Arthur Machen
Zothique 4

After the issue dedicated to Algernon Blackwood, the mythical magazine Zothique by Pietro Guarriello devotes a substantial special to another tutelary deity of the fantastic genre, Arthur Machen. Unlike Blackwood himself and other authors of the genre, Machen has had relatively little success in Italy: of him, even recently (I'm thinking of Il cerchio verde published by Providence Press and Un frammento di vita by Edizioni Hypnos), both unpublished and published material continues to be made available. Despite this, the Welsh writer (despite the tributes of Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Guillermo Del Toro) never broke through (as was the case with the "Solitary of Providence") with the public, but the reason is that he is a unique author, light-years away from horror that easily captivates the reader. For Fruttero and Lucentini, he was an extremely refined and niche writer (they found his style too reticent and, for this reason, they omitted Il Gran Dio Pan from the anthology Storie di fantasmi by Einaudi, although they considered Il terrore a masterpiece) while for Borges, he was a "minor" writer without this term being considered negative by the famous Argentine writer. Machen is certainly still my favorite "weird" writer today, and his style is capable of evoking images that truly project us into another dimension. Machen has enjoyed great critical attention in Italy; however, the long article by Matteo Mancini (a versatile character, himself a good writer, essayist, and author of books on sports) dedicated to him is an impressive work for the amount of information and the quality of the criticism. Aside from some opinions not always shareable (La metamorfosi by Kafka was not, in my opinion, anticipated by La polvere bianca since the premises and underlying themes of the "Kafkaesque" novella are different) and some details (I don't believe the painter Meyrick from Il gran dio Pan is an homage to Meyrink, who, at the time, was not known), Matteo Mancini's passion and competence shine through (Mancini, who indirectly mentions me, describing me as a "well-known reviewer known in fantastic magazines") as he is currently writing a monumental tome on Libero Samale, also known as Frank Graegorius. Mancini also discusses the film tributes (where, besides Del Toro, Moana Pozzi appears!).

The issue also features many critical essays and 5 unpublished stories. The excellent Giorgio Giorgi in Il fantastico allusivo di Arthur Machen undoubtedly highlights the timeless charm of his writing, although he ends up giving too much importance to his time in the Golden Dawn, an event in his life that, lately, has been greatly downplayed (as read in the article by Leigh Blackmore present here). The contributions by R. Ellis Roberts and Helen Lynch demonstrate how our subject divided opinions: on the one hand, his horror production is exalted, while on the other, his work closer to mainstream. Personally (despite loving a novel like La collina dei sogni), I believe the best Machen is the one of "dark" stories like Il Sigillo Nero, Il popolo bianco, and Il terrore. Also worth mentioning is a piece by the famous mystery writer John Dixon Carr, a great admirer of Machen! Among the stories, I particularly appreciated I cangianti and La strana avventura sul Monte Nephim, both talk about the Little People and have an atmosphere similar to the film Picnic at Hanging Rock). Marco Maculotti instead demonstrates his great expertise on "folklore" and ethnographic studies with a long and detailed essay on "Machenian" themes. This special also includes a parody of the 1895 Il gran dio Pan by Arthur Compton-Rickett. Ultimately, we are faced with a special on the Welsh writer that seems more necessary than ever.

Available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.it/ZOTHIQUE-Rivista-narrativa-cultura-fantastica/dp/B08CPDL8KL) or on the Dagon Press website (http://studilovecraftiani.blogspot.com/).

Zothique 4 – magazine of fantastic & weird culture – Summer 2020 – Year IV, issue 4 – 235 pages – Dagon Press –