Lovecraft

Lovecraft
Author: Donald R. Burleson
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2014-07-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0813147514

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937) has been described variously as the successor to Edgar Allan Poe, a master of the Gothic horror tale, and one of the father of modern supernatural fantasy fiction. Published originally in pulp magazines, his works have grown in popularity since his death, so that more than thirty editions are currently in print. Yet only recently has Lovecraft received serious attention from literary critics. And until now no one has examined his work from a post-structuralist perspective. Donald Burleson fills that void, for the first time in an extended study bringing the resources of deconstruction to bear on the works of this modern gothicist. In an introductory overview, Burleson gives an unusually readable account of deconstruction theory and terminology, a field all too often discussed in densely opaque fashion. He goes on to deconstruct thirteen Lovecraft stories, delving into their fascinating etymological mazes, abundant ambiguities, and shifting levels of meanings. His lively and remarkably jargon-free readings explore Lovecraft's rich figurality to unprecedented depths. At the same time Burleson develops the view that in practicing self-subversion and structural displacement, literary texts perpetuate themselves. His final chapter explores the broad themes running though Lovecraft's fiction, arguing that these themes in themselves prefigure the deconstructive gesture. This insightful and provocative volume will go a long way toward displacing the label of popular writer and establishing Lovecraft as an important figure in American literature.

H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft
Author: H.P. Lovecraft
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2018-06-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1476670919

This collection of H.P. Lovecraft's most influential works presents several of his most famous stories, a sampling of his poetry and an abridgment of his monograph Supernatural Horror in Literature, with commentary providing background and context. Criticism is included from such scholars as S.T. Joshi and Robert M. Price, along with essays by writers Brad Strickland and T.E.D. Klein, and interviews with Pulitzer-nominated author Richard Monaco (Parsival) and award-winning novelists Cherie Priest (Boneshaker) and Caitlin Kiernan (The Drowning Girl).

Lovecraft and Influence

Lovecraft and Influence
Author: Robert H. Waugh
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2013-05-30
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0810891166

Recognized as a major innovator in the weird story, H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an author whose influence was felt by nearly every writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. Considered one of the leading writers of gothic horror, Lovecraft and his work continue to inspire writers today. In Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors, Robert H. Waugh has assembled essays that are vast in scope, ranging from the Bible through the Edwardian period and well into the present. This collection is devoted to authors whose work had an impact on Lovecraft—Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Lord Dunsany—and those who drew inspiration from him, including William S. Burroughs, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and Stephen King. A fascinating anthology, Lovecraft and Influence will appeal to aficionados of classic horror, fantasy, and science fiction and those with an interest in modern authors whose works reflect and honor Lovecraft’s enduring legacy.

H. P. Lovecraft's Dark Arcadia

H. P. Lovecraft's Dark Arcadia
Author: Gavin Callaghan
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2013-06-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0786470798

This volume attempts an objective reassessment of the controversial works and life of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Ignoring secondary accounts and various received truths, Gavin Callaghan goes back to the weird texts themselves, and follows where Lovecraft leads him: into an arcane world of parental giganticism and inverted classicism, in which Lovecraft's parental obsessions were twisted into the all-powerful cosmic monsters of his imaginary cosmology.

H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture

H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture
Author: Don G. Smith
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2015-01-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476604002

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born late in the 19th century, but it was not until after his death in 1937 that he became a worldwide icon of horror and supernatural fiction. Influenced largely by Lord Dunsany and Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft's stories are known for their unique assimilation of gothic themes into science fiction. Lovecraft's influence has stretched far beyond literary horror, as a number of his works have been adapted for feature films, television episodes, comic book tales and, in recent years, video games. This scholarly study highlights Lovecraft's profound impact on 20th century popular culture. Early chapters introduce his complete writings, providing an annotated bibliography of the author's horror and science fiction tales. The works are discussed in the context of the Cthulhu Mythos, an invented mythology centering on ancient and alien beings interacting with the terrestrial world. Later chapters provide a filmography of motion pictures that credit Lovecraft or are identifiably adapted from his works, as well as a discussion of the works that have been adapted for television, comic books, role-playing video games, and music. The book concludes with a close examination of the Lovecraft legacy, commenting on his specific social and metaphysical ideologies and placing the author in context among such notable literary personalities as Mary Shelley, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos

Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos
Author:
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307416798

