Clark Ashton Smith was born on January 13th, 1893, and he
was a
master fantasist whose main body of work was created during his most
active period during the 1930's.
He began as a poet, and most of the first few entries in his bibliography are collections of poetry, before moving on to writing
fiction. His short stories are filled with poetic writing and imagery, obviously making use of the talent he had for poetry. His short
fiction was inspired by many ways by his friend H. P. Lovecraft, though Smith brought his own unique vision to his work. Colorful,
baroque pieces which relied as much on irony as the lushly colored fantasy worlds in which the stories were played out.
His talents weren't limited to poetry and prose, he also got involved in other areas of art, including painting, drawing and sculpting.
His death in 1961 removed one of our most unique writers, no one really matches Smith in the small niche he created
for himself, though several have tried. Sadly many of his stories are now out of print, but many are still available through
second hand dealers.