Difference between revisions of "W. Paul Cook"
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(1880 – January 22, 1948) | (1880 – January 22, 1948) | ||
| − | '''W. Paul Cook''' was a writer, printer and publisher who lived and wrote mostly in [[Vermont]] and [[Massachusetts]]. In 1927 | + | '''W. Paul Cook''' was a writer, printer and publisher who lived and wrote mostly in [[Vermont]] and [[Massachusetts]]. He wrote under his own name and in the 1930s, non-genre fiction under the [[pseudonym]] '''Willis T. Crossman''', and was a leading figure in the hobbyist tradition of [[amateur journalism]]. In 1927 he [[published]] ''[[The Recluse]]'', a [[one-shot]] amateur magazine that has a [[What Was the First Fanzine?|claim toward being a paleofanzine]], at least. |
| − | Some of the material intended for a second issue of ''The Recluse'' appeared in [https://zinewiki.com/wiki/The_Ghost | + | Some of the material intended for a second issue of ''The Recluse'' appeared in ''[[The Ghost]]'' [https://zinewiki.com/wiki/The_Ghost (5 issues, 1943–1947)], a [[mundane]]-leaning [[zine]] which included [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2072396 an article] on [[Farnsworth Wright]] and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?438205 several pieces] on [[weird fiction]]. [[Harry Warner, Jr.]] called it an “ideal fanzine, or something very close to it”.<ref>''[[Centauri]]'' [https://www.fanac.org/fanzines/Centauri/Centauri04.pdf#page=7 4, July 1945, page 7]</ref> [[Helen Wesson]] wrote: |
| − | + | … the biggest and best Fantasy mag pubbed, W. Paul Cook's GHOST, has this stipulation: "The GHOST is an amateur publication issued for love of the hobby known as Amateur Journalism. It cannot be bought from the publisher; and it is his wish that it never, at any time, under any circumstances, be sold."<ref>''[[The (Unspeakable) Thing]]'' [https://diyhistory.lib.uiowa.edu/transcribe/5264/168235 1, Spring 1946, p. 30]</ref> | |
| − | + | Cook was a friend of [[H. P. Lovecraft]], a couple of whose early works he published in his 1918–1922 amateur magazine ''The Vagrant''. He wrote "In Memoriam: Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Recollections, Appreciations, Estimates" (1941 [[chapbook]] from Walter J. Coates's Driftwind Press where Cook worked as a printer), which was republished as "An Appreciation of H. P. Lovecraft" in [[Arkham House]]’s ''Beyond the Wall of Sleep'' (1943) and as ''H. P. Lovecraft, A Portrait'' ([[Mirage Press]], 1968). | |
| + | The selection ''Willis T. Crossman's Vermont: Stories by W. Paul Cook'' edited by Sean Donnelly and Leland M. Hawes, Jr was published as print-on-demand by University Of Tampa Press in 2005. Donnelly went on to edit ''W. Paul Cook: The Wandering Life of a Yankee Printer'' (Hippocampus Press, 2007) where a brief [[biography]] is supplemented "With Selected Writings by And About Him", memoirs by contemporaries, bibliography etc. | ||
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| + | * {{ISFDB|104121}} | ||
| + | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050122014206/http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050109%2FNEWS%2F501090302%2F1013A A hobby and a discovery: Two amateur journalists resurrect the colorful tales of Vermont writer W. Paul Cook], ''Times Argus'' January 2005 (Web Archive or [http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/2007/12/lovecrafts-friend-w-paul-cook.html backup at Lovecraftian blog] from Chris Perrida); with overview of Cook's life and examples of his writing | ||
{{person | born=1880 | died=1948}} | {{person | born=1880 | died=1948}} | ||
Latest revision as of 07:18, 17 January 2024
(1880 – January 22, 1948)
W. Paul Cook was a writer, printer and publisher who lived and wrote mostly in Vermont and Massachusetts. He wrote under his own name and in the 1930s, non-genre fiction under the pseudonym Willis T. Crossman, and was a leading figure in the hobbyist tradition of amateur journalism. In 1927 he published The Recluse, a one-shot amateur magazine that has a claim toward being a paleofanzine, at least.
Some of the material intended for a second issue of The Recluse appeared in The Ghost (5 issues, 1943–1947), a mundane-leaning zine which included an article on Farnsworth Wright and several pieces on weird fiction. Harry Warner, Jr. called it an “ideal fanzine, or something very close to it”.[1] Helen Wesson wrote:
… the biggest and best Fantasy mag pubbed, W. Paul Cook's GHOST, has this stipulation: "The GHOST is an amateur publication issued for love of the hobby known as Amateur Journalism. It cannot be bought from the publisher; and it is his wish that it never, at any time, under any circumstances, be sold."[2]
Cook was a friend of H. P. Lovecraft, a couple of whose early works he published in his 1918–1922 amateur magazine The Vagrant. He wrote "In Memoriam: Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Recollections, Appreciations, Estimates" (1941 chapbook from Walter J. Coates's Driftwind Press where Cook worked as a printer), which was republished as "An Appreciation of H. P. Lovecraft" in Arkham House’s Beyond the Wall of Sleep (1943) and as H. P. Lovecraft, A Portrait (Mirage Press, 1968).
The selection Willis T. Crossman's Vermont: Stories by W. Paul Cook edited by Sean Donnelly and Leland M. Hawes, Jr was published as print-on-demand by University Of Tampa Press in 2005. Donnelly went on to edit W. Paul Cook: The Wandering Life of a Yankee Printer (Hippocampus Press, 2007) where a brief biography is supplemented "With Selected Writings by And About Him", memoirs by contemporaries, bibliography etc.
- W. Paul Cook in Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- A hobby and a discovery: Two amateur journalists resurrect the colorful tales of Vermont writer W. Paul Cook, Times Argus January 2005 (Web Archive or backup at Lovecraftian blog from Chris Perrida); with overview of Cook's life and examples of his writing
| Person | 1880—1948 |
| This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |
