More on Lovecraft

Lovecraft had a very wide learning, and consequently sound insights on most subjects he embraced, as can be seen in his letters and essays. But he didn't have a full grasp on everything in his immediate surroundings. For example, he was totally against drinking alchohol, to save and conserve his fellow men - but ate himself to death on ice cream and cookies (I was eating ice cream now. That's what got me thinking), chocolate and coffee, and bad cans, instead of proper food. (Couldn't his aunts have cooked dinner for him?! They lived under the same roof, after all. And fish once in a while, properly seasoned, wouldn't have hurt him.). Otherwise he might have lived well into the 1970s. Think what fantastic stories he could have written in the 1940s!, through the 1950s!, the 1960s!, and even perhaps the 1970s.
... But, ... that is a vain thought. He produced a respectable body of work during his meted lifetime, counting in his letters and essays. The stories themselves are a goodly number, each composed with artistic integrity.
 
From the thread Carnival Noir:
bendk said:
Lovecraft sees a freakshow. ...

In the book Midnight Rambles H.P. Lovecraft in Gotham by David J. Goodwin (highly recommended) I found this passage of interest:

On this particular night, Greene and Lovecraft were pleasantly surprised to find Coney Island sparsely crowded. Taking advantage of such a rare luxury, the couple patronized several of the sideshows (popularly known as "freak shows"), then a mainstay of the beach. An aging performer dressed in a tuxedo and playing a violin and xylophone for the show's guests fascinated Lovecraft. This was "Zip, the Pinhead," otherwise known as "The What-Is-It."

A Black American born in New Jersey to formerly enslaved parents. William Henry Johnson, "Zip" suffered from microcephaly. He shaved off his hair except a small tuft to draw attention to his extended jaw, tapered cranium, and small head. By 1925, he was a longtime veteran of circuses and sideshows, having performed at Barnum's American Museum and the Ringling Brothers Circus. While touring the United States between December 1867 and April of 1868, novelist Charles Dickens purportedly saw Johston at Barnum's and exclaimed, "What is it?" According to this legend, the author of David Copperfield and Great Expectations unknowingly bestowed a permanent stage name upon Johnson.

Given the range of acts at Coney Islan, why did "Zip" draw Lovecraft's attention? In the margins of his letter chronicling his and Greene's night at the resort, he drew a sketch of the performer's head. Lovecraft himself had a long face and high forehead. Prior to his marriage, he was deeply insecure about his facial features. When he was a child and later as a young man, Lovecraft's mother may have tormented him about his looks. A neighbor recalled Sarah Susan Lovecraft describing her son as "awful' and "hideous" and her near obsession with his physical appearance. She seemingly failed to observe that her son inherited her own facial characteristics. Greene herself remembered Lovecraft's acute complexes about his looks early i their relationship. Subconsciously, might have the imprint of possible emotional abuse and trauma resulted in a quiet empathy for Zip on Lovecraft's part. As someone who instinctively disparaged ethnic and racial minorities, he refrained from making similar comments concerning this seriously disabled individual. He did not seem to be unnerved or disgusted by Zip's abnormalities or question the validity of his or his fellow (and presumably equally physically challenged) performers' social place on Coney Island and within the city beyond the beach.
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In some of the photos of Lovecraft he radiated strong confidence and ease and therefore charisma. His markedly chiseled facial features on those moments look beautiful. He reportedly attracted women when engaged in the amateur journalism literature movement. And he was quite handsome in those early years. When he was married to Sonia Greene he exuded sexuality. His smile was also quite winning and sprightly, with deep set cheek dimples. Clearly catching. Mainstream opinion about good looks follow other molds, but in real life attraction is more complex. To liken him to being ghoulish, as some have done, is incorrect, ... which was judged from badly lit and contrasted photographs. His macabre graveyard humour also contributed to this. I once showed one of the classic photo portraits of Lovecraft alongside one of Clark Ashton Smith to my mother, and she thought Lovecraft was better looking than Smith, even though Smith in his time was considered something of an elegant and charming womanizer.
 
Druidic said:
... 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. ...
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Looking at the manuscript at Brown's library, it seems to be the other way around after all. Joshi got it right. It was Derleth who tampered with the final sentence (if that is his handwriting in the manuscript), and after that the sentence was even further changed for the final print in Weird Tales and the original Arkham House collection. Derleth was quite authoritative about others's work, and dominant in general (while generous at the same time), and edited as he well pleased and saw fit. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
If you want to take part of Lovecraft's intelligent thoughts and philosophical insights, you read any of his letters to his many correspondents. If you want to walk alongside him, and see in detail what he does throughout the day, exactly like watching a live documentary, you specifically read his diary letters to his aunt Lillian D. Clark.

Both kinds of letters are tremendously entertaining. I think Lovecraft was wholly unable to write a single dull sentence. Why? Partly because of his richly varied autodidact learning; but primarily because he burned with enthusiasm and a love of life. Genuine life that is, highly evolved, imaginative, and aesthetic, ... not conventional egotistic pursuits, vulgar materialism or money.

It is also a grave misunderstanding that Lovecraft would have been a hermit or antisocial. He had a vast social network of friends, many of which he met from day to day.

He was also a very generous human being, his cultivation and personal refinement hearkening back to the teachings of Plato.
 
