William Ashbless

William Ashbless is a fictional 19th-century Romantic poet invented in the early 1970s by fantasy writers Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock, who were students at California State University, Fullerton. Ashbless never appeared publicly, as he was described as hideously deformed, and his poetry was considered portentous and meaningless. He is often featured as a character in Powers' novels, including 'The Anubis Gates' and 'Last Call'.