Including work from as early as the precocious Star-Treader and Other Poems (1912) and as late as the posthumously published The Hill of Dionysus (1962), The Last Oblivion features such celebrated works as "Nero," "Ode to the Abyss," and Smith's exquisite elegies to his mentor George Sterling and to his colleague in fantasy, H. P. Lovecraft. Poems on Zothique, Averoigne, and Atlantis-realms in which many of his prose tales are set-are also featured. As an aid to readers, an exhaustive glossay of unusual words and names used in Smith's poetry is provided.
S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz are leading authorities on Smith, H. P. Lovecraft, and their circle. Among their numerous publications are Hippocampus Press editions of the complete poetry of George Sterling, and the collected works of Samuel Loveman.