Not more than a week after swearing off Howard fandom for the umpteenth time, Ben is back with an all-new online publication chock full of his inimitable, indescribably illiterate ramblings on weird fiction. The name of the project is Calenture: A Journal of Studies in Speculative Verse, wherein one can peruse such certain classics as “”The Clean Shaven Barbarian: A Masculine Reading of Robert E. Howard’s ‘The Gold and the Grey’,” the first paragraph of which reads:

THE POETRY of Texan author Robert E. Howard is known to inherit a sense of barbarism, pure machismo and masculinity, in which the dominating male performs all the desired and necessary roles one is meant to embark upon. However, his work, much like the author, could not always uphold this performance, and shades of constraint and sensitivity became more apparent over the course of his life. Students of gender theory comment that masculinity has evolved into something much different than its literary predecessor; a change brought on upon the gender movements in the latter twentieth century. No longer is it a case of being a gentleman or a brute; it is now a matter of performing the ‘ideal’ subject position. Normative masculinity seeks to merge the two opposing forces together. In the following article, Howard’s “The Gold and the Grey” (a.k.a. “An Echo From the Iron Harp”, will be used to discuss the double-bind inherent in normative masculinity, operating both aggressively as power and repressively as constraint.

Great, great stuff for those of you who can’t get enough of Ben Zoom. Perhaps the best thing about the journal is that it is written using the risible quasi-academic MLA style that is the vogue in weird fiction studies, proving yet again that being MLA approved or having an article with footnotes means absolutely nothing in the real world. Without good writing and half a brain, all the citations and certifications in the world can’t help you. It’s time that fans of REH, CAS, and HPL leave all of that nonsense to real academics and concentrate instead on writing well and accurately for intelligent, general readers.

You can download the whole PDF here. Currently Calenture is soliciting papers for a special Clark Ashton Smith issue. One can only hope that Fate takes pity on poor CAS and renders the journal defunct before that can ever appear.

Chet Williamson has posted a large set of pics from the 1975 World Fantasy Con, many of which will be of interest to Howard fans. Attendees included Glenn Lord, L. Sprague de Camp, Karl Edward Wagner, David Drake, Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Manly Wade Wellman, Frank Belknap Long, and many others. Check it out.

Those of you in REHupa and who attend Howard Days know Charles Gramlich well. He was Guest of Honor at Howard Days for 2001, is assistant editor of The Dark Man, and is a longtime REHupan. A resident of Metairie, Louisiana, Charles was at ground zero of the recent devastation, and many people have been wondering about his current status.

I emailed Indy Cavalier, who reports that Larry Richter has heard from Chuck, and that while Larry doesn’t go into details he states “there isn’t much more to report than that [Chuck and his family] are OK.” That’s good news indeed. Please keep Chuck and his family in your thoughts and prayers. If any financial aid is needed by Chuck, this website will set up a donation page.

In case you haven’t heard, the World Fantasy Convention for 2006 is going to be held in Austin, Texas, and the theme of the Con will be the Centennial of Robert E. Howard’s birth. Attendance is limited, and you have to purchase a “membership.” Click on the pic to view the flyer that was passed out by the Siros brothers (i.e. the 2006 WorldCon folks) at this year’s Howard Days.

Incidentally, the Con guys were saying that Howard fans are welcome to “pack the field” of the World Fantasy Awards with nominees from Howard fandom. So The Cimmerian could be nominated for the Non-Pro Category, Wandering Star editors and artists could be nominated for their respective categories, etc. Keep that in mind when purchasing your membership, nominating, and voting. Together we can make the Con Howard-centric in more ways than one.