IM).
__ “Memories of Klarkash-Ton”. Nyctalops No. 8, August 1972 (Clark Ashton Smith Issue). Both articles are reprinted in BB. These two memoirs of the friendship of Haas and Smith stand as the fullest accounts of Smith’s personality, mentality, and day-to-day life in his later years.
Herron, Don. “The Double Shadow”. Chapter 4 of Jack Vance. New York: Taplinger, 1980. Notes the similar traits and characteristics in the work of Smith and Vance, including prose style, humor, satire of religion, and flair for invented names. One might also mention the common use of improbable coincidences and turns of events, as well as other deus ex machina, in their fiction.
Hillman, Arthur F. “The Poet of Science Fiction”. Fantasy Review No. 14, April-May 1949. Sympathetic discussion of Smith’s writing style and characteristics.
Marigny, Jean. “Clark Ashton Smith and his World of Fantasy”. Crypt of Cthulhu No. 26 (Hallowmass 1984, Clark Ashton Smith Issue). General overview of the fiction, with emphasis on the creation of imaginary settings for story-cycles.
Rubin, Hal. “Clark Ashton Smith—Ill-fated Master of Fantasy”. Sierran Heritage, the Magazine of Placer, Nevada, El Dorado Counties, Vol. 5. No. 1, June 1985. General discussion of Smith’s life and work, featuring anecdotes related by his Auburn neighbors.
Sidney-Fryer, Donald. “The Alleged Influence of Lord Dunsany on Clark Ashton Smith”. AMRA No. 23 (January 1963). A (rather zealous) response to L. Sprague deCamp’s statement, that CAS had been influenced heavily by Dunsany’s early fiction, this article constitutes a thoughtful and perceptive exposition of common trends and attitudes in Smith’s work. Reprinted in Klarkash-Ton #1 (Cryptic Press, 1988).
__ Emperor of Dreams. West Kingston, RI: Donald Grant, 1978. Combination biography/bibliography featuring letters of reminiscence and appraisal from Smith’s friends and contemporaries. The first book-length reference work on Smith’s writings.
__ “Clark Ashton Smith, Poet in Prose”. Introduction to PP.
__ “A Memoir of Timeus Gaylord”. The Romantist No. 2, (1978). Details Fryer’s visits with Clark and Carol as well as his overall involvement in Smith studies.
__”The Sorcerer Departs” (IM). Seminal article dealing with Smith’s life and work. In essence the parent of all further Smith studies.
Stockton, Richard. “An Appreciation of the Prose Works of Clark Ashton Smith”. The Acolyte, Spring 1946. Early article of praise; emphasis on the emotional color found in CAS. Notable in that Smith felt that Stockton “really showed some understanding of my work” (letter to S. J. Sackett, 11 July 1950). Reprinted in Klarkash-Ton #1.
Wandrei, Donald. “The Emperor of Dreams”. The Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, December 1926. Praises imagination and imagery of the poetry. Rhapsodic and ecstatic, the article nearly constitutes a prose-poem itself. Reprinted in Klarkash-Ton #1.
Wolfe, Charles K. “CAS: A Note on the Aesthetics of Fantasy”. Nyctalops No.8 (August 1972, Clark Ashton Smith Issue). Analysis of Smith as a writer within the Romantic tradition. Addresses Smith’s reactions to the “realist” movement, including a thumbnail discussion of Smith’s attitude towards illusion/reality; also notes some common tendencies in the fiction. Similar to Wolfe’s equally perceptive Introduction to PD. Reprinted in The Dark Eidolon #2 (Necronomicon Press, 1989).