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The Lovecraft Letters Volume 2: Letters from New York (v. 2)

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The few years H.P. Lovecraft spent in New York were famously unhappy years for him, in exile from his beloved Providence, R. I. But they were the making of him in some other respects, giving him a brief taste of wedded bliss, and boon companionship with a fairly large group of other literary figures.

This volume collects letters written by Lovecraft from New York, mainly to his two aunts back in Providence. While Lovecraft was incapable of writing a completely boring letter, these come very close, because being written to two elderly New England ladies, they tend to eschew everything but diary-like details of day-to-day existence. Lovecraft even refers to the ongoing letter-to-letter narrative explicitly as a diary in installments. As a result, the letters would be of far more interest to Lovecraft biographers than they are to the general, gentle reader.

Lovecraft's Old New England feelings about immigrants,Jews, blacks and anything and anyone else that hasn't got a root in good old New England British stock are also constantly on parade, but it will be fairly clear to the discerning reader that Lovecraft is recreating the letter-equivalent of Old New England table talk for his aunts. Lovecraft himself had been liberated to a great extent from this insular view... considering that his wife was a Russian Jewish immigrant, and one of his best friends was a Jewish poet! However, aunts aside, the swarms of "alien creatures" observable in the poor neighborhoods of New York certainly inspire some notable Lovecraftian rants within the letters, and indeed clearly inspired, directly and indirectly, some of his best horror tales.

The book will mean more to you if you have first read the Lovecraft biography by S. Joshi, one of the editors of these letters. The book is also very attractively printed and bound, and free of misprints.

H. P. Lovecraft: Letters From New York is volume 2 of the "Lovecraft Letters" series, which compiles correspondence written by the famous occult and horror author H.P. Lovecraft in 1922, 1924, 1925, and 1926. Most of the text is based directly upon existing manuscript sources; some is from the so-called Arkham House transcripts of Lovecraft's letters, which were prepared under August Derleth's watchful eye for use in the "Selected Letters". A few black-and-white sketches or diagrams from the letters themselves are reprinted, though for the most part H. P. Lovecraft: Letters From New York consists of straightforward text typed in a readable font. A glossary of names and an index allow for quick and easy reference in this absorbing close look into the mind's eye of a creative genius.

A fascinating journey of a man forced out of his inherent tendency towards reclusivity into the wide and varied arena of New York City in the 1920's. I was struck by how sociable a fellow Lovecraft became at this time - meeting frequently with fellow amateur writers and friends for dinner, antiquarian walks, literary discussions, and even getting married "on the sly." Plainly, this was an important stimulus that he enjoyed. I expected lots of bitter disillusionment in these letters, but was pleasantly surprised to find not only a boyish wonder of this new environment, but also a "hail fellow well met" camaraderie among his friends. Yes, Lovecraft came to hate his exile in NYC, but these feelings are not evident in the majority of these letters. Instead, we see a man blossoming in an environment that is not congenial to his nature, demonstrating his adaptability and determination to make the best of things. I frequently paused in my reading to reflect how just a little bit of luck thrown Lovecraft's way could have brought him out of his self-imposed shell and provided him the opportunity to truly develop his obvious gifts in a public rather than just a largely private sphere. He was ready for such an opportunity in NYC, but it tragically never materialized. That's what these letters so heartbreakingly reveal - a man on the cusp of change whom indifferent circumstance denies. As a coda, the last letter is Lovecraft writing from his beloved Providence, having just escaped from NYC. We feel the joy of a man who has found himself once again, but had the fates been kinder, perhaps his need for returning home would not have been so imperative.