Bobby Derie's Cross Plains Pilgrimage is a free book that Derie gifted to modern pilgrims to Cross Plains, i.e. guests of Robert E. Howard Days 2022. It is a fascinating book and demonstrates Derie's scholarly shrewdness while also vividly illuminating an interesting episode in Howard's life, his visit by E. Hoffman Price, a fellow Weird Tales writer. Here is a brief summary of the books' contents.
The introduction gives an overview of the Price visit. This is followed by two chapters dedicated to E. Hoffman Price and Robert E. Howard accordingly. The E. Hoffman Price profile is interesting and highlights Hoffman's military career, his traveling experiences, and gives a sense of where Hoffman was in life when he initially visited Cross Plains. The Robert E. Howard profile is compressed and emphasizes Howard's relationship and correspondence with Price. Both profiles include linoleum cut art of Howard and Price that were made by Duane W. Rimel for The Fantasy Fan and later restored by Allan Harvey. As a general note, the attention to design and layout in this not-for-profit book--interior art, maps, diagrams--is truly appreciated.
The next chapter, "8-11 April 1934: On the Road Again," details the initial visit by Price to Howard. It is highly researched and collates a variety of epistolary and later recorded memories to recreate the visit in detail. We get a veritable "hour-by-hour" account that details fine grain topics such as meals and conversations. There is little speculation. Where speculation is attempted, it is informed, subtle, and restrained.
The subsequent chapters, "Between Journeys" and "18-20 October 1935: Paying a Call," are less detailed than the previous chapters but cover much more territory, i.e. the months following Price's first visit and his return "call" the following year. Next, there is a brief note, "The Unfinished Pilgrimage," detailing another visit that Price was planning. This is followed by a retrospective essay titled, "E. Hoffman Price on Robert E. Howard." Here Derie explores Price's life after the visit and how it related to his memories and the feelings Price had about his role in later pulp (and popular) literature fandom. We get a sense that Price's memories are a valuable source of information, that they are mostly consistent and related in good faith, and that the visit made an impact on Price.
After this the book shifts gears from focusing on the pilgrimage to provide context. For example, Price's story, "The Girl from Samarcand" is included. There is a humorous comic adaptation of Howard's poem, "Cimmeria" included, adapted by R. Sikoryak, and a fascinating essay about the livestock--cows and goats--kept by the Howard family which emphasizes the cow, named "Delhi," that was present when Price visited.
The cover art, created by Meredith McClaren, combines a cartoon rendering of Howard and Price in front of a photo of the Howard House and is quite unique and appealing. The interesting interior maps of the pilgrimage and layouts of the Howard House are by Jason C. Eckhardt, an artist widely known by H.P. Lovecraft fans.
Overall, material like this is what makes Howard Days so special. Derie's Cross
Plains Pilgrimage is a lovingly prepared literary artifact and gives a
sense that Howard Days, our annual pilgrimage to Howard's home, has a long history.
Reading this book after spending a hot weekend in Cross Plains, I feel somewhat
close to Price. Hopefully you were lucky enough to snag a copy.
