Unappreciated in his time, Howard Phillips Lovecraft is primarily known today for his short stories, exemplifying the sub-genre that we know now as "cosmic horror." His language was archaic even for his time, but his works would inspire future authors for generations. His influence cannot be seperated from the horror genre as we know it today.
Lovecraft had a short and tragic life. He came from a family of declining wealth and suffered from poor health throughout his childhood, leading him to embrace the company of books. His fixation with insanity can likely be traced back to his parents, who both struggled with mental illness before their deaths at a young age.
In addition to his short stories, Lovecraft was a prolific letter writer. He mainted contact with several of his contemperaries and freely encouraged them to include his ideas in their own works, leading to the lore behind Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos" to spread beyond his own body of writing long before finding popularity. He was estimated to have written 30,000-100,000 letters during his lifetime, making him the second largest epistolarian in recorded history. These letters are valuable to historians, but also make clear the extremely racist beliefs that Lovecraft held.
Much discussion is held to this day about the merits and challenges of Lovecraft's legacy. While influential, aspects of his character it hard to celebrate him. Many conversations have sparked on his account on whether or not one can seperate art from arist, or if one should even attempt to do so. Some scholars speculate that the darker aspect author's character may be the reason he was able to write such dark tales to begin with.
Even though Lovecraft died unrecognized in his time, for better or worse his contributions are remembered to this day, in readers who still enjoy his work, in pop culture, and in a new generation of authors that seek to carry on the better qualities of his work and leave the rest in the past.
Completed for DTC 355, Professor Will Luers
Images Used:
Portrait of H. P. Lovecraft by Lucius B. Truesdell
"Shoggoth," by Nottsuo
"Haunter in the Dark," byErnő Juhász
Photograph of H. P. Lovecrafts headstone by Will Hart