KC Redding-Gonzalez has written another powerful and compelling essay on horror, and this essay deals with writer, Tanith Lee, who should be remembered as a brilliant author.
This is what I remember about reading Tanith Lee:
Dark, haunting prose that made me feel like I was reading it with the lights out; potent and pregnant narrative that was so Gothic and eerie that I thought of Poe; characters that to this day remain vibrant in my head…
I remember devouring paperbacks written by Lee – full of envy of her mastery and use of language, somehow more accessible and less lofty than that of writers like Anne Rice, but the kind of prose that lingers long after it is read. And I remember being stupid enough to give those books away. It was a product of the times, that way of thinking – trusting that decades could scroll by and one would always be able to find another paperback copy somewhere. I was wrong.
Years later, when I wanted to re-read and compare her vampire trilogy The…
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Thank you for reblogging, Professor! I am determined to beat the drum for one of my earliest favorite Horror writers!
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You are very welcome, KC! Please keep that drumbeat going!
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Thanks for sharing this. Although I’m not a horror reader, I adore Tanith’s dark fantasy, and I learned a lot, much of it shocking regarding the publishing industry, reading this essay.
It meant even more to me than it might to some, because I met Tanith on several occasions, and she made quite an impression on me. She was kind enough to contribute a short story to an anthology I published for my writers group, not long before she died.
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You are very welcome.
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I discovered Kenneth Lee and Angela Carter around the same time, during my obsession with adult fairy tales. I think of them as flip sides of the same coin, with Carter being both elegantly bawdy and sensual, and Lee being lyrical and haunting and mysterious, but with the sensuality much more subdued. They both wrote collections of adult fairy tales that have affected my own life and writing in many ways. I love Tanith Lee as well.
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I meant Tanith, not Kenneth. Damn autocorrect!
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I understood.
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