Robert E. Howard
Robert E.
Howard led a bit of an odd life in comparison to most. He liked to
read and was a bit of a scholarly type as a child. This did not,
however, stop him from enjoying a passion for boxing. He loved to watch
the boxers of his day, and would eventually become an amateur boxer in
his short life.
He did, eventually, succeed at becoming a fictional writer. His short
stories ran in journals, magazines, and other literary papers. One
magazine in particular stands out as a place where Howard developed
quite a fan base. This magazine is called, Weird Tales, a pulp magazine
of the depression era. Howard saw his work in print at the age of 23.
Before that time he tried his hand at writing with little to no success.
It has been speculated that during this time as a late teenager and 23,
that he was building his skills of writing techniques.
Howard’s most famous character is Conan the Cimmerian. In the eighties
movies would be made of this character; coming to be known as Conan the
Barbarian. It is thought that with the writing of Conan, Howard ushered
in the age of sword and sorcery. This would be a sub-genre of fiction,
which he is credited with creating. It’s not until the author J.R.R
Tolkien came along much later that anyone saw such an influence on this
fantasy genre.
Unfortunately, Howard’s life was cut short when he committed suicide on
July 11, 1936.
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