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Early,
early in my young and tender years
led astray by
wind and air, by lonesome water
talking to the core
inside, charmed away
by sunlight dappling pond and
forest floor --
--
August Derleth,
"Apologia"
August
William Derleth was born in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on
24 February 1909. A descendent of original settlers,
Derleth was a fourth-generation citizen of Sauk City,
and as indigenous to the region as any other animal
commonly found in south-central Wisconsin.
Derleth's
world of childhood was defined by his environment. Several
relatives and friends of the family lived nearby, and
their houses were always open to him. Derleth soon knew
all the streets, lanes, and gardens of Sauk City and
its neighbouring village Prairie du Sac. These twin
villages, lying along the western bank of the Wisconsin
River, combined into the small town of Sac Prairie,
formed the setting for Derleth's best work.
Parochial
school encouraged Derleth's creativity. I was not
much of an artist. My hand was clumsy, my patience short,
and though I warmed to what I liked -- and I liked landscapes,
as if already at that early age the contours of the
land that was Sac Prairie beckoned to me -- I could
not recreate it...
Books
were always an attraction, and even if Derleth's watercolours
were not able to catch the scenes that he loved, he
was soon taught that they lay within the small compass
of the brain, and that the fire of creative talent coupled
with artistic discipline could bring all into being
before one's eyes...in words.
Derleth
started writing while at school, and he was still a
high school student when he made his first sale with
"Bat's Belfry" -- a vampire short story that
appeared in the May 1926 issue of Weird Tales.
Although described as a schoolboy pastiche of
Dracula, the story nevertheless represented the beginning
of Derleth's association with "the Unique Magazine".
When Weird Tales folded in 1954, Derleth had
had over 120 stories published there (and nearly 150
in total if collaborations are included).
The
macabre and uncanny thus formed an important and integral
part of Derleth's fictional output -- and later profoundly
altered the direction of his career. After finishing
university Derleth was eventually able to earn the bulk
his living from writing. He did so for the rest of his
life.
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