All Fled, All Done

The Robert E. Howard Forum is shutting down.

All fled, all done… the Robert E. Howard Forum is no more…

As most of you know, Howard was the first writer to inspire my own desire to spill ink on a page and bring dreams to life. The Forum has been a roaring digital bonfire around which those of us who love Howard and his heroic creations could gather and exchange information, opinion, book and movie recommendations and just plain cool stuff — from pictures of swords to pictures of nekkid barbarian women. My favorite haunts were the history/archaeology topics, of course, but there was something there for everyone.

The REH Forum led to my blogging life. Deuce Richardson, a moderator at the Forum, tapped me back in 2010 to contribute to the late-lamented blog The Cimmerian. I enjoyed the work tremendously, and the experience encouraged me to start this blog. Deuce has become a good friend, and has guest-posted here at Frontier Partisans. Now that he’s laying down the sword and shield of his moderator responsibilities, perhaps we’ll see more of him in these parts. He owes me a post on the Northwest Frontier of the British Raj….

The Wheel turns.

I’ve made many friends through the Forum, for which I am most grateful. Many of you stop by this campfire regularly. Comrades, we shall not be parted.

Deuce tells me that the Robert E. Howard Foundation will archive the Forum (despite its heroic scope), which is a great thing, because there are some wonderful nuggets of scholarship and some outsized personalities there. Some digital archaeologist will one day dig through that dusty archive and find the treasure trove of a strange and vibrant culture that rose and flourished and fell, as Howard knew all cultures must.

Thank you , dog brothers! You have enriched my life. See you down the trail.

Robert E. Howard’s own last words, found on his Underwood typewriter, seem most apt here:

“All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre; The feast is over, and the lamps expire.”

“So you heard that they’re shutting down the REH Forum…” (art by Gary Gianni)