In addition to his classics of horror fiction, it is estimated that Lovecraft wrote 100,000 letters — or roughly 15 every day of his adult life — ranging from one-page diaries to seventy-page diatribes. Perhaps 20,000 of those letters have survived, in the hands of private collectors and at the John Hay Library in Providence.
In each episode of this podcast, we'll read one of these letters (or part of it) and then discuss it. In his letters HPL reveals an amazing breadth of knowledge of philosophy, science, history, literature, art and many other subjects, and forcefully asserts some highly considered opinions (some of which can be upsetting).
And of course his letters offer a fascinating window into his personal life and times. Although we've been working with Lovecraftian material for over 30 years, we still find interesting new things in his letters, and while we don't claim to be experts we look forward to sharing them with a wider audience.
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- Posted August 23, 2020
Howard's Bombshell
A letter from March 9, 1924 in which HPL breaks some big news to his poor Aunt Lillian. HPL's run off and married Sonia Greene in New York! This letter is amazing not just for what HPL reveals, but for how he reveals this shocking news.
Music by Troy Sterling Nies. Our thanks to S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz for their book Lord of a Visible World: An Autobiography in Letters. Originally published by the University of Ohio Press, the second edition is now available directly from Hippocampus Press. Be on the lookout for their new collection of Letters to Family and Friends!
Howard and Sonia were married at St. Paul's Chapel, the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. George Washington and other Founding Fathers worshipped there.
HPL mentions Pennsylvania Station a couple of times in this letter. It was an iconic train station in New York City and we really wish we could have seen it in person, but it was torn down in 1963.
They spent their honeymoon in Philadelphia, and when they weren't busy typing "Imprisoned With the Pharaohs", they did get in some sightseeing. HPL included a copy of this Royal Blue Line brochure with this letter, so Lillian could get an idea of what they saw.
If you'd like to follow the exercise regimen that Sonia encouraged HPL to follow, then check out the Daily Dozen!
