To the Gentleman from Providence

[j. d. worthington]

On the occasion of the annual marking of his natal day, I simply wish to send a warm birthday wish out into the void wherein rests one very complex, sometimes odd, and thoroughly fascinating Eldritch Gentleman....

Happy Birthday Grandpa. Though you cannot hear the wish, what you did counts for much to many, even those whom you would never have a chance to know....

[Ningauble]

*Raises ice-cream cone* Happy Birthday, Grandpa. And thanks for everything.

[Viatorium Press]

In honour of HPL's 120th, I posted to the Viatorium Press blog a miniature illustration I made with brush and ink of the 1919 prose poem Memory.

[Ningauble]

Originally Posted by Viatorium Press

In honour of HPL's 120th, I posted to the Viatorium Press blog a miniature illustration I made with brush and ink of the 1919 prose poem Memory.

*saunters over to have a look* Whoa! Man, that's awesome!! Thanks!

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Ningauble

*saunters over to have a look* Whoa! Man, that's awesome!! Thanks!

Martin, this may be the only time I've ever felt such a reaction to be understatement.

As the post there seems not only germane to the thread, but an excellent example of Lovecraft's inspiration, I hope you don't mind if I stretch a point and add the link:

The Viatorium Press

[Viatorium Press]

Many thanks to both of you for having a look. I'm very glad you like it.

[w h pugmire, esq.]

I've been thinking long and hard of late of this whole writing in ye Lovecraft tradition as a way to pay homage to H. P. Lovecraft, and I have come to doubt its authenticity. By this I mean that I don't think that those of us who are writing this kind of fiction are doing anything to "help" the reputation of the Gentleman from Providence. It seems, speaking only for myself, that instead we are helping ourselves alone by our fanatical scribbling. I do not judge our writings by saying this, I think many of us are writing worthy weird fiction and having a great time doing so; but this idea that we are somehow paying homage to Lovecraft or keeping his name "alive" seems rather absurd. The only writer who can accomplish such a thing is H. P. Lovecraft himself.

I've been thinking about this because my obsession with writing my Mythos books is crazier than ever! I cannot stop! I want to write more and more and more. Nothing gives me more delight than being a Lovecraftian writer. I am now so into it that I am rarely online doing the Internet social thing, I'm slaving on the next book or books. I've decided to write a book called Some Unknown Gulf of Night (found that in "The Haunter of the Dark") that will be a sequence of 36 prose poems or vignettes inspir'd by Fungi from Yuggoth -- if I can make each segment 1,000 or more I may have a work of some 40,000 words. Lovecraft inspires me as never before. Reading I Am Providence has me in such a state of Lovecraftian ecstasy that I can't sleep at night, my brain is so buzzing with ideas for new books. And when I saw that new trailer and an actual scene from The Whisperer in Darkness at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival I was literally seized with a passion for this writer and his work as never before. I love it, but this idea that I had, that I was someone paying authentic homage to ye Old Gent, now seems rather naive. H. P. Lovecraft needs no help of homage -- he is masterful and immortal on his own.

[j. d. worthington]

In my view, pastiche has very high risks, but it can be done well, and not be a faulty manner of literary expression... so long as it is not one's only or main expression. Hommage, on the other hand, is something which nearly all writers of any worth have done and continue to do -- many doing it interspersed throughout their career. Certainly the French Decadents did so with their nods to Poe; Leiber did his share where HPL is concerned, as did Robert Bloch, and Ramsey Campbell still periodically revisits the Lovecraftian hommage; Collins did with Dickens and vice versa, it would seem; Poe did with numerous writers; and so on.