When H. P. Lovecraft first introduced his macabre universe in the pages of Weird Tales magazine, the response was electrifying. Gifted writers—among them his closest peers—added sinister new elements to the fear-drenched landscape. Here are some of the most famous original stories from the pulp era that played a pivotal role in reflecting the master’s dark vision. FANE OF THE BLACK PHARAOH by Robert Bloch: A man obsessed with unearthing dark secrets succumbs to the lure of the forbidden. BELLS OF HORROR by Henry Kuttner: Infernal chimes ring the promise of dementia and mutilation. THE FIRE OF ASSHURBANIPAL by Robert E. Howard: In the burning Afghan desert, a young American unleashes an ancient curse. THE ABYSS by Robert A. W. Lowndes: A hypnotized man finds himself in an alternate universe, trapped on a high wire between life and death. AND SIXTEEN MORE TALES OF ICY TERROR . . . THE THING ON THE ROOF by Robert E. Howard THE SEVEN GEASES by Clark Ashton Smith THE INVADERS by Henry Kuttner THE THING THAT WALKED ON THE WIND by August Derleth ITHAQUA by August Derleth THE LAIR OF THE STAR-SPAWN by August Derleth & Mark Schorer THE LORD OF ILLUSION by E. Hoffmann Price THE WARDER OF KNOWLEDGE by Richard F. Searight THE SCOURGE OF B’MOTH by Bertram Russell THE HOUSE OF THE WORM by Mearle Prout SPAWN OF THE GREEN ABYSS by C. Hall Thompson THE GUARDIAN OF THE BOOK by Henry Hasse MUSIC OF THE STARS by Duane W. Rimel THE AQUARIUM by Carl Jacobi THE HORROR OUT OF LOVECRAFT by Donald A. Wollheim TO ARKHAM AND THE STARS by Fritz Leiber

H. P. Lovecraft and the Black Magickal Tradition

H. P. Lovecraft and the Black Magickal Tradition
Author: John L. Steadman
Publisher: Weiser Books
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 157863587X

Modern practicing occultists have argued that renowned horror writer H. P. Lovecraft was in possession of in-depth knowledge of black magick. Literary scholars claim that he was a master of his genre and craft, and his findings are purely psychological, nothing more. Was Lovecraft a practitioner of the dark arts himself? Was he privileged to knowledge that cannot be otherwise explained? Weaving the life story of Lovecraft in and out of an analysis of various modern magickal systems, scholar John Steadman has found direct and concrete examples that demonstrate that Lovecraft’s works and specifically his Cthulhu Mythos and his creation of the Necronomicon are a legitimate basis for a working magickal system. Whether you believe Lovecraft had supernatural powers or not, no one can argue against Lovecraft’s profound influence on many modern black arts and the darker currents of western occultism.

Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury

Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury
Author: William F. Touponce
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2013-10-10
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0810892200

In his classic study Supernatural Horror in Literature, H. P. Lovecraft discusses the emergence of what he called spectral literature—literature that involves the gothic themes of the supernatural found in the past but also considers modern society and humanity. Beyond indicating how authors of such works derived pleasure from a sense of cosmic atmosphere, Lovecraft did not elaborate on what he meant by the term spectral as a form of haunted literature concerned with modernity. In Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury: Spectral Journeys, William F. Touponce examines what these three masters of weird fiction reveal about modernity and the condition of being modern in their tales. In this study, Touponce confirms that these three authors viewed storytelling as a kind of journey into the spectral. Furthermore, he explains how each identifies modernity with capitalism in various ways and shows a concern with surpassing the limits of realism, which they see as tied to the representation of bourgeois society. The collected writings of Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury span the length of the tumultuous twentieth century with hundreds of stories. By comparing these authors, Touponce also traces the development of supernatural fiction since the early 1900s. Reading about how these works were tied to various stages of capitalism, one can see the connection between supernatural literature and society. This study will appeal to fans of the three authors discussed here, as well as to scholars and others interested in the connection between literature and society, criticism of supernatural fiction, the nature of storytelling, and the meaning and experience of modernity.

An Epicure in the Terrible

An Epicure in the Terrible
Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 1991
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780838634158

To commemorate the centennial of the birth of H. P. Lovecraft, the editors have assembled essays by leading Lovecraft scholars that embody a wide variety of critical approaches. Biographical essays treat Lovecraft's relation to his parents and his heritage; thematic essays discuss issues such as the function of the narrator in his fiction; and the comparative and genre studies examine Lovecraft's relation to modernism.

Discovering H.P. Lovecraft

Discovering H.P. Lovecraft
Author: Darrell Schweitzer
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2012-03-12
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1434449122

A definitive look at the life and work of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, by a leading scholar of the fantasy and horror field. INTRODUCTION, by Darrell Schweitzer NOTES ON AN ENTITY, by Robert Bloch A LITERARY COPERNICUS, by Fritz Leiber, Jr. THE FOUR FACES OF THE OUTSIDER, by Dirk W. Mosig THE FIRST LEWIS THEOBALD, by R. Boerem STORY-WRITING: A Letter from H. P. Lovecraft CHARACTER GULLIBILITY IN WEIRD FICTION, by Darrell Schweitzer SOME THOUGHTS ON LOVECRAFT, by Arthur Jean Cox THE DERLETH MYTHOS, by Richard L. Tierney GENESIS OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS, by George Wetzel LOVECRAFT’S LADiES, by Ben P. Indick WHEN THE STARS ARE RIGHT, by Richard L. Tierney LOVECRAFT AND LORD DUNSANY, by Darrell Schweitzer H. P. LOVECRAFT AND PSEUDOMATHEMATICS, by Robert Weinberg TEXTUAL PROBLEMS IN LOVECRAFT: A Preliminary Survey, by S. T. Joshi H. P. LOVECRAFT: THE BOOKS, by Lin Carter H. P. LOVECRAFT: A BASIC READING LIST, compiled by Darrell Schweitzer