Difference between revisions of "Hugh B. Cave"
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− | (1910 | + | (July 11, 1910 – June 27, 2004) |
− | Hugh Barnett Cave was born | + | [[File:CaveHughB.jpeg|thumb|right|'''Hugh B. Cave''']] |
+ | '''Hugh Barnett Cave''' was a [[UK]]-born [[American]] [[author]] of [[horror]], [[weird fiction]] and [[sf]], one of the most prolific [[pulp]] writers of the 1920s and ’30s, selling some 800 stories, also including [[fantasy]], adventure, westerns, crime stories, romances and nonfiction. During his writing career, he used many [[pen names]], including '''Allen Beck, Carey Burnett, Justin Case, J. C. Cole, Jack D'Arcy, William Decatur, Paul Hanna, Rupert Knowles, R. T. Maynard, Max Neilson, Maxwell Smith, Geoffrey Vace''', and''' John Wayne'''! | ||
− | + | He [[corresponded]] extensively with fellow pulp writer [[Carl Jacobi]], from 1932 until Jacobi's death in 1997. Selections of this correspondence can be found in Cave's memoir ''Magazines I Remember''. | |
− | + | Relations with other pulp writers were not always so cordial. In the 1930s, Cave lived in Pawtucket, [[Rhode Island]], but he never met [[H. P. Lovecraft]], who lived in nearby Providence. The two engaged in a heated exchange of correspondence, however, regarding the ethics and aesthetics of writing for the pulps. At least two of Cave's stories are loosely attached to [[HPL]]'s [[Cthulhu Mythos]]: "The Isle of Dark Magic" and "The Death Watch." | |
− | Cave | + | Cave wrote two stories for ''[[Astounding]]'': "The Corpse on the Grating" (February, 1930) and "The Murder Machine" (September, 1930). |
− | + | Popular culture critic Lee Server wrote that Cave was "a valued contributor to the two most honored magazines of the [[pulp]] era, ''[[Weird Tales]]'' and ''Black Mask'' (a distinction in itself, as most contributors to those two magazines wrote only for one or the other)." | |
− | + | One of his most remembered statements regarded writing: "Many of today's writers seem to think that obscurity is a virtue and have apparently decided that a reader who can't understand them will think them artistic.... The great writers of the past would not be remembered today had they fallen into this subtle trap." | |
− | + | =Personal Life= | |
+ | Cave was born in 1910 in Chester, [[England]], and moved during his childhood with his family to [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], following the outbreak of World War I. His first name was in honor of Hugh Walpole, a favorite author of his mother, who had been friends with [[Rudyard Kipling]]. | ||
− | + | Cave attended Brookline High School. After graduating, he attended Boston University on a scholarship but had to leave when his father was severely injured. Cave worked initially for a vanity press, the only regular job he would ever have. He quit this position at the age of 20 to write for a living. | |
− | + | Cave was married twice — first to Margaret Long in a union that produced two sons before the couple began living apart — and to Peggy Thompson, who died in 2001. A war correspondent during [[World War II]], Cave afterward settled in Jamaica where he owned and managed a coffee plantation and continued writing, adding [[novels]] as well as fiction and non-fiction sales to [[mainstream]] magazines. Cave was 93 when he died in Vero Beach, [[Florida]], in 2004. His remains were cremated. | |
− | + | *[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Hugh_B._Cave Bibliography at ISFDB. ] | |
+ | * Article on Cave and his work in ''[[Tightbeam]]'' #296, May, 2019. | ||
+ | *''Pulp Man's Odyssey: The Hugh B. Cave Story'' by Audrey Parente (Starmont House, Mercer Island, WA, 1987). | ||
{{recognition}} | {{recognition}} | ||
+ | * 1978 — [[World Fantasy Award]] Best Collection (for ''Murgunstrumm and Others''), | ||
+ | * 1986 — [[Phoenix Award]] (with [[Orson Scott Card]]) | ||
+ | * 1987 — [[special guest]] at [[DeepSouthCon 25]] | ||
+ | * 1990 — [[Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award]] | ||
