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Agenbite of Inwit, whole no. 4, Spring 1944
Page 3
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******************************************************************** Agenbite of Inwit -- Spring, 1944 -- Page Three ******************************************************************** years. It is a real blot on this volume, not to be easily overlooked. "Psychopompos" and "Fungi From Yuggoth" both merit naught but praise; it is sad that the had to be preceded by such unmittigated drivel. The "Last Poems", while acceptable, are too much concerned with subjects with which the non-familiar with Weird Tales, through a fairly long range of years, cannot be expected to grasp. Francis T. Laney's Glossary is an entirely praiseworthy job, tho it really should have appeared in the first volume. And we will not condem the "Appreciation of Lovecraft" sheerly because we found it dull; it makes for a good endpiece at any rate. In 458 pages of Lovecraftiana, we find 127 questionable from the standpoint of an introduction to the man's works, and 17 absolutely objectionable. THe rest varies from good to excellent, one story and one cycle of poems superlative. By all this cannot be regarded as being five dollars worth. Lest we be accused of judging solely on monetary grounds, we might add that we have tried to approach this evalutation from the standpoint of the person, who, having read none of Lovecraft, but having heard much, invests in "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" with high expectations. Such a buyer, we feel, would be doomed to disappointment. Personally, I didn't feel cheated, being familiar with all the Lovecraft material in both volumes, save for those items first seeing public dissemination in this book. As a matter of fact, I used the volume as a Xmas gift to a friend who has read Lovecraft and wanted to see more, and do not begrudge the extra fin I had to lay out for my own personal copy. But, as indicated above, I do not feel that this present volume is one to be reccomended unreseverdly to all fans, as with the case of "The Outsider and Others". ******************************************************************** A NOTE TO MR. LANEY In your Glossary for "Beyond the Wall of Sleep", you refer to what you deem an inconsistency in the locations of Leng and Kadath. We fear you have overlooked a most vital factor, the clue of which lies in the very title of the apparently contradicting tale: "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath". It is well know, Laney, that dreams distort reality, and perpetrate grotesque travesties upon fact. Surely the fancies in this tale are not to be made to square with the cold, unromantic reality of such documents as "At the Mountains of Madness", "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", or "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". If many well-known symbols, place-names, references, and entities appear in the "Dream Quest", it is because the conscious and subconscious mind of the dreamer was heavy with dread knowledge, so that many of these symbols reccurred again and again. Surely, Mr. Laney, you do not believe that there is any actual connection with the horrifying truths in Lovecraft's serious revelations, and the amusingly distorted weavings of "Dream Quest" and others of that genre. Thus, there is no doubt on the score: as is revealed in "At the Mountains of Madnesss", Kadath lies in the Antarctic wastes. **************************************************************** SENTIMENT Yes, that's what it is. Because, upon looking up the phrase in Ulysses, we find that, either through faulty memory, or a mistype, we erred in titling this magazine. It should be Agonbite of Inwit; but we've become attached to the present Agenbite.
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******************************************************************** Agenbite of Inwit -- Spring, 1944 -- Page Three ******************************************************************** years. It is a real blot on this volume, not to be easily overlooked. "Psychopompos" and "Fungi From Yuggoth" both merit naught but praise; it is sad that the had to be preceded by such unmittigated drivel. The "Last Poems", while acceptable, are too much concerned with subjects with which the non-familiar with Weird Tales, through a fairly long range of years, cannot be expected to grasp. Francis T. Laney's Glossary is an entirely praiseworthy job, tho it really should have appeared in the first volume. And we will not condem the "Appreciation of Lovecraft" sheerly because we found it dull; it makes for a good endpiece at any rate. In 458 pages of Lovecraftiana, we find 127 questionable from the standpoint of an introduction to the man's works, and 17 absolutely objectionable. THe rest varies from good to excellent, one story and one cycle of poems superlative. By all this cannot be regarded as being five dollars worth. Lest we be accused of judging solely on monetary grounds, we might add that we have tried to approach this evalutation from the standpoint of the person, who, having read none of Lovecraft, but having heard much, invests in "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" with high expectations. Such a buyer, we feel, would be doomed to disappointment. Personally, I didn't feel cheated, being familiar with all the Lovecraft material in both volumes, save for those items first seeing public dissemination in this book. As a matter of fact, I used the volume as a Xmas gift to a friend who has read Lovecraft and wanted to see more, and do not begrudge the extra fin I had to lay out for my own personal copy. But, as indicated above, I do not feel that this present volume is one to be reccomended unreseverdly to all fans, as with the case of "The Outsider and Others". ******************************************************************** A NOTE TO MR. LANEY In your Glossary for "Beyond the Wall of Sleep", you refer to what you deem an inconsistency in the locations of Leng and Kadath. We fear you have overlooked a most vital factor, the clue of which lies in the very title of the apparently contradicting tale: "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath". It is well know, Laney, that dreams distort reality, and perpetrate grotesque travesties upon fact. Surely the fancies in this tale are not to be made to square with the cold, unromantic reality of such documents as "At the Mountains of Madness", "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", or "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". If many well-known symbols, place-names, references, and entities appear in the "Dream Quest", it is because the conscious and subconscious mind of the dreamer was heavy with dread knowledge, so that many of these symbols reccurred again and again. Surely, Mr. Laney, you do not believe that there is any actual connection with the horrifying truths in Lovecraft's serious revelations, and the amusingly distorted weavings of "Dream Quest" and others of that genre. Thus, there is no doubt on the score: as is revealed in "At the Mountains of Madnesss", Kadath lies in the Antarctic wastes. **************************************************************** SENTIMENT Yes, that's what it is. Because, upon looking up the phrase in Ulysses, we find that, either through faulty memory, or a mistype, we erred in titling this magazine. It should be Agonbite of Inwit; but we've become attached to the present Agenbite.
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