/lit/ - Literature

>>23592682
>"You see, girl, when a civilization begins to decay and die, the only thing men or women think about is the gratification of their body's desires. They become preoccupied with sex. It colors their laws, their religion --every aspect of their lives.
>"Listen to me. When you have a dying civilization, the normal, accepted lifestyle ain't strong enough to satisfy the damned insatiable appetites of the courtesans and, finally, of all the people. They turn to Lesbianism and things like that to satisfy their desires."

He clearly saw which way the wind was blowing even 90 years ago and it surely must have affected his writing somewhat

>>23189685
Don't be ridiculous

>Regarding the various interests and time cycles and individuals—to me history seems mostly a chaotic jumble, through which move certain fairly well-defined streams and currents, but which is mainly too tangled for my comprehension. As I have said, I lack your universal and cosmic scope and comprehension. From contemplation of history as a whole, my mind retires bewildered and baffled and fixes on various figures which rise here and there momentarily above the general drift. It is the individual mainly which draws me—the struggling, blundering, passionate insect vainly striving against the river of Life and seeking to divert the channel of events to suit himself—breaking his fangs on the iron collar of Fate and sinking in the final defeat with the froth of a curse on his lips.

Did early 20th century Texas really breed such cynicism?

>>21272119
Fiction
Robert E. Howard, of Conan fame, has a good deal of Western poetry and short stories. His most noted characters are:
Breckinridge Elkins- tall tales about a giant mountain man whose limited intelligence gets him in trouble.
El Borak- gunslinger from Texas who has settled down in Afghanistan.

Nonfiction
Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns, 1867-1886

>>19330324
America's Tolkien is Robert E Howard and he's been dead for almost 100 years and he had stories out before Tolkien
Not surprisingly he thought people were out to get him and was probably autistic
Regardless he gave us
>Conan
>Kull
>Solomon Kane
Among others.
And yes Howard is just as good as Tolkien

>>12786822
Sword & Sorcery is fantasy for chads.