Abraham Merritt, the Grand Master of Magical Fantasy

On Thursday June 26th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the magical aspects of Abraham Merritt's (1884 - 1943) novels and stories of exotic fantasy adventure. Merritt was a highly respected journalist who wrote his colorful tales of the occult and the bizarre for his own pleasure and not as pot-boilers for the pulps even though ARGOSY and other pulps were his main outlet. His work had the quality of literature and the mytho-folkloric erudition of a Robert Graves. Merritt had a library of over 5000 books on myth, folklore and the occult. His tales of lost cities, ancient secret cults and strange other-worldly phenomenon are unparalleled in beauty and imagination. His "People of the Pit" (1917) was a profound influence on H.P. Lovecraft and his masterpiece "The Ship of Ishtar" (1924) described Richard Shaver's inter-dimensional "Simultane" concept. (It was also the template for our path-working soul-travel boat.) His "Dwellers in the Mirage"(1932) was an inspiration for my sc-fi novel "Drell Master." Merritt was steeped in Blavatsky's Atlantis and Lemuria lore and the obscure legendary sources behind these lost civilizations. His "The Moon Pool" (1921) lured us out to the ruins of Lemuria in the Pacific (see Beyond Lemuria). So, if you want to spend an hour with the Dream-maker, tune and we'll set sail to evening Isles fantastical.