POETRY OF THE WEIRD

Besides the usual stories, each issue ofWEIRD TALES usually contained several poems, as well. Here are a few examples from January 1948.

Illustration by John Giunta.

Illustration by John Giunta.

Illustration by Fred Humiston.

SCARY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Horrordays! Have a cool Yule with a ghoul!

Hope you remembered to clean the fireplace.

Mamie has a message for you, too!

THE POETRY OF WEIRD TALES: ALFRED I. TOOKE

There is little biographical information I can find on author and poet Alfred I. Tooke (1892–1970), except that he appeared to be Canadian and served in the Canadian military. It also appears that he converted to Mormonism later in life as some of his poems are listed in Latter-day Saint publications.

During his writing career, Tooke penned horror, mystery and detective fiction for at least three pulp magazines in the 1930's:

• SUPER-DETECTIVE STORIES (08/1934)
• PHANTOM DETECTIVE (02/1935; 04/1935)
• WEIRD TALES (12/1935; 02/1938; 01/1937; 01/1940)

However, what we are concerned with today is his verse in WEIRD TALES. The three writers with the most poetry published in the famous pulp magazine were H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Tooke is in the top ten with 13. 

His poems are often contemplative and lyrical, with some leaning toward the metaphysical. He also seems to have had more than a passing fascination for seafaring and pirates, as well as delving into ghosts, the supernatural and the macabre.

Following is what I believe to be a complete collection of Alfred I. Tooke's WEIRD TALES poetry.

November, 1931 - Illustration by C.C. Senf

February, 1934

September, 1938

June, 1932

August, 1932

December, 1932

May, 1933

July, 1933

January, 1934

January, 1936

February, 1936

March, 1936

July, 1936

EXTRA! Alfred I. Tooke's short story, "The Ghosts at Hadden-le-Green" from WEIRD TALES, February 1938.

FANZINE FEROX!

THE ACOLYTE
Vol. 2 No. 4 (Whole number 8)
Fall 1944
Editor and Publisher: Francis T. Laney and Samuel D. Russell
Art Director: R.A. Hoffman
Cover: Alva Rogers
Pages: 34
Cover price: 15 cents

This is a classic fanzine, made in Los Angeles and created by people who obviously loved weird fiction, fantasy, films and the like. There's a lot packed into the few pages: stories by Anthony Boucher and Fritz Leiber, Jr., including a poem carrying the title of one of his most famous fantasy characters, "The Grey Mouser", a look at Lovecraft by E. Hoffman Price, an article "probably" by Lovecraft, an original drawing by Clark Ashton Smith, and numerous reviews. Very impressive!