Morgan “The Morgman” Holmes recently sent word that apparently Steve Trout died sometime last month — “69 years old. Appears to have been Alzheimer’s disease. He must have had one of those aggressive versions that can hit younger, a la Charles Beaumont.
“He had been out of touch for a while. I want to say he quit REHupa 8 or 10 years ago.”
Trout was a mainstay in the Robert E. Howard United Press Association for many years. I want to say he joined during one of the mailings in the numeric 30s or 40s or not too much later. Surely by the 60s. And I think he was around for mlg 200. Anyway, a long time.
Circa mlg 100, when I rejoined briefly, my impression was that the “Big Three” of the a.p.a. — doing the most at the time, with the most ambitions — were Trout, Vern Clark and Rusty Burke. Almost instantly I got into a fight with Vern and Trout over their attempt to handle research into the Robert E. Howard Library. All well and good, but they weren’t giving proper credit to Steve Eng and his piece in The Dark Barbarian — just looting it wholesale without citing Eng. At one point they turned out some list in which they mention REH had some Swineburne — not Swinburne — in hand. Oink-oink, said I.
When I began putting together The Barbaric Triumph as a sequel volume to The Dark Barbarian, I did so in large part because a whole new generation of REH fans and potential critics had popped up and were making due in REHupa.
They could have a showcase, and they could fill out an actual book.
I put out the word that I was going to edit the hell out of everything, if it needed editing, especially since the New Guys didn’t have their critical feet under them as yet.
Trout asked about doing something. I told him, sure, but expect to be edited. The only one of the older generations of REHupa guys to inquire.
Trout had become known in the a.p.a. for digging up old books, looking for any links to REH, so I made sure he pulled that expertise into action.
He didn’t like it that I also asked him to jazz up the wordage a bit and instead of Howard, Howard, Howard throw in a the Texan or the creator of Conan or something every now and then to break it up, make it more lively (and thus easier to read). I’m told that he griped about that angle later in REHupa.
My impression, however, is that he was pretty happy with his essay. Solid piece of work, at the end. I think it shows what Trout was capable of — lots of people seem as if they ought to be capable of writing something, but so few do.
Trout did it, and he made the effort when his old compadres in REHupa didn’t bother.
But then, not everyone can do actual litcrit.
