HP Lovecraft

I agree that was an interesting post, nice to have another member on board cognizant about authors from previous generations YEH!....:)
 
I read dead people.
Many of the old classics that have been little more than rumors for quite a while are back in print, simply because they've come out of copyright.
Do try to read Crawford, now I must fly, the Society to Abolish the Worship of Rhan-Tegoth will be here any moment, and it's my turn to make the chamomile tea and put out the ladyfingers-ta-ta!
 
Mors Profundis said:
Do try to read Crawford, now I must fly....
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AH I assume you refer to Francis Marion Crawford Sir?...:D

Read Mr. Isaacs, The Witch Of Prague, GreifenStein and The Children Of The King. As per your last post Project Gutenberg has a good selection of his stories in the public domain.
 
Oh, Goody!
I've been looking for more of Crawford.

Whoever told you that Machen and Bierce were inferior to Poe spoke with forked tongue(was it Ashlee Simpson, she has one).

Bierce was a cynic, and a cad-he probably shot off his mouth in Mexico, and somebody plugged him, he was never noted for good manners.

Machen had a gift for the oblique approach to a story-like the "White People", the diary(The Green Book) found long after the fact, nothing to be done now, folks, shame what happened.

Disturbing.

Today, King and Straub carry these traditions on, building on the good work of the old masters-don't despise them because they sell well and are still alive, they're great craftsmen.

Oops, gotta go, the Shining Trapazohedron is glowing, wonder what they want now?

Busy, busy, busy!
 
Mors Profundis, do yourself a favour and check out author Thomas Ligotti's work, along with Poe and Lovecraft the best of the Genre IMHO.
 
That was his style-episodic and confused.
It often worked.
He was greatly admired by Aleister Crowley, but Machen didn't admire him back.
William Seabrook was a cannibal, pass it on !!!
 
Okay, I simply have to jump in here with my two cents' worth:

First, it is wonderful to come across some people who are into intelligent discussions on such a topic -- even the ones I disagree with sound refreshing! I hope I contribute something as worthwhile.

Now, a few general comments on the prior posts: Machen was concerned with "illuminating ecstacy", which makes his stories often rather confused and pointless as far as plot goes (not to mention heavily loaded with extreme coincidence); but his use of the language and ability to convey a subtle drifting from the "common reality" into another realm where spirit rather than flesh really was the important thing (he maintained an almost medieval Church view on the topic) is definitely hard to surpass. He's subtle -- at his best -- but if one reads him in a receptive mood, he can weave quite a spell.

Good to see Crawford mentioned, his "Wandering Ghosts" has recently been reprinted here in the U.S. with additional material left out of the original edition. I'd still say "The Upper Berth" is among his finest, even if it has been overanthologized.

There are some facts coming out about Bierce that rather challenge the standard view; some recent bios and collections of much of his long-neglected writings (essays and such, not fiction) are starting to change the image of "Bitter Bierce" to some degree. But it probably is correct he died in Mexico in 1914 -- if he got near enough, he probably broke his cane over Villa's head; he didn't have much patience with those he thought fools.

I'd love to discuss others, and if anyone else is willing, let me know. As for HPL -- hmmmmm! I suppose it's a matter of whether you like "Asianic" prose or "Attic". His old-fashioned style was more a product of reading the 18th-century essayists (Addison, Steele, Johnson, Gibbon, etc.) and 17th/18th century poets rather than fictionists, with the exception of Poe. And he uses many poetic techniques in his stories to weave the atmosphere, as well. Not for those into fast-paced stories (though the chase in "Shadow Over Innsmouth" certainly shows he could do such), but I can't agree his style was at all bad; simply not something we've been used to since the turn of the century (although some of ERB's books, when you read them, are incredibly dense stylistically; not to mention Abe Merritt).

At very least, I hope some of my comments spark more responses. This could be a great deal of fun (then again, I seem to have a peculiar taste; as my boss used to say: "You really like the weird old sh*t, don't you?"

I look forward to others' comments; and I repeat, My God, this is refreshing!
 
Great story. Have been reading HPL for about twenty years now and revisit the stories regularly. Fantastic stuff.
 
Darn it all, why did I have to find this thread? Looks like its time for another Amazon order. ;)
 
There's been some recent compilations of all Lovecraft's tales with some very good cover art Trey and I'm sure Amazon has them. And that's only a start. If you like them, then there's all the other writers who've been playing in the playground Lovecraft created. Have fun Trey. :);) There's a whole lifetime's worth of reading and re-reading here. You'll have to begin with Cats of Ulthar of course. ;)
 
My favorite Lovecraft Short story is The Color Out of Space ive read and reread this one a number of times. My favorite work by Lovecraft is his novel At the Mountains of Madness.:cool:
 
During my youth, I used to read many of his short stories. I was fascinated by the surreal atmosphere that he conveyed, through details that described many things that could not be concretely pictured. This was a mysterious thing for me, and I loved it and I will always love it.
 
At The Mountains Of Madness gets my 'favourite Lovecraft work' slot: It is, for it's time, reasonably hard SF - but also has HPL's sense of the vast and utterly surreal sitting just out of sight - literally and figuratively hidden just behind the mountains. It can be read as an intelligent take on the danger and hubris of assuming you have the right to enslave others, even those that owe you their very existence, that you've created for that purpose. It shows how even that which seems horrific and alien can see itself as refugees, victims, only trying to save itself. It's got lots of relevance to modern takes and research on AI.
It does lack the sense of the mystic and dream-like that some of his other stuff has, but it's groundedness gives it's eventual excursion in more typically HPL surrealism much more impact.
 
Perky said:
During my youth, I used to read many of his short stories. I was fascinated by the surreal atmosphere that he conveyed, through details that described many things that could not be concretely pictured. This was a mysterious thing for me, and I loved it and I will always love it.
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of interest
Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson
Nightshade and Damnations by Gerald Kersh
Vathek by William Beckford
 
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