Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) remains a controversial and divisive figure. Although his peerless contribution to the development of occult theory and practice during his own lifetime and after is unarguable, various aspects of his lifestyle made him notorious. However, he was also a prolific writer and critic, and began his adult life as a poet. This essay explores this side of his output, and specifically his engagement with contemporary writers of weird fiction, such as Arthur Machen and Lord Dunsany. The argument is also made that Crowley’s occult practice shapes and informs his responses to fiction, and that examining his approach to the question of authorial intentionality can cast light on wider critical practice today.