Eccentric, Impractical Devils: The Letters of August Derleth and Clark Ashton Smith Paperback – 31 Oct. 2020

In this collection , eventually almost every letter from CAS is a begging letter, and almost every letter from Derleth is a futile hint that CAS needs to get to work. CAS was frequently accused by various girlfriends of being lazy, unambitious, and unmotivated. He spent much of his time up to about 1925 writing unpublishable poetry. For about a decade thereafter he frantically wrote and tried to publish weird fiction, driven by the need to support his elderly, ailing parents. Once they had died, he spent much of the remainder of his life making small carvings in soft local stone, and... yes... writing more unpublishable poetry. When money was desperately needed he would take jobs like picking fruit. When Derleth founded Arkham house, once the publication of the works of H. P. Lovecraft was well under way, he turned to getting Smith's weird tales into hardback. During this period Smith was amazingly slow and unmotivated in collecting together manuscripts or tear-sheets of the tales he wanted in the books, despite his perpetual need for money, and most of his letters after the books began to be published are begging letters asking Derleth for advances on his small royalties. Derleth repeatedly begs Smith to publish more stories, to get his name back before the public and enhance book sales, but the tiny amount Smith generates is rejected by every possible market. As Smith ages his health worsens and scraps of poetry are about all that he generates... almost every letter to Derleth includes a few new poems. Smith's marriage disrupts his concentration and privacy to such an extent that creative work becomes impossible for him, and his fear and distrust of doctors means that any serious illness will mean death. The letters offer an amazing contrast between the perpetual energy and amazing productivity of Derleth and the incredible shiftlessness and irresponsibility of CAS.