Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard
Name	Robert E. Howard
Birth date	January 22, 1906
Birth place	Peaster, Texas (near Brownwood, Texas)
Death date	June 11, 1936
Death place	Cross Plains, Texas
Occupation	Pulp fiction writer, novelist, poet
Nationality	American
Notable works	Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane, Kull of Atlantis
Genres	Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Horror, Western

Robert E. Howard was an American pulp fiction writer and poet best known for creating the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. His output included fantasy, horror, Westerns, and historical adventure, appearing largely in Weird Tales and other pulp magazines during the 1920s and 1930s. Howard's compact, action-driven narratives and prolific short fiction influenced later writers, comics, film, and gaming. He worked primarily in Texas, maintaining extensive correspondence with contemporaries in the pulp community.

Early life and education

Howard was born in rural Texas near Brownwood, Texas and raised in Cross Plains, Texas, where his family moved when he was a child. His mother, a native of Tennessee, and his father, an oil rigger who suffered from declining health after head injuries sustained in World War I-era industrial accidents, shaped the family's circumstances. Howard received his formal education at local schools in Cross Plains, Texas and attended high school in the same town, where he developed an early interest in reading works by Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Arthur Conan Doyle. He corresponded with other writers and editors such as H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth while drawing inspiration from regional history including accounts of the Comanche and frontier conflicts, as well as from collections housed in nearby libraries and newspapers like the Abilene Reporter-News.

Writing career and major works

Howard's professional career began with sales to pulps including Weird Tales, Strange Tales, and Weird Fiction; editors and publishers such as W. Paul Cook, J. Victor Sweeney, and Weird Tales editor J. C. Henneberger played roles in his publication history. He created enduring series characters in short stories and novelettes that appeared throughout the 1920s and 1930s, notably the barbarian Conan cycle published in Weird Tales, the Puritan avenger Solomon Kane in Weird Tales and other venues, and the prehuman monarch Kull who first appeared in The Shadow Kingdom. Howard also wrote Westerns featuring characters like Steve Costigan and historical adventures such as the Bran Mak Morn tales linked to Picts and Roman Empire settings. His poems and weird fiction, influenced by the mythos of contemporaries, appeared alongside works by Clark Ashton Smith and H. P. Lovecraft in pulp magazines. Major posthumous collections compiled by publishers including Lancer Books and editors like Otis Adelbert Kline and later Lin Carter helped cement his reputation beyond the pulps.

Characters and themes

Howard created iconic protagonists including Conan the Barbarian, Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, and comic figures like El Borak and Steve Costigan. His recurring themes reflect frontier valor drawn from Texas culture, confrontations with decadence in analogues to the Roman Empire, tragic destiny reminiscent of Greek mythology, and existential terror resonant with Lovecraftian motifs. Stories often pit rugged individuals against corrupt civilizations, occult forces tied to settings like mythical Hyborian Age locales, and historical antagonists such as Vikings, Picts, and Mongols. Howard's prose emphasized physicality and immediacy, linking adventure tropes found in works by Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson with the macabre elements associated with Edgar Allan Poe.

Personal life and relationships

Howard lived most of his life in Cross Plains, Texas, where he resided with his mother and sister and worked variously as a linen clerk and a salesman in local businesses such as the Cross Plains Mercantile. He maintained intensive correspondence with writers including H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and editors at magazines like Weird Tales and publishers such as Popular Fiction Publishing Company. His friendships with fellow Texans and regional figures connected him to veterans of frontier culture and to readers of regional newspapers like the Abilene Reporter-News. Howard's romantic life included unfulfilled relationships; his emotional ties to family—particularly his mother—were influential. Health issues in his family and financial pressures from the Great Depression era influenced his personal stability.

Death and legacy

Howard died by suicide in June 1936 in Cross Plains, Texas after learning that his mother, who had long suffered from illness, was unlikely to recover. His death at age 30 shocked the pulp community and contemporaries such as H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. Posthumously, his reputation expanded through anthologies and collections published by firms including Lancer Books, Berkley Books, and small presses that preserved pulp material. Critical reassessment in the mid-20th century by editors and authors like Lin Carter, Karl Edward Wagner, and Fritz Leiber recontextualized his contributions to fantasy and horror, while scholarship in journals and biographies explored his life, letters, and manuscript materials held by archives and collectors.

Influence and adaptations

Howard's creations inspired adaptations across media: comic-book series by Marvel Comics and later Dark Horse Comics adapted Conan and other characters; film adaptations include Conan the Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and later cinematic entries produced by studios such as Universal Pictures. Television and radio dramatizations, role-playing games by companies like TSR, Inc. and Mongoose Publishing, and video games developed by studios influenced by pulp fantasy continued his impact. Authors including Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Stephen King cited pulp traditions that intersect with Howard's work; editors and scholars such as Lin Carter, Karl Edward Wagner, and S. T. Joshi have championed and critiqued his output. Museums, conventions, and fan societies dedicated to speculative fiction preserve manuscripts and correspondence in collections associated with institutions and private archives, ensuring ongoing study and adaptation across comics, film, literature, and gaming.

Category:American writers