Who Wrote the Most Poems for Weird Tales?

Although H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith were bested when it came to stories printed in Weird Tales, they were on top in number of poems. H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) wrote 43 poems published in the original run of the magazine (1923-1954). That number includes "Two Sonnets" from February 1939 and "Fungi from Yuggoth" (May 1944), a five-poem cycle. Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) followed closely on Lovecraft's heels with 39 poems, plus one under the pseudonym Timeus Gaylord. Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) is next with 35. Dorothy Quick (1900-1962) and Leah Bodine Drake (1904-1964) were the most prolific of women poets in Weird Tales with 24 each. As in the previous posting, I have used Jaffery and Cook's Collector's Index to Weird Tales as my source. And I have counted only those poems published in the original run of Weird Tales, 1923-1954.

Who Wrote the Most Poems for Weird Tales?

1. H.P. Lovecraft, 43 poems in 38 appearances

2. Clark Ashton Smith, 40, including 1 from Virgil Finlay's poetry series and 1 under the pseudonym Timeus Gaylord

3. Robert E. Howard, 35

4. (tie) Dorothy Quick, 24

4. (tie) Leah Bodine Drake, 24

5. A. Leslie, 23

6. (tie) Cristel Hastings, 17

6. (tie) Edgar Daniel Kramer, 17

6. (tie) Donald Wandrei, 17

7. (tie) Frank Belknap Long, Jr., 12

7. (tie) Alfred I. Tooke, 12

8. Clarence Edwin Flynn, 9

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the most prolific poet in Weird Tales, in his eighteenth century mode. The drawing is by Virgil Finlay.

Text and captions copyright 2011, 2023 Terence E. Hanley