I seem to recall that Lovecraft visited a cave somewhere along the eastern sea border, perhaps in Virginia or North Carolina?, but I don't remember the name of the cave. A real limestone cavern with stalactites and stalagmites and natural winding narrow corridors, and he carried a lantern. I know he eagerly wanted to visit Mammoth Cave (model for "The Beast in the Cave") in Kentucky, but never got the opportunity, and could not afford to travel there.

Which caves did he visit, and when?
 
Knygathin said:
I know he eagerly wanted to visit Mammoth Cave (model for "The Beast in the Cave") in Kentucky, but never got the opportunity, and could not afford to travel there.

Which caves did he visit, and when?
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Carter Caves would have been closer and doable, but it was still in private hands at that time.
Unsure how HPL would have heard about that, unless one of his readers tipped him off.
 
In 1932 Lovecraft travelled through Tennessee (visiting Lookout Mountain Caverns), on to Memphis, and along the Mississippi River down to New Orleans.

So while in Tennessee he was actually not far from Mammoth Cave, which is the longest known cave system in the world, at 686 km surveyed. That's 426 miles of passageways, folks. You don't want to lose your way down there.
 
Was Lovecraft's essay "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland" in fact extracted from one of his letters, and, if so, has the letter been identified yet? It appears to me written as an original formal essay more than in the nature of a dialogue with some correspondent.
 
Yes, the original letter has been identified, and you’re absolutely right that it feels more like an original essay, it’s one of those examples of Lovecraft’s epistolary brilliance that blurs the line between casual correspondence and formal literary output
 
Knygathin said:
Was Lovecraft's essay "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland" in fact extracted from one of his letters, and, if so, has the letter been identified yet? It appears to me written as an original formal essay more than in the nature of a dialogue with some correspondent.
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ChatGPT

H.P. Lovecraft's essay "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland" delves into the origins and evolution of the fantastical landscapes and themes that appear in fairy tales. In this essay, Lovecraft explores how mythologies, folklore, and ancient traditions shaped the vibrant and mystical worlds often depicted in fairy literature. He discusses the symbolism, cultural influences, and human longing for escapism that are foundational to the allure of these realms. Lovecraft's signature approach often highlights the darker and more mysterious aspects of imagination. In "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland," he examines how the interplay between fear and wonder creates a captivating environment in fairy tales, one that resonates deeply with human emotions and psyche.

H.P. Lovecraft's essay "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland" was first published in 1944 as part of the collection Marginalia. This collection was edited by August Derleth, who often included fragments of Lovecraft's correspondence and gave them titles.

The specific letter in which H.P. Lovecraft discussed the ideas later compiled as "Some Backgrounds of Fairyland" isn't clearly identified in the available sources. Many of Lovecraft's essays were drawn from his extensive correspondence, but the exact letter or recipient for this particular piece isn't explicitly documented. (I can't find the letter, but this is obviously untrue- bendk)
 
Will someone please cite the date and recipient of that letter? Unless that can be done, its supposed identification seems to be merely a loose rumour. Or is there some other proof? It sounds as if Nanny95 has read the actual letter. I would like to read it too.

August Derleth was meticulous about saving all of Lovecraft's letters. He was for instance extremely upset with Sonia Greene after she dumped most of her letters from Lovecraft (several hundreds) on a pyre and burned them up. At the same time Derleth was quite imaginative and subjective in his (mis)interpreting of Lovecraft's work. He was engaged in Lovecraft's literary output even if he didn't have full respect for it; but he was also authoritative - completely his own, very busy, and casually edited as he saw fitting for the occasion. He brought Lovecraft to the world, in his own rough and inspired way. Presented the aura and atmosphere. Bless him.

I suppose all letters that came Derleth's way must have been published by now, under Schultz's and Joshi's editorship.
 
Knygathin said:
Will someone please cite the date and recipient of that letter?
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The note after the essay in Hippocampus Press' Collected Essays says "Presumably an extract of a letter to Wilfred B. Talman, dated 23 September 1932. The ms. of the letter has not been made available for consultation."
There's no letter of that date in Hippocampus Press' collection of Letters to Talman.
 
Robin Davies said:
The note after the essay in Hippocampus Press' Collected Essays says "Presumably an extract of a letter to Wilfred B. Talman, dated 23 September 1932. The ms. of the letter has not been made available for consultation."
There's no letter of that date in Hippocampus Press' collection of Letters to Talman.
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Thank you Robin. That settles my wild-goose chase.
 
Robin Davies said:
... the essay in Hippocampus Press' Collected Essays ... .
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I have yet only bought the literary criticism and philosophy volumes, harbouring is main fields of debate. Also have Miscellaneous Writings. These are very interesting.

I have peeked into the science volume, and it seems much less significant; his "scientific research" isn't completely reliable either: he found it likely that there were men living on Mars! What about the cold temperature?! - And I don't agree with his deriding attacks on astrology which he obviously had no practical experience or deeper understanding of. Otherwise much of the book looks like his notes from amateur observations through telescope in his teens, general information readily available elsewhere in more competent astronomy literature. ... If I had all the time in the world, I might read this volume too. It has his essay on fairy lore - that is interesting.
 
Which letter describes how Lovecraft got kicked in the crotch? (I can't imagine that, ... loosing his dignified gentlemanly composure completely for a couple of minutes, before straightening up again with a stiff upper lip.) Or, was it R. E. Howard who got booted between the legs in one of his agrestic Texas street brawls?
 
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