REHupa

noun

1. a short sword that may be hung from a belt. Known as the small sword, it is a shorter and much faster weapon than the rapier and is equally capable of attack and defense.

[origin: 15th century; a corruption of the Arabic khandjar, a sabre, whence also Fr. cangiar, khanjar and alfange or al-khandjar.]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

But Mark whirled round in fierce rebellion
And his lips writhed in face of a hellion.

His hanger hummed as he tore it clear
And the girl shrank back in sudden fear.

The blade whirled in a wheel of fire,
“Stand, Sir Dickon, raper and liar!
“Stand and fight for your foul desire!”

And the blades clanged in the silent room
And the blue sparks showered in the gloom.

The hanger sang through the singing air—
Mark stood weaponless and bare.

The pale girl saw his dark lips part
As the rapier sank beneath his heart.

[from “The Affair at the Tavern”; to read the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 503, Robert E. Howard Selected Poems, p. 245; and A Rhyme of Salem Town, p. 91]

Ok, so I’m jumping the gun by a day – January 22nd is the anniversary of the 106th birthday of Robert E. Howard!

This way, you can blaze your pistolas and brandish those Bowies all night long in celebration of the reason why you’re looking at this website (among other things)! Make sure you raise the libation of your choice in Ol’ Two-Gun’s general direction and honor his memory and legacy by reading some of his words. Prose or poetry will suffice. Satisfaction will ensue on both accounts!

Raise your glass to Robert E. Howard, King of the Adventure Writers! Happy birthday, Bob!

There’s still plenty of time to get your T-shirt art entry to Arlene in Cross Plains! Check out this info again and get crackin’!

noun

1. a small transverse flute with six to eight finger holes and usually no keys

[origin: ca. 1539; German Pfeife pipe, fife, from Old High German pfīfa, from Vulgar Latin pipa pipe]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Wait at the doors of your master’s halls
—For the faithful server, boards are rife—
Make no oath when the whip-lash falls—
Hark to the counsel of your wife;
Trade your harp for a peddler’s fife.
But, gods, the spray and the plunging spars!
Here is my heart—in the heart of Life
And I must follow the restless stars.

Envoi
King, there are stallions in golden stalls,
But bars of sapphire are only bars!
Bide in peace in the high safe halls—
I must follow the restless stars.

[from “To the Contented”; to read the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 425 and The Selected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 9]

This morning I learned the sad news that we’ve lost another member of our community. Margaret Ann McNeel, one of the founders of Project Pride and a friend to all of us for many years, passed away this morning. I attended her 80th birthday party last year, which you can read about in an earlier post on this blog — it has much of the story of the founding of Project Pride and of Margaret’s service to the Cross Plains community. I will repeat the short biographical paragraph here:

Margaret Ann Clark was born on January 3, 1931, to Thomas Jefferson (Jeff) and Jesse Mae Adams Clark. Her father was a farmer and for some years operated a grocery store; her mother worked at Higginbotham’s General Merchandise. Margaret graduated from Cross Plains High School in 1948, and on June 3 of that year married Carl Fred (“Pat”) McNeel. They had two children, Carl Fred III (1949-2000), and Susan Ann (born 1955), who has demonstrated the same commitment to serving the Cross Plains community that her mother has displayed. Pat operated an oil-field supply company for a number of years before ill health caused him to turn, in 1967, to running an insurance business. Margaret Ann worked with him in the insurance office until his death in 1985, at which time she sold the business to Gene Greenwood, but continued to work in the office until she finally retired in 2007.

The Robert E Howard Foundation, The Robert E Howard United Press Association, and Project Pride are pleased to announce that Charles Hoffman has accepted our invitation to be Guest of Honor at Robert E. Howard Days in June 2012.

Chuck is one of the most formidable essayists in Howard studies. His “Conan the Existentialist,” which appeared in Amra 61 (March 1974), was the opening salvo of what has come to be called “the new criticism” of Howard, criticism that took him seriously as a writer whose work had depth and substance along with the excitement and adventure. Prior to that essay, most Howard “criticism” consisted of book reviews (though some, like those of Schuyler Miller and Fritz Leiber, showed real insight) or introductions by fans who failed to take him seriously (John D. Clark famously proclaiming, “Don’t look for hidden philosophical meanings or intellectual puzzles in these yarns–they aren’t there.”). Chuck showed that Howard could not only provide rousing action, but rewarded closer reading as well. Patrice Louinet says, “‘Conan the Existentialist’ is the essay that made me want to study & write about Howard. It was a pure revelation.”

Chuck co-authored, with his long-time friend Marc Cerasini, Robert E. Howard: Starmont Reader’s Guide 35, a book that remains the most impressive critical overview of Howard’s entire corpus. A revised edition, originally planned for publication in 2006, is expected from the REH Foundation Press in 2012. (There’s a fine interview with Chuck and Marc, conducted by Steve Tompkins, over at the Cimmerian Blog archive.) Chuck and Marc also edited the first two issues of the journal Cromlech, the first periodical publication devoted to serious scholarship and criticism of REH. Determined that Howard studies should have a continuing vehicle for such work, I used Cromlech as my model when I started The Dark Man.

