Writer's legacy to be celebrated during Howard Days

Brian Bethel | Abilene Reporter- News

The yearly celebration of the life and legacy of Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian, brings fans from all over the world to Cross Plains, with this year’s gathering June 9 and 10 focusing – unofficially – on the “detectives” who have brought much of what we know about the writer to light.

Headquartered at the REH Museum at 625 W. Highway 36, the two-day conference includes panel discussions, tours of the museum and the surrounding areas, a special postal cancellation, an award ceremony, a celebration dinner and a silent auction.

Howard was an extremely prolific writer who lived in Cross Plains during his entire writing career. Although he is probably best known for creating Conan, he wrote poetry, western, detective and boxing stories, as well as creating numerous other characters: Solomon Kane, El Borak, King Kull, Bran Mak Morn, and his somewhat bumbling mountain man, Breckenridge Elkins.

Paul Herman will be the guest of honor for this year’s Howard Days celebration, sharing memories of many years of “finding and retrieving facts, pictures and memorabilia relating to the local writer,” according to a news release from Project Pride, which cosponsors the event with REHupa, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association.

At the Friday evening dinner, Herman will delve into his own “Mildly Adventurous Life,” as it pertains to his research.

Herman has edited more than 30 volumes of REH material for publication, done original research tracking down rare or lost items, spoken at numerous events, and has compiled and published the current REH bibliography, “The Neverending Hunt,” as well as starting its online brethren, “Howardworks.”

All of the planned panel discussions relate to recent discoveries of Howard-related typescripts, pulps, and memorabilia. All of the planned panels will last one hour and take place at the First United Methodist Church, 1000 N. Main St.

The Friday night silent auction and dinner will be held at the Community Center, 100 N. Beech St. and other events are scheduled at the Museum grounds.

Tickets for the June 9 chicken fried steak dinner catered by the Staghorn can be purchased now by mailing $15 to Project Pride, P.O. Box 534 or via PayPal at projpride@yahoo.com

For more information, contact 254-725-4993 or 254-725-6562.

Also going on during the weekend will be the Barbarian Festival. It starts with a parade at 6 p.m. June 8 in downtown Cross Plains, and a fish fry at the Senior Citizen Center from 5-7 p.m. June 8.

The festival featuring food, music, vendors and games will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 10 at Treadway Park. For more information, see barbarianfestival.net.