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The Dust Dance ("The sin and jest of the times am I...")

Robert E. Howard

First published 1968
Type Poem

Sometimes designated as version 2 of the 3 Howard poems with this name.
Lines 9-12, 29-32, 45-48 and 49-52 are identical to lines 1-3, 5-8, 13-16 and 9-12, respectively, of version 1 ("For I, with the shape of my kin, the ape...").
First published in The Howard Collector # 10, Spring 1968.
Version 3 of poems with the same name is now thought to be the last part of this version (lines 81-96); published copies prior to 2009 do not include lines beyond 80.
This version was found among Howard's papers by Glenn Lord, but that typescript is now lost.
Lines 19-52 appear on p. 40 of The Dark Barbarian, ed. Don Herron.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1968 Cover The Howard Collector, #10 Spring 1968 Glenn Lord FANZINE 34
1972 Cover Echoes from an Iron Harp Donald M. Grant Collection 28
August 2007 Cover The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: Crimson Shadows Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 279
January 2009 Cover The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press Collection 135
April 2009 Cover The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press Collection 135
August 2009 Cover The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press Collection 135
August 2009 Cover Crimson Shadows: The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume One Subterranean Press Collection 279
August 2009 Cover Crimson Shadows: The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume One Subterranean Press Collection 279