Faunus 50 - and a new Faunus Archive

 

The Friends of Arthur Machen has just reached a milestone with the publication of issue 50 of its journal Faunus. This is also the final issue to be edited by James Machin and Tim Jarvis, who hand over to Sam Kunkel, who has also been co-editing recent issues with them. Many thanks to them for their inspired work in editing the journal for the past dozen years.

In this issue, John Harris writes about Machen’s links to Gwyn Jones and the Anglo-Welsh writers of the mid 20th century; Sophie Sleigh-Johnson discusses the tavern in the work of Machen and occult artist Austin Osman Spare; and Felix Taylor considers Machen in Ithell Colquohoun’s Sword of Wisdom. There is also a transcript of a radio talk by Machen in 1937, discussing Chesterton, Shakespeare, and much else, and enlivened as ever by his trenchant views and rolling prose.

The mailing to members has just started and copies of Faunus 50 are on the way, together with the Friends’ newsletter Machenalia, edited by Jon Preece.

The Friends have also announced that all back issues of Faunus will shortly be available to members to download in PDF format for the first time, in a new Friends’ Area. They say: ‘In an exciting expansion of member benefits, every issue - dating all the way back to the very first edition published in 1998 — will be accessible through a brand-new members-only section of this website, allowing Friends to explore the full archive at their leisure.’

This has come about through new digital services editor John Galantini’s redesign of the website and work by Ray Russell and John Ricketts to recover, redesign and proof-read the early issues. Members will receive an email shortly with details on how to access this new section of the website. The idea is that the Friends’ Area ‘will not only house the Faunus archive but will also serve as a platform for digital exclusives, including essays, videos, and audio recordings.’

Faunus - Arthur Machen Essay Prizes

The Friends of Arthur Machen have announced a competition for essays on Machen submitted to their journal, Faunus. There will be a £200 prize for the best essay, and two runner-up prizes of £100 each. All three prizes will also include a year's free membership of the Friends. It is open to non-members: anyone except Committee members of the Friends may contribute.

Essays should be a minimum of 4000 words, and may concern any subject likely to be of serious interest to members. The Faunus Editors, James Machin and Timothy Jarvis, will be the judges, and submissions should be made to:

faunus(dot)editor(at)gmail(dot)com (replacing the words in brackets by the relevant symbols)

MV

Faunus - The Decorative Imagination of Arthur Machen edited by James Machin

Strange Attractor Press have just published Faunus - The Decorative Imagination of Arthur Machen, edited by James Machin, an anthology selected from over twenty years of issues of the journal of The Friends of Arthur Machen, with a new introduction by Stewart Lee.

This handsomely produced book surveys many of the Gwent master's range of interests, including the legends of the Great War, the Celtic Church, the “real” Little People, the occult, the byways of London, and a myriad other investigations into Machen’s life and legacy. The contents include rare pieces by Machen himself as well as items from the Faunus archive by writers including Tessa Farmer, Rosalie Parker, Ray Russell, Mark Samuels, and Mark Valentine.

(Picture: James Machin)

Faunus 37

The latest issue, number 37, of Faunus, the hardback journal of The Friends of Arthur Machen, has just been published. Edited by James Machin and Timothy J Jarvis, it offers a cornucopia of fascinating material by and about the great Welsh master.

From Arthur Machen himself there is a rare and significant essay, ‘Folklore and Legends of the North’, surveying several books in the field and discussing his own views on lycanthropy, witchcraft, metamorphosis and the fairy world. This is an important and interesting account of these traditions which will illuminate his own fiction.

Also from Machen is ‘The Way of the World’, one of his typical companionable rambles through a loosely-linked set of anecdotes, which here covers The Panacea Society, The Foundling Hospital, Bulrushes in Baker Street, Nursery Names and much else. There’s also Machen’s report on an exhibition of dolls, ‘The Angel of the Toys’: he characteristically describes them as “puppets that will enact for [the child] mystery plays and miracles.”

This issue also includes a review by Aleister Crowley of Machen’s The Terror, and an introduction to this by James Machin reflecting on the mage’s admiration (usually) for Machen’s work, and the circumstances of this particular notice.

The editors also include a fine tribute to Machen by the Irish novelist Norah Hoult, in her 1951 review of The Autobiography of Arthur Machen.

John Llewellyn Probert continues his series on ‘Machenesque Moments in Cinema’, Nicolas Granger-Taylor reviews a recent modern opera inspired by Machen, by Ross Crean, and Nick Louras discusses the recipe for Machen’s lethal Dog & Duck punch.

Members of the Friends should receive their copy in the next few weeks, complete with Machenalia, the newsletter edited by Jon Preece. To join, and receive these splendid publications, consult the link above.

Issue and contents checklists for Wormwood, Aklo, The Green Book, Faunus, etc

The newest update of the FictionMags Index brings current the checklists for many magazines of interest to Wormwood readers.

Current journals:

Wormwood #1 (2003 through #24 (2015), all  issues to date

The Green Book #1 (2013) through #5 (2015), all issues to date

Faunus, #1 (1998) through #31 (2015), all issues to date
[successor to Avalaunius, below]

Sacrum Regnum #1 (2011) through # 2 (2013), all issues to date

Defunct journals:

Aklo #1 (1988) through #5 (1992) plus the hardcover volume (1998), all issues

Avalaunius #1 (1987) through #17 (1997), all issues

The Lost Club Journal #1 (2000) through #3 (2004), all issues
[reworked online, with some differences, as The Lost Club website]

There is a lot of interest at the FictionMags Index and other associated Homeville bibliographical websites.  Check them out. 

FAUNUS, THE ARTHUR MACHEN JOURNAL

The new issue of the Arthur Machen journal, Faunus, has just been issued to members of the Friends of Arthur Machen. Issue 26 of the hardback journal  includes Thomas Kent Miller's comprehensive survey of the meanings of Machen's enigmatic story 'N'; John Howard's explorations of a key Machen motif, geographical and spiritual boundaries; Godfrey Brangham's recollections of browsing for Machen in obscure bookshops; and an unpublished essay on Machen by the Nineties authority Derek Stanford. There's also an essay on a vituperative feud against Machen by the Edwardian journal The New Age, together with a previously undiscovered portrait of Machen in the futurist style. Accompanying Faunus, Gwil Games' Machenalia newsletter has the usual cornucopia of Machenesque news and announcements, including details of events planned to mark his 150th anniversary next year. To join the Friends of Arthur Machen and receive the journal and newsletter, please visit the Friends of Arthur Machen website.

Wormwood indexed, also Avallaunius, Faunus and Tolkien Studies

If you don't know about the massive magazine index maintained by Bill Contento, you might want to.  It goes by the name of The FictionMags Index, but there are a lot more than just magazines with fiction indexed there, including a lot of small press journals relating to fantasy, horror and science fiction.  Bill just put up the latest update, which includes indices I submitted of all seventeen issues of Avallaunius (1987-1997), the old journal of The Arthur Machen Society, and all twenty-two issues (so far) of Faunus (1998-present), the journal of The Friends of Arthur Machen.  It's also been updated to contain the newest issues of Wormwood and Tolkien Studies, thus bringing the indices of these complete and up-to-date. The home page is located here.  You can search by magazine, article author, article title, etc. etc.  I find it very useful when I want to find which issues of Faunus had those articles on Amy Hogg, or in which volume of Tolkien Studies appeared the review of Douglas Charles Kane's Arda Reconstructed. The answers are only a few clicks away.