Name: SMITH, Clark Ashton Aged: 68
Born: January 13, 1893 Where: Long Valley, California
Died: August 14, 1961 Where: Pacific Grove, California
Cremated: Ashes returned to Auburn and buried beside a boulder in oak trees west of the site of the Smith family home in Long Valley, CA.
Married: Carolyn Jones Dorman When: November 10, 1954

Clark Ashton Smith

"Bow down: I am the emperor of dreams."

Probably more down to earth than any of the other great Fantasy writers, Smith was multi-talented, mastered French and Spanish, writing poetry as well as prose, sculpting/carving, and painting. All of his original works were uncast and uncopied, and have become highly collectable. He supported himself through a large variety of mostly laborous professions; such as journalist, cement mixer, hard rock miner, windlasser, typist, gardener, fruitpicker/packer, wood chopper and well digger.

While Smith started writing and selling at age 17, he soon dominated the sensational pulps of the 1930s, along with Howard and Lovecraft. Clark's period of high activity spanned only 6 major writing years, 1930 to 36. Five years later, when Smith had moved on to other things, his first major, literary publication came with an anthology of his stories in 1941 for Arkham House called Out of Space and Time, a titled borrowed, with respect, from Poe.

"Klarkash-ton" lived all of his life in California, most of it with his parents, a man content, like Thoreau, with the natural elements and inspired by them. His late marriage at age 62 to Mrs. Dorman, after his parents had passed, proved to be a positive experience and provided someone to care for him at the end.

"None strike the note of cosmic horror so well as Clark Ashton Smith."
H. P. Lovecraft

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mine here or try clicking here for several aspects.

BIOGRAPHY ONLINE: Try here and especially here.

BIOGRAPHY BOOKS: Science Fiction Writers, Scribners 1982,
and Supernatural Fiction Writers, E. F. Bleiler

OBITUARY:

Send relevant email to George C. Willick