Who remembers Joseph Payne Brennan? Some of you I am sure, though not nearly as many as his work deserves. He merits a position in the lineages of Weird Horror analogous to those of David Goodis, Chester Himes, Jim Thompson, Dorothy B. Hughes, and Charles Willeford in Noir—a major practitioner of the form who arose in its postwar Silver Age. Stephen King remembers him, and has paid him homage in stories such as “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” and “The Raft.” Thomas Ligotti remembers him, and it becomes apparent in his verse—Brennan was perhaps the finest poet Weird Fiction ever had—yes, better for the most part than even Clark Ashton Smith, who had a tin ear (though “The Hashish Eater” is a masterpiece, no argument there). Continue reading
Scott Nicolay
Ana Kai Tangata
Tag: Godzilla
This week John Langan discusses Readercon, the creation of the Shirley Jackson Awards and that award’s intimate connection to the Weird Renaissance, his upcoming third collection Sefira and Other Betrayals and second novel The Fisherman, rewriting classic monsters for the 21st century–from vampires to Frankenstein to Godzilla, the importance of Jeffrey and Scott Thomas to The Weird, approaches to narrative and the tricks of his trade, literary models from Henry James to William Faulkner, why character is key to keeping the cosmic horror worldview interesting, the importance of reading widely, who to read, and why the current Weird Lit movement is more exciting than ever.
This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.
Additional Links:
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, Deluxe Special Edition
Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters
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