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Arkwright
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« Reply #26 on: July 20, 2012, 10:30:26 am » |
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Thanks for putting that article up.
The 1912 poem is particularly nasty and inexcusable. The article also examines later - more accepted racism in fiction, which is equally disturbing.
My interpretation of Shadow over Innsmouth still stands however, even if it is a modern interpretation not intended by the writer. In some ways it reflects Lovecraft's own life and failings (An anti-Semite who married a Jewess).
One of the great things about this board is that there is so much knowledge that ill-concieved judgements can be corrected. I stand corrected and I am happy to be corrected on such an important and sensitive issue.
I suppose after the "Fascism for nice people" attack, I have been a bit quick to react to what I see as political attacks on fiction writing.
My apologies to all.
Arkwright
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"I devote my life to two worthy goals: unmasking Dorian the Anarchist and ensuring absolute victory over the Fish People!"
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neon_suntan
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« Reply #27 on: July 20, 2012, 10:39:46 pm » |
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Eeek! Arkwright, i hope you don't think my post was intended as some kind of smackdown! And while I thought I'd read anything by HPL, that poem certainly took me by surprise. BUT despite all of his bizarre opinions I can never stop going back and re-reading his stories though I do avoid Red Hook and one or two others. --------------------------------------------- On a much lighter note there's a site called the HPLovecraft podcast which has been taking an irreverent chronological romp through the HPLs canon, with interjected commentary that is both knowledgeable and humorous... if you like that sort of thing.... http://hppodcraft.com/And here's the link to the first part of my personal crazy fave http://hppodcraft.com/2010/07/28/episode-50-the-dream-quest-of-unknown-kadath-part-1/ |
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Flightless Phoenix
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« Reply #28 on: July 21, 2012, 12:24:39 pm » |
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I had always considered the racism in Lovecraft to be an unavoidable part of fiction written in an era of ignorance, intolerance and misunderstanding, like neon_suntan there are certain stories I avoid re-reading and passages in others that make me uncomfortable, but overall I did not let the racism prevent me from enjoying the writing.
I was not aware of that poem from 1912.
I feel honestly disgusted right now.
I think it'll be a while before I can bring myself to look past the man and just enjoy the stories again.
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neon_suntan
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« Reply #29 on: July 22, 2012, 04:49:46 pm » |
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Necronomicon - use wisely....  |
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Herbert West
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« Reply #30 on: July 23, 2012, 09:23:39 am » |
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My personal favorite is one of his lesser known stories, The Festival. It just hits all the right buttons of creepiness for me. Robert Bloch of Psycho fame was another early Lovecraft devotee. If you can find a copy, his collection Mysteries of the Worm has some good stories. And a bit off topic, but theres a nicely done Lovecraft documentary on Youtube that's worth checking out.
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"I'm not a psychopath Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research!" ~Sherlock Holmes
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kidkunjer
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« Reply #31 on: August 04, 2012, 02:18:22 am » |
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strangely i almost think hes good because he was racist... let me explain that statement so I'm not misunderstood (I'm certainly not racist at all myself)
the fact that he went through life filled with genuine irrational paranoias and fears, especially a fear of the unknown, was what in a way he fed into his stories... to see the world through a bigots eyes, a world filled with madness and terrors... now that truly is a disturbing thing.
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GarethG
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« Reply #32 on: August 04, 2012, 06:51:03 pm » |
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No-one has yet mentioned Arthur Machen. Considered a major influence on Lovecraft. i've downloaded tho only work of his that's free on Amazon, will look for other free books on the other sites like ManyBooks and Gutenberg. I know about him as he was born in Caerleon, Gwent which is not that far from me.
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You, sir! Make an effort!
"a drifting spirit was in our hearts, and we ourselves could not understand it. We just sold our farms and set out north-westwards to find a new home."
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neon_suntan
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« Reply #33 on: August 04, 2012, 08:00:18 pm » |
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Machen was a fascinating fellow and I recall "Great God Pan" and the "White People" being good reads.
But his meander through the backstreets of the Capital in "The London Adventure" is a more obscure but still fascinating book.
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Aleister Crow
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« Reply #34 on: August 04, 2012, 08:02:40 pm » |
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No-one has yet mentioned Arthur Machen. Considered a major influence on Lovecraft. i've downloaded tho only work of his that's free on Amazon, will look for other free books on the other sites like ManyBooks and Gutenberg. I know about him as he was born in Caerleon, Gwent which is not that far from me.
Added to my reading list. At this rate I should be caught up on it by... hmmm... 2236.  |
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'How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!' |
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neon_suntan
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« Reply #35 on: August 04, 2012, 08:12:28 pm » |
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Machen had a very strange experience in his youth which influenced the rest of his life ...he spent his formative years at Llandewi Rectory in Gwent, where one solitary summer afternoon he took an unfamiliar path through the hills and encountered something that touched his soul and chafed against his Christian upbringing - something that, for the rest of his life, he struggled to put into words. And in his first novel "The Hill of Dreams" ... The opening passage, concerning an amorous tryst with an elemental woodland spirit, is described with the lucidity of first-hand experience, a conviction that places his work in a different class from his imitators. Source |
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Arkwright
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« Reply #36 on: August 05, 2012, 08:57:50 pm » |
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Thanks for the info on Machen. I really must read some of his stories. He really could be regarded as the father of urban fantasy as much as the father of horror.
Brilliant.
Arkwright
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Aleister Crow
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« Reply #37 on: August 25, 2012, 07:52:50 pm » |
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A little background: This is what happened when Lovecraft decided to parody romance stories (it is said that this was specifically aimed at writer Fred Jackson). http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sweet_ErmengardeBy the old ones, my ribs hurt.  |
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Miss Groves
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« Reply #38 on: August 25, 2012, 08:43:12 pm » |
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fascinating thread.
I'm not a hugely read fan of Mr L. although i have a great fondness for call of Cthulhu and shadow over innsmouth
recently i was listening to an audiobook of 'call' and started to look up some of the things mentioned in it.
I'm so impressed with the depth of research (even if that knowledge has now been proved fictional or inaccurate) I am intrigued by the idea of a lost city of pillars and such. The lack of overt description makes the imagination work harder and more enjoyable for me to read.
I'm in the middle of reading Mr. Machen's the white people and have several titles lined up next including carnacki.
Who else can you guys recommend?
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Happy Solar Circumnavigation Day!
"Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest of forms." - Sherlock Holmes
Let's eat Grandpa. Let's eat, Grandpa. Punctuation can save someone's life.
£5 out of £295 for a metal clay kiln : (
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neon_suntan
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« Reply #39 on: August 26, 2012, 10:20:18 am » |
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have a look at Lovecrafts essay "SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE" Available here - http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/superhor.htmAnd make a list of the short stories , as many of them are on Gutenberg elsewhere as they're waaay out of copyright. Also if it hasn't been mentioned before... This:- |
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