AN INTERVIEW WITH E. HOFFMANN PRICE
by Fred Anger & Louis C. Smith
Author, linguist, world-traveller, automobile mechanic and cook—that, fantasy fans, is a fairly representative picture of E. Hoffmann Price! The Syrian quarters of Chicago and New York and the Old French Quarter of New Orleans are no strange places to this prolific author of weird stories and detective yarns; he is equally at home in the Philippines and in certain little-known sections of France. He is—but wait!—let's go about this in an orderly manner.
Contrary to popular belief, E. Hoffmann Price did not have his first story published in Weird Tales; his first was sold to "Droll Stories," and brought him the magnificent sum of twenty-four dollars (he chuckles over it now). His first story in Weird Tales was "The Rajah's Gift" which appeared in January 1925; and from this time on, until his job as manager of an acetylene plant petered out, Price wrote exclusively for Weird Tales and Oriental Stories. Since the spring of 1932 he has devoted all his time to fictioneering.
"The Sultan's Jest" his third story in the "Unique Magazine" was later reprinted in "The Sovereign Magazine" published in London.
"The Lord of the Fourth Axis," in Weird Tales last year was revised three times before Farnsworth Wright accepted it. The strange, unique design for the rug which played so prominent part in this latter tale was suggested by a Turkestan prayer rug of unusual shape now hanging in the Chicago home of Editor Wright.
The locale of the Pierre d'Artois stories is authentic: there is the city of Bayonne, France, and there Price lived for some time, visiting the underground chambers, soaking in the atmosphere of the place. Also in France, he visited the city of Lourdes where he obtained from several old legends, material for "Tarbis of the Lake."
To "Strange Detective Stories" Price sold one of the Pierre d'Artois stories, which he considers the wildest story he has ever written.
Material for "The Prophet's Grand-children" (W. T. October 1925) was picked up in the Philippines.
Having sold every story in which a peacock was mentioned, Price quite naturally considers this beautiful bird the best of good luck emblems. But enough for the writings of E. Hoffmann Price! For the man himself:
His favorite smoke is the nargileh or water pipe; though on occasions he does relish a cigar or a cigarette rolled from Bull Durham tobacco.
He speaks German, mangles French and Spanish, and gargles a smattering of Arabic.
While in Oklahoma this spring, he salvaged sheet metal from an abandoned smokestack—welded the pieces together to make an automatic feed acetylene generator for a friend who owned a repair shop.
He lived several years in "Le Vieux Carre"—that's creole for "Old French Quarter"—of New Orleans, which accounts for his frequent use of Crescent City atmosphere. He has been in the Philippines, Japan, Hawaii, Mexico, has covered France from end to end, and is at home in most parts of the States.
Favorite dishes: Chili con Carne, East Indian Curry, and on state occasions, a capon stuffed with pistachios and basted with sherry until, when completely roasted, the fowl is coated with a high glaze of deep walnut color: the result being called "Varnished Vulture" by the crew of fictioneers who make Weird Tales Editorial Rooms their headquarters. And a close second to the foregoing is turtle stew, prepared according to an old Creole recipe.
And, there, in a fragmentary, woefully incomplete way, you have E. Hoffmann Price: swell spinner of tall yarns, linguist, mechanic, cook par excellence—and in general a hell of a good fellow.
Selah!