I don't think such keeps a writer's name or memory alive, save in future scholarship should one become a renowned writer critically (as with Poe, Hawthorne, etc.), but there is certainly nothing wrong with such, either -- as long as one does such in one's own voice and manner... and this is something you have long done, Wilum. True, you can slip into that "fan-boyish" mindset now and again, but it tends to be rather briefly, and you yourself seems quite unsatisfied with these, either abandoning them or reworking them until they are very much your own. And I must admit that I would hate to see a disappearance of "the Lovecraftian tale" by other hands -- that is, one which is hommage or worthy pastiche, not the plethora of tripe which has been done over the past 70+ years. Like a tale done in the style or manner of Poe, Le Fanu, James (Monty or Henry), these can be very worthy works on their own, as you note, and should not be discouraged when done with skill, intelligence, and genuine art. Fortunately, we have a fair number of writers these days who know the difference between imitating Lovecraft's style and expanding the sort of visionary experience he brought to literature, and that makes all the difference....

[Curt Chiarelli]

That his work has attracted so many admirers over the years would be a great tribute. But to inspire creativity in others is a wonderful gift. It is a fount that enriches our world in a perpetually renewable resource. That is the legacy of H.P.L.

[J-WO]

Happy belated birthday, Mr L!

[j. d. worthington]

While it's still the 19th here in Texas, by this time in Providence (as well as a great deal of the rest of the world) it is already August 20, so.... HPL would be 111 today, and I wonder just how close to one of his myriad "preternaturally aged men" he might come personality-wise......

Along with just simply saying "Happy Birthday, Grandpa!", I received an update from Arkham Bazaar, which mentions that there will be not one, but two, H. P. Lovecraft Film Festivals this year: one in San Pedro, CA (16 & 17 Sept.) with Roger Corman as one of the guests; and one in Portland, OR (30 Sept.-1 Oct.), with Huan Vu as guest:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/169287

http://prod3.agileticketing.net/WebS...d-5c7ec8f2ca2b&

This is very good news, as the last I had heard, the HPLFF was no longer going to be a viable option, and the last was going to be the last... now, instead, we have two! (True, evenings only for the Portland, as opposed to all-day activities, but still.....) *sigh* Shame there ain't no way I can go, but... maybe next year....

[J Riff]

What to say to the ancient reprobate as he skulks about the gulfs of death, far beyond all known space and time? Surely he is out there, seeking answers to his own questions and verification of his own postulations. < HPL
Many admit that HPL is one of the best and easiest to do a send up of. The Lurker Beyond Death. He really invented something that people imitate, whether they know it's him or not. < HPL
Some readers may assume that characters from HPL are too strange to exist in a modern world but I can attest otherwise. The Horror from the Damp Basement Suite. It is difficult to write HPLishly, one must be in the zone like Wilum and then travel astrally a ways to get to GOO (Great Old Ones) headquarters and check the bulletin board. FunGuys from Seattle
I have two whole stories that try to lean into HPLism without being blatant and it is difficult stuff to capture and it has to be perfect or it sounds like yibberish like this latenite post is becoming. * The Online Dream-Quest of Unknown Kariff

[Ningauble]

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

[w h pugmire, esq.]

Happy birthday, dearest Lovecraft. How I wish that I cou'd be in Providence with those Others who have gather'd to honour your memory & genius. My gawd, Grandpa--the gift you have given me! It boggles my mind. I had no idea, when I was a clueless Cthulhu fanboy, that your spell wou'd have such a tremendous effect on my life. I am keenly aware of it this month, with ye publication of my newest wee book, one that I wrote IN THE ZONE, baby, so utterly bewitch'd by your magick that nothing else existed but ye Fungi & ye dreams that they evok'd. And I shall not stop--my life, poor paltry thing, is yours, & I shall never cease to sing homage unto your Shade. The gift you have given me, HPL? May I paraphrase you essay, "What Amateurdom and I Have Done For Each Other"? After all, these remarks form a confession rather than a statement, for they are the record of a most unequal exchange whereby I am the gainer. What has Lovecraftian weird fiction, Lovecraft Studies, Lovecraft's Letters, and the Lovecraftians I have met who have so touch'd my heart & soul & mind, given me? Life Itself.