World Fantasy had many temptations, and I wound up leaving with a hordelet of books. This isn’t everything I brought back, but it’s most of what I actually bought. I got to meet Simon Strantzas and Mike Kelly, who were sharing a table with the one-the only-Nick Kaufmann, for the first time in person at the mass signing. Subsequently I had the pleasure of chatting briefly with Mike at the ChiZine’s hopping Meet & Greet.
These books all appeal to me for one reason or another, and I’m looking forward to reading them. Odds are that if you follow weird fiction, you probably recognize most of these, but I think there’s a chance that some of you may be saying “Joseph Payne who?”
Joseph Payne Brennan was a mid-20th century poet & writer who published in the original Weird Tales, arguably wrote the story that most influenced The Blob, and was an influence on Thomas Ligotti. I like his poetry best of all. His poems range from well made nature poems, to genuinely numinous lyrics that would sit comfortably on the shelf next to “The Willows” or “The Great God Pan.” If you like poetry and the Weird, and you haven’t read him, I urge you to check out his work.