The Last Oblivion: Best Fantastic Poetry of Clark Ashton Smith

Rating:
Summary: Romantic & Otherworldly
Review: Clark Ashton Smith isn't for everyone, but his romantic & otherworldly poems, full of sensual, exotic words and crammed with bizarre images, are, in my opinion, among the most underrated poems of the 20th century. Primarily remembered (if at all) for his stories and his association with Lovecraft, Smith was a highly original and idiosyncratic writer, visual artist and (above all) poet, a creative artist whose imagination puts him in a league with the likes of Goya, Baudelaire or Scriabin. Smith did not care about academic trends in poetry - not a modernist, he was more of an antimodernist. I guess you could classify him as a symbolist, but he mostly was concerned with expressing his inner visions, at making connections (like Lovecraft) between the human imagination and the cosmic.

This is an excellent selection of Smith's poetry - some favorites include "The Hashish Eater," ""The Witch in the Graveyard" and "A Vision of Lucifer." An added plus is the color reproductions of Smith's paintings, which are even harder to find than his poems. The editors and publisher are to be commended.

Rating:
Summary: A Strange and Profound Gnosis
Review: Excellent book! This is some of the best poetry you'll find anywhere, and its publication is a reason to rejoice! CAS excelled at a very dark and beautiful poetry and some of his best pieces are in here. It has some unreprinted material, as well as some poems that have seen very little light in the past. Great production values and three nice, full color paintings. I highly reommend it!