Author: Justin A. Burnett

Publisher:

Published: 2021-09

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 9781954082021

Hymns of Abomination: Secret Songs of Leeds is a long-awaited tribute anthology to the work of Matthew M. Bartlett.Bartlett is a beloved voice in contemporary weird fiction known for his richly nightmarish tales of Leeds, a fictionalized version of a village that's part of Northampton, MA. What began as Livejournal posts circulated among friends in the early 2000's, Bartlett's short, macabre, and imaginative yarns found their way into Gateways of Abomination, a collection that swept the small world of weird fiction into giddy delirium. Nathan Ballingrud aptly describes the experience of discovering Gateways in his introduction to Creeping Waves, Bartlett's second anthology: "What I encountered was a writer in full flourish, in complete command of his art. I encountered a savage dream which moved with the lethal confidence of a great white shark. Bartlett was no dilettante; here was someone channeling a vision. The book seemed to vibrate." There aren't many readers in the know who would argue otherwise.Over the years, Bartlett's work has wound its way ever more tightly into the heart of the community, influencing a wide berth of current authors (many of whom have agreed to appear in this anthology) and surely more to come. His achievements include an entry (for his short story "Rangel") in Year's Best Weird Fiction vol. 3 edited by Simon Strantzas alongside weird fiction superstars like Robert Aickman, Ramsey Campbell, and Kristi Demeester. He's even contributed to Cadabra Records' eerie blend of spoken word and haunting soundscapes with releases like Mr. White Noise, Call Me Corey, and Ginny Greenteeth (the latter read by Laurence Harvey). The point is that Bartlett isn't going anywhere, and that's good news for weird fiction and horror readers. As Scott Nicolay has said, "Matthew Bartlett is one of those authors whose emergence redefines the genre. Barker, Ligotti, Barron, Llewellyn... Bartlett." That's quite some praise. It also happens to be the widely-held consensus regarding Bartlett's work.