Octavia E. Butler against Lovecraft (World Fantasy Award).

[symbolique]

nil

[hopfrog]

S. T. is having so much fun with these blogs, and with ye critical abuse he has garnered from people who wish he wou'd just stop, that he has just posted another. Indeed, the more people complain about S. T.'s "tone," the more he seems to enjoy it. I find his tone delightfully playful. Yet he is dead serious concerning Lovecraft's reputation, and S. T.'s core message to his critics and those who abuse the memory of H. P. Lovecraft is a realistic evaluation of Lovecraft as man and artist. I have read rumors that the World Fantasy committee is seriously considering the issue. If so, I am astounded; & I hope that if the award is changed because of all this that people will refuse it in protest.

Many have express'd weariness with the discussion of Lovecraft's racism. The topic is important and should not be dismiss'd, and yet it shou'd not eclipse the far more interesting discussion of Lovecraft's approach to weird fiction, his originality, his prose style, literary influences, &c &c. Lovecraft's influence on genre fiction has been immense, and for that reason alone he deserves to be honour'd with his likeness on this award statuette. Why was Lovecraft the chosen icon for this award? No one has discuss'd this. It may be because the very first World Fantasy Convention took place in E'ch-Pi-El's hometown of Providence, and that first convention was indeed an event that paid tribute to H. P. Lovecraft.

The topic will continue as more and more people decide to discuss it. It may continue to taint Lovecraft's personal reputation, but for such a taint to then be used to condemn his excellent fiction is absurd. In any event, all this will have no effect, I feel (and hope), on Lovecraft's popularity, on the growth of his reputation as a giant of genre fiction. How wonderful, to offset all this yelling, that we will soon enjoy a magnificent new hardcover edition of Lovecraft's fabulous stories, THE NEW ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT--a book that celebrates, beautifully, all that is praiseworthy of this exceptional artist.

[Druidic]

Quote

I have read rumors that the World Fantasy committee is seriously considering the issue. If so, I am astounded; & I hope that if the award is changed because of all this that people will refuse it in protest. --hopfrog

Don't get your hopes up too high, hopfrog. I agree with Mark Samuels that awards can be frivolous things and quite independent of literary excellence. Still, some writers would stab backs for an Award for Best Punctuation.
I'm convinced Leiber is right and the horror story is essentially xenophobic (not a criticism because it just reflects an element of human nature) and I believe xenophobia is in our DNA so I find it interesting that the paranoid element in contemporary stories is aimed at friends, family, lovers, "the evil behind the mask" rather than strangers, outsiders. That change has come about in recent decades. The horror story can't change its stripes but it can cunningly adapt...There's a thesis in that somewhere.

There are some good reasons to refuse an award.

Lovecraft's face being on it isn't one of them. It's an award that's supposed to represent creativity, not political allegiance.

The dubious practice of log-rolling and vote-trading that often goes with the whole shebang, alas, never seems to come up.

What a world!

Mark S.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Mark- which awards would you refuse? Are there ones you'd be happy to accept?

I've always felt that the year's best short fiction anthologies are the best awards because people are more likely to read them than try to find all the stories which won the best short fiction awards in the past.

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour

Mark- which awards would you refuse? Are there ones you'd be happy to accept? I've always felt that the year's best short fiction anthologies are the best awards because people are more likely to read them than try to find all the stories which won the best short fiction awards in the past.

None. I'd refuse them all.

One of my greatest pleasures in life would be to refuse an award. I write weird fiction to make a small contribution to a field I love, not to boost my own reputation.

Mind you, all this is fairly well-known.

Mark S.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Do you think it's impossible for an award ceremony to be a genuine attempt to promote the best in the field?

Isn't there also the risk that refusing an award draws more attention to you and although it will make some people unhappy, it will boost your reputation with others?

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour

Do you think it's impossible for an award ceremony to be a genuine attempt to promote the best in the field? Isn't there also the risk that refusing an award draws more attention to you and although it will make some people unhappy, it will boost your reputation with others?

Not at all. I've no doubt there have been very many worthy winners. I'm also in no doubt there have been very many less than worthy winners too. Frankly, it's a game below a certain level. Some are better at it than others. It is possible to reach a degree of disinterested (non) participation wherein the game doesn't come into play so much, if at all. I'm not at that higher level. My reputation is resolutely underground and not mainstream.

Thank heavens.

Outside of a very small circle I'm a complete unknown. Hell, the mods on Wikipedia kicked into touch some entry about me a fan made three or four years back, due to my being a complete non-entity. It was a relief. I don't want gratuitous attention for the sake of it.

Mark S.

[ramonoski]

I'm not a writer and I doubt I'll ever get nominated for anything, but Mark, I think I understand your position. If I were to win something I'm sure I'd turn it down too, or perhaps just make the point to pass it onto whoever I thought deserved it best. And it'd have nothing to do with attention, or selfishness, or even selflessness, not even self-deprecation ("I don't deserve to win" and what not). It just seems like the right thing to do. I'm not sure I can put the precise sentiment into words, but I feel it too.

[qcrisp]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

I'm convinced Leiber is right and the horror story is essentially xenophobic (not a criticism because it just reflects an element of human nature) and I believe xenophobia is in our DNA so I find it interesting that the paranoid element in contemporary stories is aimed at friends, family, lovers, "the evil behind the mask" rather than strangers, outsiders. That change has come about in recent decades. The horror story can't change its stripes but it can cunningly adapt...There's a thesis in that somewhere.

David Bowie - Cygnet Committee - YouTube