Summer 2008 Friends Publications

Faunus Volume Eighteen - Summer 2008 58 pages

Contains amongst other essays “Two Sided Triangles: Machen, Darwin and Suburbia” by Cyril Simsa an interesting essay on Machen’s work and its use of characteristic themes like the boundaries between town and country, the figure of Pan, sexuality and evolutionary thought. Phillip A. Ellis argues in “Of The One Secret: A Defence of Eleusinia” that Eleusinia is better quality poetry for such a young man than Machen’s modesty will allow. Meanwhile "Some Notes on Machen’s ‘Sixtystone’" by Christopher Josiffe discusses the origins of the mysterious artefact from The Three Impostors and reflects on Kenneth Grant’s use of it in his magical works. There is also a reprint of “The Unseen Host” by C.L. Warr a story inspired by The Bowmen first published in 1916 and reprinted many times later.

Machenalia Vol II Issue 7, Summer 2008 52 pages

Has the usual news and reviews with extensive coverage of the Chicago dramatic production of The Great God Pan. It also covers the FOAM AGM in Stratford-on-Avon, details on new Machen translations in Swedish, Polish, and Italian. Also mentions Clive Barker, and Mark E. Smith on Machen, more Angels of Mons sightings, and more on the Little Fables and a trip into the dark heart of Machen's Wentwood. Also the mysterious saga of the Machen photograph which is not actually of Machen is revealed.

We also have shocking news on MP Shiel, who Machen knew well, he was convicted for molesting a young girl and we have a brief review of an article by Kirsten Macleod 'M. P. Shiel and the Love of Pubescent Girls: The Other “Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name”' - Kirsten Macleod, University of Alberta that goes into the specifics.

Faunus 16 - Summer 2007 Collection of Machen letters

The Friends of Arthur Machen commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of Machen’s death and the centenary of the publication of The Hill of Dreams in 1907 with the first ever publication of "John Lane and Arthur Machen: A Correspondence" in Faunus The Journal of the Friends of Arthur Machen, volume 16 (Summer 2007). It covers Machen's correspondence with the important fin de siècle publisher John Lane from 1895-1906. The letters demonstrate Machen’s refusal to censor The Three Impostors in the aftermath of the Wilde trial despite Lane’s requests and Machen’s irritation with the puritanical climate of the time. Machen did agree however to the removal of one terrifying word from the manuscript now put into print for the first time ever. The letters also covers Machen’s difficulties in getting The Hill of Dreams published in the climate of the time, which although written 1896-7 was not published for ten years. Other articles in that issue include Machen scholar Roger Dobson discussing in "The Book in Yellow: How Dorian Inspired Lucian" the connection between Machen’s reading of Wilde’s Dorian Gray and The Hill of Dreams. Paul Fox’s article “On the Matter of Coincidence: 'Though' and 'Why' and 'The Inmost Light.'” discusses the place of that story in Machen's 1890s fiction, and in his ideas of aesthetics. In Machen's 1916 article "The Shade of a Great Man" published for the first time since the war Dr Johnson returns to pontificate to Boswell on the such matters as the Blackout, the coming of “fireships of the air” and Conscientious Objectors.

The most recent Machenalia the newsletter of the society covers the recently finished Caerleon sculpture commemorating Machen, a number of Machen based film scripts in development, more on the Angels of Mons, Machen themed music and in a special Tobacco themed issue reveals that Machen foretold the recent ban on smoking.