Visions of other worlds: Howard Days a celebration of Cross Plains writer Howard's legacy

Abilene

The small room where Robert E. Howard wrote his pulp fiction tales in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Care has been taken to replicate the room much as Howard would have had it, including the same sort of typewriter he used, an Underwood No. 5.

CROSS PLAINS — It is a small, white house on one side of the road of State Highway 36 just inside the city limits. Easy to miss, at least at first.

But there are signs that there is something special about the place.

There is, if you’re paying close attention, a sign, a plaque and a covered pavilion nearby. Clues that something history-making happened there.

An understatement, as it turns out. Plaques and signs only spell out so much.

In a small bedroom within those white walls, pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard forged universes.

About that 'popular American author'

Writing at the height of pulp fiction in the late 1920s and through the mid-1930s, stories of gods, heroes and forgotten horrors were penned in this house, tales of men and women both brave and nefarious, stories of unknown worlds — and spaces suspiciously familiar.

"I think we're on the cusp of taking him very, very seriously as a popular American author," said David C. Smith, guest of honor at the yearly Robert Howard Days, during which scholars and fans come to celebrate the writer each June in Cross Plains.

"He has a lot more to offer than the image of him that we've gotten so far, and when you have good, thoughtful, gifted people like this ... they are now doing the groundwork to really start going forward with Howard studies," said Smith, himself a writer of heroic fantasy, a former medical editor and author of 2018's "Robert E. Howard: A Literary Biography."

The Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains. Each year in June, fans from across the world come to the tiny Texas town to celebrate the life and legacy of pulp fiction writer Robert Howard, who lived in Cross Plains and created, among other characters, Conan the Cimmerian and Solomon Kane.

Born and raised in Texas, Howard spent the best portion of his life in Cross Plains, with some time in Brownwood.

He is well known for having helped create the sword and sorcery genre, bringing life to characters such as Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Atlantis and Bran Mak Morn.

But by the time of his death June 11, 1936, at 30, he had written abundant tales within all genres of the pulps.

Boxing stories, tales of adventurers such as Solomon Kane, chronicles of comedic wanderers such as Sailor Steve Costigan, westerns, detective stories and more sprang forth from his creative genius.

So did poetry and personal correspondence with friends and literary figures, such as horror giant H.P. Lovecraft.

A complex character himself, Howard’s works are still well-read, and his characters are beloved.

Film adaptations, comic books, video and board games, and well-crafted reprints of his tales are now available, along with an ever-increasing number of scholarly essays, publications and books celebrating him in all of his manifestations.

His life and legacy are complicated by the manner of his death – suicide.

Guests to the Robert E. Howard Museum during 2019's Howard Days get some context on the writer from Project Pride docent Bettie Cavanaugh on Saturday.

He took his life shortly after being told his mother, who had been sickly all of her life, was likely to die, and controversial assumptions made about the writer by early biographer and editor L. Sprague de Camp, himself a popular fiction writer, and others about his mental health.

But his impact on popular culture is undeniable, and while scholars said during a panel Friday that appreciation of Howard is a bit behind the curve of that his contemporary Lovecraft, that aspect, too, is growing.

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Pride in history

Era Lee Hanke, Susan McNeel Childers and Bill Cavalier reminisce about the early history of Project Pride in Cross Plains, the group that purchased and now maintains the home where pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard grew up.

Project Pride, a local organization, is responsible for the purchase and restoration of the property where Robert Howard and his family, father Dr. Isaac Mordecai Howard and mother Hester lived.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the group saw the potential for Howard’s old home.

“Early on, we became aware of all of this and thought: This is going to be the hook that will bring the world to Cross Plains,” said Arlene Stephenson, the group's president. “And through some of the early visionaries that put money on the line to purchase the house, and all kinds of blood, sweat and tears from local people and folks … from around the world, it has become that reality.”

What has enabled the organization to endure and do good work through the years is “this whole Howard movement,” Stephenson said.

From a first, nascent group of enthusiasts in 1986, the Howard Days gathering, sponsored by Project Pride, the Robert E. Howard Foundation and the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, has grown to attract people from all over the United States and even internationally.

"At this moment, Howard is way bigger in France than he is the (United) States," said French scholar Patrice Louinet, who regularly travels to Cross Plains to present at Howard Days. "He's everywhere. ... In France, everyone is going to say that there are two founding fathers of fantasy. One is Tolkien, and one is Howard."

Bill Cavalier and Arlene Stephenson talk about the history of Project Pride, which maintains the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains.

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Work to be done

That's not quite the case even in America, at least yet, Louinet said.

And even those who grew up in the area sometimes don’t know much about Cross Plains' enduring gem.

Stephanie Childress traveled from Austin Friday and Saturday to attend Howard Days.

A 2000 graduate of Cross Plains High School, Childress now has a master’s degree and a background in Renaissance literature.

She said she wanted “mainly just to learn” about Howard, though she harbors a particular interest in his letters to and from Lovecraft.

Jeffrey Shanks, Patrice Louinet, and Chris Gruber talk about Robert E. Howard's Sailor Steve Costigan, a comedic character in some of Howard's manifold pulp fiction writings.

“I’m just interested in him as a person, really,” she said. “I’ve read his poetry, and I’m just starting some of his fiction.”

Childress said grandmother was involved in the restoration of Howard’s home, and she was aware Howard existed when she was younger.

She felt there was a “blindspot” the town harbored even then toward Howard one that she thinks may persist — at least in some quarters — even in what is a comparative golden age for the writer.

“I think what’s interesting for me is the ways the community does or does not recognize him,” she said. “… I want to understand that.”

On Saturday, Childress said she was still learning — and surprised just how many angles one can approach the Howard from.

The Howard House has survived its share of disasters. It was damaged by a tornado in 1994, then later threatened by a huge fire in 2005.

Progress continues

At the local scale, students in the high school's junior English class recently traveled to the local museum to learn about the writer.

Worldwide, the number of books, games, films, and other properties related to Howard continues to grow.

Smith said that to understand Howard, it's vital to "ground him in his time, give him his due for his talent, and really, appreciate what we was doing."

"He brought so much stuff to everything that he did," adding that every page of Howard's writing has "three or four things going on," from the poetry of his language to the strength of his characterizations.

"I think as soon as we realize that and spread the word about that, we will have a real appreciation for what he did," Smith said.

Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney talks about Robert E. Howard's legacy and process as a writer in a mini-symposium at the yearly Howard Days celebration in Cross Plains Friday. Also pictured are (from left to right) are Jason Ray Carney, Ralph Norris, and Jeffrey H. Shanks.

A day trip to Cross Plains for Howard, more

Howard Days happens every year on the second full weekend in June. Before or after, you can still visit the Robert E. Howard Museum, 625 West State Highway 36, with a phone call to Project Pride at 254-725-6562, 254-725-4993, or 254-725-9480.

The yearly Barbarian Festival, held around the same time, also attracts people who want to have some old-fashioned fun.

While you're in town, you might want to check out the recently-opened Woody's Classic Cars & Baseball Museum at 500 Southwest Fifth St., 254-725-4042.

There are plenty of local places to dine, and a fine array of shops on Main Street to check out, including the Higginbotham Brothers hardware store, which has served the town for more than 100 years.