Whoa! It has been a hectic summer here in the wilds of Essi-Keh and the anniversary of Clark Ashton Smith's mortality nearly slipped by me. Considering that Klarkash-Ton is our Dread Editor's favorite author (along with A. Merritt) and one of my own personal literary deities, this date could not go unremarked.

As has been pointed out often on this blog, Clark Ashton Smith was one of the founders of the sword and sorcery genre. While I plan on revisiting and expanding upon the essay I wrote regarding the role of CAS in the birth of S&S, today is not that day. Feel free to read my original blog post for The Cimmerian here.

It is hard to choose from the enormity of CAS' oeuvre--over seven hundred poems--but I thought this one fitting for the occasion:

Ashes of Sunset
by Clark Ashton Smith

On lands he shall not know, the splendor lies —
A pharos on some alienated shore,
In foam and purple lost forevermore,
Where dreams are kindled in remoter eyes.

Who fares to find the sunset ere it fly,
Turning to light and fire the further west,
Shall have the veils of twilight for his guest,
And all the falling of an ashen sky.

So, gentle readers, raise a glass of Atlantean vintage to the shade of Klarkash-Ton. As always, I urge you to visit the invaluable CAS website, The Eldritch Dark. Tell 'em Deuce sent ya.