Thursday 20 July 2023

Deathmasques


 Deathmasques is a collection of early writings: a few prose poems and tales from 1970-1973. 

The prose poems comprised six pieces: 'The Poet' (1970), 'No More Beauty' (1971), 'In the Palace of The Sphinx (The Supplicant)' (1972), 'Dream of Stone' (1972), 'Into The Abyss (The Renegade)' (1972) and 'Silence' (1973).
One felt that the prose poem was a particularly Decadent form. Also included were two macabre short stories 'Mute Witness' (1972) and 'We Vampires' (1972). Other texts from this period include chunks of experimental neo-gothic or modern fantastic fiction (mainly dreadful!) and various quasi-theoretical statements relating to art projects such as Crisis of the Object and Rictus Sardonicus.
Deathmasques story 'We Vampires' appeared in the anthology Haunting Tales (2008) and 'Mute Witness' from the same collection appeared in Monomyth # 44 Issue 8.2 (2008) both from Atlantean Publishing.

Deathmasques publication 1999-2020
Deathmasques I The Poet, Headstorms Short Fiction Magazine Vol 1 Inclement Publishing, 2004
Deathmasques I The Poet, Monomyth Supplement Issue 12 Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Deathmasques I The Poet, International Times Jul 2020
Deathmasques II No More Beauty, Unhinged PJL Press, 3 Sept 1999
Deathmasques II No More Beauty, International Times Sept 2020
Deathmasques III In the Palace of the Sphinx (The Supplicant), International Times Sept 2020
Deathmasques IV Dream of Stone, Unhinged 6 Sex & Death Issue PJL Press, 2000
Deathmasques IV Dream of Stone, International Times Oct 2020
Deathmasques V The Renegade, Monomyth Supplement Issue 13 Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Deathmasques V The Renegade (Into The Abyss), International Times Oct 2020
Deathmasques VI Silence, Midnight Street 2, Immediate Direction, 2004
Deathmasques VI Silence, International Times Nov 2020

Related publications 2020
Mute Witness, International Times Nov 2020
We Vampires. International Times May 2020

Illus: Neo-Convulsive Self-Portrait 1973/2001