More on Lovecraft

[Druidic]

When you're intentionally translating a work to make it more politically correct you're indulging in censorship, pure and simple. I suspect Joshi doctored the final sentence in "Medusa's Coil" to make it more acceptable. The sentence in the original AH collection of revisions has a better rhythm and sounds like Lovecraft.

In reading a writer's work, I prefer warts and all. They've done this kind of 'editing' with Hodgson and Blackwwod. Minor changes of a word or two today--banning of entire works tomorrow. It's crap.

"Blackie" is just plain bad. Fritz Leiber's "Blackfellow" is far better.

America is lost in a mad fever today. Future historians will look back upon this time as just another Age of Inquisition.

[Speaking Mute]

Depending on the language, there simply might not be words that parallel the offensiveness and exclusivity of American derogatory terms for blacks. In Hebrew, for instance, the closest I can think of is "falasha" for Ethiopians - but this term doesn't refer to dark skinned people in general and can still be used innocuously as "stranger/traveler" (albeit that usage is quickly becoming archaic). Moreover, Lovecraft's racism obviously goes beyond derogatory terms - a translator would have to cut out Lovecraft's constant use of stereotypes and references to ethnicity - e.g. the Polish landlady in Dreams In The Witch-House.

I happen to know quite a few Israeli, Mexican, and Polish Lovecraft fans, as well as some Spanish, Argentinian, and Italian readers - none of them have ever even mentioned Lovecraft's negative characterizations of their nationality/ethnicity. I do know some American Jews who take personal issue with Lovecraft's antisemitism, but they're also politically vocal and rather far left. As I've stated elsewhere, his comments about Jews didn't really phase me, and in literary terms I have bigger issues with antisemitism in English canon authors like Dickens and Shakespeare (Strange Horizons takes easy shots at Lovecraft's racism, but then extols the redeeming qualities of The Merchant of Venice; growing up I was often called "Shylock" to my face, and subject to constant stereotypes about banking/finance since I also liked math - I've yet to be accused of worshiping Dagon.)

[Knygathin]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

... I suspect Joshi doctored the final sentence in "Medusa's Coil" to make it more acceptable. The sentence in the original AH collection of revisions has a better rhythm and sounds like Lovecraft.

That is a very serious accusation. If that is true, it would be awful.

The final words in Weird Tales, January 1939, read "... --for though in deceitfully slight proportion, Marceline was a loathsome, bestial thing, and her forebears had come from Africa."
The alternative in this case is that August Derleth authored those words. Could it likely be his phrase? I don't know Derleth's mind very well.

The revised version reads simply " ... --for though in deceitfully slight proportion, Marceline was a negress." To my ears that sounds like a rather abrupt ending of the sentence, lacking rythm. But I am not literate enough to be a proper judge of that.

The typescript for "Medusa's Coil" exists; it can be checked again.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

It will surely be noted in the Variorum edition.

[Druidic]

Derleth didn't write that line. He published it with the original line, as it appeared in the pulps. ("...black bestial thing...")

Derleth was an Old Time Liberal. He didn't have a racist bone in his body.

The politically correct version may be less shocking to some but, as you noticed, that line is a clunker. It doesn't even read well. It first appeared in Joshi's corrected version as far as I can tell. Still someone other than Joshi could have written it and he might have accepted it as a Lovecraft correction. Bishop claimed Long helped her edit "The Mound." Bishop's memory wasn't reliable and perhaps Long edited Coil. I'm betting, right or wrong, Lovecraft didn't write that. But I'm also betting he wrote the original.

btw, "black" is often used by horror writers to describe the darkest evil. It doesn't necessarily refer to skin color here although it may be a wicked pun on both. Who knows? Who cares?
I didn't think the original Ms. still existed.

Coil is a good story but the last few pages read poorly. I wonder if Long edited it because of length. Bishop was, after all, trying to sell the damn thing.

[Knygathin]

In Weird Tales, January 1939, the word "black" is not present in the last sentence. I believe that was the only pulp publication of "Medusa's Coil", before it was printed by Arkham House.