Chuck has written a number of acclaimed essays on Howard’s work, several of which you can read at his blog (which he hasn’t updated in a very long time, something I hope he will be prompted to remedy soon). You’ll have to dig back into his archive, but it’s worth the effort. It was due to my profound respect for his body of work that I asked Chuck to provide the essay, “Robert E. Howard: Twentieth-Century Mythmaker,” for the first volume of The Best of Robert E. Howard (Del Rey).

Make your plans now to attend Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, June 8-9, 2012, and take advantage of this all-too-rare opportunity to meet one of the towering figures of Howard studies!

noun

1. either of two large African antelopes (Connochaetes gnou and C. taurinus) with a head like that of an ox, short mane, long tail, and horns in both sexes that curve downward and outward; also called a gnu. The wildebeest is native to Africa and inhabits large plains on the African savanna where there is plenty of food for the them to eat. They are herbivorous animals that graze on grasses, leaves and shoots. The changing African seasons mean the wildebeest must migrate south in the winter, so it can continue to graze on grass. They are able to sense thunderstorms up to 30 miles away and they follow these rains across Africa in what is commonly known as the great migration. They trek around 30 miles every day and approximately 1,000 miles a year as they follow the rains in order to find the best grass. Thousands of wildebeest all tend to migrate at once creating a wildebeest stampede. They are a primary source of prey for many large African mammals, including carnivorous predators such as lions and crocodiles . When danger is spotted, the wildebeest warn each other by using groaning calls and then run together creating a stampede, both to escape approaching predators and also to intimidate them.

[origin: ca. 1824; Afrikaans wildebees, from wilde wild + bees ox]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

I was a chief once, an ebon iron-thewed warrior.
The scent of the lush grass was wine to my nostrils.
The scent of cooking meat soothed me.
I sat without the doorway of my grass roofed hut
And watched the springbok graze,
The wildebeest come up from the east with a clash of antlers,
And a rattle of hoofs.
The crocodile smote the river with its tail and my heart
Laughed.
The birds flew over, the veldt birds, in long streams
From west to east.
And afar, afar, oh pulsing heart in my black body!
And the night rose and the stars rose, great white
Spear points in the velvet black.

[from Untitled: (“A haunting cadence fills the night with fierce longing”); to read the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 340.]

“Thanks for everything you did for me, Glenn.”

“All fled – all done, so lift me on the pyre; The Feast is over and the lamps expire.”

I always think of this famous couplet found in Robert E. Howard’s billfold after his passing  whenever there is a death that affects my life.

Now that we mourn the loss of Glenn Lord I thought of how it applies to us now. While we all are profoundly sad at Glenn’s passing, realize that the Feast is not over – we sit at a bountiful table set by Glenn Lord. And we can honor Glenn’s legacy by never letting the lamp expire.

Rest in Peace, Glenn Lord – Our Great and Gracious Friend.

Bill Cavalier

The funeral service for Glenn Lord will be held on Thursday, January 5th, at 10:00 a.m. at the Rosewood Funeral Home:

3939 Pasadena Boulevard
Pasadena, Texas.
Phone: (713) 920-2171
Website: www.rosewood.cc (for directions)

There will also be a viewing on Wednesday evening, January 4th, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

A meal will be served by the church after the service. In order to give the family an accurate headcount, please contact Damon Sasser at editor@rehtwogunraconteur.com if you plan to attend.

Also, there will be a location on the funeral home’s website later today specifically for Glenn Lord where you can leave your comments. Once that’s up, the link will be posted on the REH Two-Gun Raconteur website: http://rehtwogunraconteur.com/.

Damon’s website also contains a number of links for Glenn Lord tributes.

noun

Mare: 1. obsolete. an evil preternatural being causing nightmares; 2. female horse or other equine animal especially when fully mature or of breeding age; 3. level basalt plain on the surface of the moon, appearing dark by contrast with highland areas

[origin: prior to 12th century; Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German mara incubus, Serbo-Croatian mora nightmare]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Riding down the road at evening
with the stars for steed and shoon
I have heard an old man singing
underneath a copper moon:

“God, who gemmed with topaz twilights,
opal portals of the day,
“On your amaranthine mountains,
why make human souls of clay?

“For I rode the moon-mare’s horses
in the glory of my youth,
“Wrestled with the hills at sunset—
till I met brass-cinctured Truth.

“Till I saw the temples topple,
till I saw the idols reel,
“Till my brain had turned to iron,
and my heart had turned to steel

[from “Always Comes Evening”; to read the complete poem see Always Comes Evening, p. 73; The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 146; Night Images, p. 67; and Robert E. Howard Selected Poems, p. 104]