+ | * 1997 — International Horror Guild "Living Legend" Award, [[special guest]] at [[1997 World Fantasy Convention]] | ||
+ | * 1999 — [[World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award]] | ||
+ | |||
{{person | born=1910 | died=2004}} | {{person | born=1910 | died=2004}} | ||
[[Category:pro]] | [[Category:pro]] | ||
[[Category:US]] | [[Category:US]] |
Revision as of 01:18, 4 November 2022
(July 11, 1910 – June 27, 2004)
Hugh Barnett Cave was a UK-born American author of horror, weird fiction and sf, one of the most prolific pulp writers of the 1920s and ’30s, selling some 800 stories, also including fantasy, adventure, westerns, crime stories, romances and nonfiction. During his writing career, he used many pen names, including Allen Beck, Carey Burnett, Justin Case, J. C. Cole, Jack D'Arcy, William Decatur, Paul Hanna, Rupert Knowles, R. T. Maynard, Max Neilson, Maxwell Smith, Geoffrey Vace, and John Wayne!
He corresponded extensively with fellow pulp writer Carl Jacobi, from 1932 until Jacobi's death in 1997. Selections of this correspondence can be found in Cave's memoir Magazines I Remember.
Relations with other pulp writers were not always so cordial. In the 1930s, Cave lived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, but he never met H. P. Lovecraft, who lived in nearby Providence. The two engaged in a heated exchange of correspondence, however, regarding the ethics and aesthetics of writing for the pulps. At least two of Cave's stories are loosely attached to HPL's Cthulhu Mythos: "The Isle of Dark Magic" and "The Death Watch."
Cave wrote two stories for Astounding: "The Corpse on the Grating" (February, 1930) and "The Murder Machine" (September, 1930).
Popular culture critic Lee Server wrote that Cave was "a valued contributor to the two most honored magazines of the pulp era, Weird Tales and Black Mask (a distinction in itself, as most contributors to those two magazines wrote only for one or the other)."
One of his most remembered statements regarded writing: "Many of today's writers seem to think that obscurity is a virtue and have apparently decided that a reader who can't understand them will think them artistic.... The great writers of the past would not be remembered today had they fallen into this subtle trap."
Personal Life[edit]
Cave was born in 1910 in Chester, England, and moved during his childhood with his family to Boston, Massachusetts, following the outbreak of World War I. His first name was in honor of Hugh Walpole, a favorite author of his mother, who had been friends with Rudyard Kipling.
Cave attended Brookline High School. After graduating, he attended Boston University on a scholarship but had to leave when his father was severely injured. Cave worked initially for a vanity press, the only regular job he would ever have. He quit this position at the age of 20 to write for a living.
Cave was married twice — first to Margaret Long in a union that produced two sons before the couple began living apart — and to Peggy Thompson, who died in 2001. A war correspondent during World War II, Cave afterward settled in Jamaica where he owned and managed a coffee plantation and continued writing, adding novels as well as fiction and non-fiction sales to mainstream magazines. Cave was 93 when he died in Vero Beach, Florida, in 2004. His remains were cremated.
- Bibliography at ISFDB.
- Article on Cave and his work in Tightbeam #296, May, 2019.
- Pulp Man's Odyssey: The Hugh B. Cave Story by Audrey Parente (Starmont House, Mercer Island, WA, 1987).
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1978 — World Fantasy Award Best Collection (for Murgunstrumm and Others),
- 1986 — Phoenix Award (with Orson Scott Card)
- 1987 — special guest at DeepSouthCon 25
- 1990 — Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1997 — International Horror Guild "Living Legend" Award, special guest at 1997 World Fantasy Convention
- 1999 — World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award
Person | 1910—2004 |
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. |