S.H.I.E.L.D.W.A.L.L. Operation Auntie

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WARNING: CLASSIFIED MATERIAL

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS WILL BE DETECTED, OBSERVED, AND SEVERELY DEALT WITH TO THE FULL EXTENT OUTSIDE THE LAW

THIS IS YOUR SOLE WARNING
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05/11/11

Shieldbearers,

Agent Taranaich here. I felt strongly enough about the recent episode of The Review Show to contact the BBC directly through their complaints facility.  A transcript of the document follows below:

I wish to complain about the final segment of "The Review Show," where Stewart Lee is introduced by Kirsty Wark. She makes the claim that the works which Lee will be discussing are out of print: a simple internet search would prove that this is hardly the case. In fact, Robert E. Howard's work has been printed in dozens of easily attainable collections and anthologies in the past decade alone, the most recent of which was published last month.  Arthur Machen's work is similarly prolific, and can be found in many publications from the last ten years, including this year. Of the three, Nina Hamnett is the least available, but even her novel "Laughing Torso" has been published five times since 2004. All of these works can be purchased new from Amazon.co.uk.

Secondly, and much more seriously, Lee claims that Robert E. Howard was "mad" and "insane," two highly inflammatory descriptions which are downright libellous, but more importantly unsubstantiated by any research or scholarship from Howard experts in modern times. Lee supports this statement by claiming that Howard "maintained that he didn't write" any of the stories, but instead was dictated to by characters standing over his shoulder: this is a gross misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Howard's complex writing process, and ignores the fact that Howard made pains to ensure no-one took his metaphorical descriptions literally:

http://rehguide.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/robert-e-howard-and-the-ghost-of-conan/
http://www.thecimmerian.com/milius-mentions-howard/

Robert E. Howard has long been the subject of much misrepresentation and misunderstanding in the years since his death, be it from biased critics to well-meaning but inept biographers, and it was difficult to separate fact from fiction for many years. However, Howard scholarship has made great strides in the past 30 years through the efforts of Glenn Lord, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, the Robert E. Howard Foundation (I am a member of both organisations), and countless others of professional and amateur backgrounds who work tirelessly to dispel the myths and rumours and uncover and uphold the truth. By bringing up an old, easily disproven myth, this program has undermined its integrity, and failed to provide an accurate representation of its subject.

If Wark, Lee et al were discussing a present-day author in such a careless manner, I think they would be served with papers suing them for libel.  In this day and age, it is unacceptable to broadcast inaccurate and damaging statements about historic individuals when it could have been easily avoided by a minimal amount of research.

I would like an on-air clarification of the facts of Robert E. Howard's life as understood by the latest research by experts in the field, and an acknowledgement that the statements presented by Wark and Lee were erroneous and inaccurate.  I would also like an on-air acknowledgement of the availability of Howard's, Machen's and Hamnet's work in recent years.

The corporation warns that a response will be made within the next ten days: my goal is that the next episode of The Review Show will acknowledge their mistake on-air, and hope to undo the damage such statements may have made. I request all S.H.I.E.L.D.W.A.L.L. agents in Alba Division to follow the same procedure, and for international agents to consider a similar means of action through BBC Worldwide, or the local branch. As ever, keep the mantra of savage courtesy in mind.

Shields Up,

--Agent Taranaich