LOVECRAFT REMEMBERED (1998) edited by Peter Cannon

[GRWelsh]

I received this a few days ago and it is a treasure trove of remembrances about H. P. Lovecraft by those who knew him and corresponded with him while he was still alive, from when he was young all the way up to his final years. Unfortunately, this hard cover book is out of print and fetches a high price on eBay. I was able to get when for under $100 so I snagged it and I've been reading it eagerly for the past few days. Today is the anniversary of HPL's death: he died on March 15, 1937. Something that stands out to me about HPL while reading this book is just how many people were impressed by how charming, erudite and gentlemanly he was, once they got to know him. This is in sharp contrast to his racist views which were repugnant and embarrassing as evident in his collected letters. It is a good lesson not to put any of your heroes on too high of a pedestal -- we're all human. Yet we can appreciate each other, and the art we create, in spite of our flaws and differences.

[geneweigel]

Shut up, you half-cthulhuian! I might not even fit the standard of the average pure English character of that era. Being French-German-Irish-Italian, I think good old Howard might feature me as a catalyst of the Great Old Ones. Wait, that's too close to the truth...

[GRWelsh]

My guess is he would have been polite to your face but later wrote in a letter: "I just met an unfortunate progeny of miscegnation: good Gallic and German stock tainted by the obviously inferior Irish and Dago."

Off to Red Hook you go!

I wouldn't fare any better as I'm Welsh, Irish, English, French, Dutch, German, Slovak, Polish and Lithuanian... and a little bit of Jew!

[GRWelsh]

I was skimming through this book again and it is one of the best books about Lovecraft the person, with many essays written by people who knew him, some written while he was still alive. Moreso than any biography, collections of essays such as this one and the correspondence that survives are like a way to time travel. I enjoyed Vrest Orton's descriptions of his late night walks with HPL in NYC in 1925. Orton was not a weird writer, so what they had in common was a love of 18th century architecture. At that time, there were still many 18th century buildings in Lower Manhattan, and the two would leave at 10 PM and walk around until 1 or 2 AM and stop at a late night restaurant for coffee. Lovecraft knew all about these buildings and their history and the lives of the early English and Dutch settlers, and Orton thought of how HPL could have written non-fiction articles about this that would sell, but HPL was stubborn. HPL often talked about getting a job but wasn't qualified to do anything at this point and had no work history at age 35. He made some desultory attempts to get a few jobs, but none of them panned out. During his time in NYC he was supported by his wife, Sonia. She said she always deferred to him and tried to make him feel like the head of the house. To her credit, she never comes across as bitter and always seems loving and understanding towards HPL even after their separation. But it must have been disappointing as he didn't work and spent most of his time hanging out with 'the gang' known as the Kalem Club and wandering around all night with friends like Vrest Orton. The weird thing is that Lovecraft's stubborn refusal to do anything other than what he wanted turned out to the right thing in the long run, when considered from the point of view of a fan... If he had taken a job as an editor, writing copy, in sales, etc. would he have produced the body of fiction he did? Probably not!

I often think I need two lives: one to make money, and the second to wholeheartedly pursue intellectual and artistic interests.

[GRWelsh]

The Kalem Club used to meet frequently at each other's apartments -- at George Kirk's the most, but occasionally HPL would host. They would also sometimes meet at places in the city like automats or the Double R Coffee House. The Double R is very interesting because it was founded by the children of Teddy Roosevelt in 1919 after a visit to South America where they experienced many of the old style coffee houses that still existed at that time in Paris, and had flourished in London in the 17th century. They intended to create a chain that would take advantage of Prohibition as this now provided a place for people to gather and converse while drinking something that was legal. The chain never grew larger than two coffee houses: the Brazilian branch and the Argentine branch, both located in Manhattan. More than once, the Kalem Club met at the Double R, and it isn't surprising that Lovecraft would like it so much... He loved coffee with lots of sugar, never drank alcohol, and the Double R let you stay as long as you want no matter how little you spent. They provided writing materials at no cost. They also had sweets and small sandwiches and salads... When you look at the menu, it almost looks exactly like a Starbucks or Panera of today. When most Americans were boiling coffee or using a percolator, the Double R was using the equivalent of a cone filter and freshly roasted and ground coffee... It must have been a dramatic improvement over what local New Yorkers were used to! Lovecraft even wrote a poem dedicated to the Double R Coffee House. One of these Double R Coffee Houses would be a great location for characters to meet at in a CALL OF CTHULHU scenario.

Here may free souls forget the grind
Of busy hour and bustling crowd
And sparkling brightly mind to mind
Display their inmost dreams aloud

[grodog]

I read this back in high school when I first discovered HPL's works (via D&DG), but I haven't reread it since then.

When I finally dig into Joshi's bio, I'll remember to add this into the mix again too. Thanks Gary

Allan.

[GRWelsh]

I'm nearly finished with this book and I highly recommend it for those who are interested in Lovecraft's life and how he was perceived by people who knew him and corresponded with him while he was still alive. A well-researched posthumous biography is commendable but pales in comparison to the reminiscences and letters from people who knew him personally. These essays are like a time capsule, and I felt like I was looking over the shoulder of people who were visiting HPL at his Providence residences at 10 Barnes Street and 66 College Street; the Boston convention of amateur journalists -- where he met his wife to be, Sonia; the Kalem Club gatherings in New York City; all night walks to visit antique buildings and cemeteries; and record-setting ice cream binges (now that sounds like real horror)! It's the closest thing to going back in time and meeting HPL that one can get to...

[geneweigel]

Heh, that HPL ice cream challenge reminds me of when I was in Lake George, N.Y. a while back there is this locally famous ice cream place outside Six flags Great Escape amusement park and as teen I would always get the large ice cream cone from the window places. So it carried into adulthood and the kids were like its a challenge for dad to get through the ice cream. So I was to that amusement park multiple times over the years but because the ice cream was right there at the exit it seemed inconvenient to stop. Well, decades of passing it by synched up with high prices for junk food in the park so I said I'll get you ice cream as we leave instead. Honestly, I was thinking of hitting the "Johnny Rocket" restaurant down the road by a hotel to check out the indoor waterpark but Dorothy wasn't having "fast food" be dinner on vacation. Okay so I say, I'll have the large cone. And the girls behind the counter are shocked and double checking. The cream alone is as large as my forearm. I get this monster in my hand and Dorothy says something like, "Why did you waste money on that?" and I go into challenge mode. So I gruelingly ate it non-stop as it melted and with the final bite, I may have became "polymorphed" literally into a being of cold. I had fallen under ice but I had maintained internal warmth this was different. I immediately became akin to the thoughts behind the HPL story "COOL AIR". Perhaps a connection?

[GRWelsh]

Maybe you've been dead ever since and only animated by the mysterious chemicals within amusement park ice cream.

[geneweigel]

There might be something to that, ever since then I can't even have an ice pop without pause...

[GRWelsh]

A hypothesis for the inspiration for "Cool Air" is that allegedly HPL as a child fell and injured his head which was later packed in ice while he was recovering. It's a secondhand account, though, and I don't think HPL wrote of it himself in any of his letters.

chrisperridas.blogspot.com/2007/09/lovecrafts-alleged-head-trauma-as-boy.html

Still, it is intriguing to consider childhood trauma as the source of nightmarish imaginings.

"Why is my head packed in ice?"
"Well... you had an accident, Howard. And you died."