Frank Belknap Long prepared the typescript, and according to Joshi, it has several errors. (Perhaps Long even censured that last sentence in Lovecraft's text?! But then again, this was surely the typescript used by Derleth, when he promoted the story to Weird Tales?)

Druid wrote: "btw, "black" is often used by horror writers to describe the darkest evil. It doesn't necessarily refer to skin color here although it may be a wicked pun on both. Who knows? Who cares?"

That is often true. "Black" is darkness, and in darkness hides fear and horror and evil.
Other examples possibly open to different interpretations are R. E. Howard's "Black Canaan" and C. A. Smith's "The Black Abbot of Puthuum". One prominent reader of Smith, denied having noticed that the Abbot in Smith's story is negroid, and was appalled even at that suggestion, saying that it was only a matter of "blackness of the soul". But Smith's detailed racial anatomical descriptions make it obvious; except to those who don't want to see.
Those who think that the difference between white Europeans and African negroes, is only of "skin color" and nothing else, are merely deceiving themselves based on political correctness.
But those of us who appreciate the truthfull variety in Nature, in all of Nature (not only among flowers, trees, and lower animals), and allow it to be expressed in Art and literature, we who appreciate things as they are presented to our eyes and senses, we who appreciate dynamic expressions of color, form, anatomical structure, see the differences of character, culture, see the contrasts, we care. Yes, we do care. We want it expressed. We don't want lies, what is bland, politically correct and falsely pretentious.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

I don't think political correctness is that relevant, most people (including myself) don't do science so they have no reason to dispute the current received wisdom. It is the dominant scientific view that racial differences are surface only. Cultural differences are more about location. Why should I dispute the overwhelming scientific consensus?

[Ancient History]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

Derleth didn't write that line. He published it with the original line, as it appeared in the pulps. ("...black bestial thing...")

In the *Variorum* volume 4, page 298:

Quote

negress.] A [crossed out; "loathsome, primal, bestial thing, and in color, black! written in pencil by Derleth]; loathsome, bestial thing, and her forebears had come from Africa. B,C,D

Joshi notes at the beginning that the texts used are:
A = T.M.s. (JHL) - typed manuscript, probably prepared by Frank Belknap Long, partially garbled, and apparently finished by another typist, probably R. H. Barlow, who added "Pencil additions & deletions by Derleth 1937)" on the top corner of the first page.
B = Weird Tales 33, No. 1 (January 1939)
C = Marginalia (Arkham House, 1944)
D = The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions (Arkham House, 1970)

Quote

Derleth was an Old Time Liberal. He didn't have a racist bone in his body.

If you're ever read Derleth's letters, it is quite evident he had his own prejudices, although less pronounced than others in the 1930s. It's also true that someone - not necessarily Derleth - worked to censor at least some of Lovecraft's letters while editing the Selected Letters, to tone down some of Lovecraft's language ("nigger" replaced with "negro," "chink" replaced with "Chinaman," etc.)

[Druidic]

Interesting stuff, Ancient. Thanks.

I have no idea of what Derleth's beliefs were in the 30's but when I exchanged letters with him (65-71) he was the voice of enlightenment. I remember him inveighing against Goldwater as well as the Southern Dems who literally stood in the schoolhouse doors. He cautioned me that an individual should always be judged on his character, not his skin color or religion.He was a great voice for my formative years. Most of all, I learned not to care about the opinions of others, just to live your life as your conscience sees fit.


A side note: I asked him if he had heard Dylan's Highway 61. He replied no, "but he interests me" and then told me he had bought Chuck Berry's latest recording. The gentleman loved to dance. Really. He went as an adult chaperone at a school's dance; before the night was over he was dancing with the students. The older teachers wagged their tongues, "Augie's making a darn fool of himself." He couldn't have cared less. He knew a thing or two about life.
A good and generous guy. I got many fine treats from the dusty cellar of Arkham House which I could not otherwise have afforded.

[Druidic]

Joshi did an amazing job on the corrected texts considering what he had to work with. Thanks for reminding us of that, Ancient History.