Customer Reviews

Miscellaneous Writings

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With so many different Lovecraft collections out there, it may help prospective buyers to know what's actually in this one:

[By S. T. Joshi and James Turner:] Editorial Note; [By Joshi:] Introduction; Dreams and Fancies [an introduction to the following group of H. P. Lovecraft selections]; [By Lovecraft:] The Little Glass Bottle [a short story written during childhood]; The Secret Cave [a short story written during childhood]; The Mystery of the Grave-Yard [a novelette-styled story written during childhood]; The Mysterious Ship [a novelette-styled story written during childhood]; A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson [a literary parody]; Old Bugs [a literary parody]; Memory [a prose poem]; Nyarlathotep [a prose poem; not to be confused with his later verse poem retelling with the same title]; Ex Oblivione [a prose poem]; What the Moon Brings [a prose poem]; Sweet Ermengarde [a literary parody]; The Very Old Folk [an excerpted recounting of a dream from a letter he wrote to someone]; History of the Necronomicon [a literary parody]; Ibid [a literary parody]; Discarded Draft of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" [the surviving portion of an early draft of one of his great novelette]; The Battle That Ended the Century [a literary parody written in collaboration with R. H. Barlow]; Collapsing Cosmoses [a round robin literary parody written with Barlow]; The Challenge from Beyond [Lovecraft's contribution to a pulp magazine's round robin short story]; [By Joshi:] The Weird Fantasist [an introduction to the following group of Lovecraft selections]; [By Lovecraft:] Commonplace Book [the text of the notebook Lovecraft maintained for recording ideas for future stories]; Lord Dunsany and His Work [an essay]; Notes on Writing Weird Fiction [an essay]; Some Notes on Interplanetary Fiction [an essay]; In Memoriam: Robert Ervin Howard [a remembrance of Robert E. Howard]; [By Joshi:] Mechanistic Materialist [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] Idealism and Materialism -- A Reflection [an essay]; Life for Humanity's Sake [a reply to other writers]; In Defence of Dagon [the collected replies to correspondence disparaging his short story "Dagon"]; Nietzscheism and Realism [a collection of excerpts edited by Sonia Greene from Lovecraft's letters to her]; The Materialist Today [an essay]; Some Cause of Self-Immolation [an essay]; Heritage or Modernism: Common Sense in Art Forms [an essay]; [By Joshi:] Literary Criticism [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] Metrical Regularity [a commentary]; The Vers Libre Epidemic [a commentary]; The Case for Classicism [a reply to another writer]; Literary Composition [a guide]; Ars Gratia Artis [a commentary]; The Poetry of Lilian Middleton [a commentary]; Rudis Indigestaque Moles [a commentary]; In the Editor's Study [a commentary]; The Professional Incubus [a commentary]; The Omnipresent Philistine [a commentary]; What Belongs in Verse [a commentary]; [By Joshi:] Political Theorist [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] The Crime of the Century [an essay]; More Chain Lightening [an essay]; Old England and the "Hyphen" [an essay]; Revolutionary Mythology [a commentary]; Americanism [an essay]; The League [a commentary]; Bolshevism [an essay]; Some Repetitions on the Times [an essay]; [By Joshi:] Antiquarian Travels [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] Vermont -- A First Impression [an essay]; Observations on Several Parts of America [an essay and literary parody]; Travels in the Provinces of America [an essay and literary parody]; An Account of Charleston [an essay and literary parody]; Some Dutch Footprints in New England [an essay]; Homes and Shrines of Poe [an essay]; [By Joshi:] Amateur Journalist [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] In a Major Key [a commentary]; The Dignity of Journalism [a commentary]; Symphony and Stress [a reply to another writer]; United Amateur Press Association: Exponent of Amateur Journalism [a guide]; Les Mouches Fantastique [a commentary]; For What Does the United Stand? [a commentary]; Amateur Journalism: Its Possible Needs and Betterment [the text of a speech]; What Amateurdom and I Have Done for Each Other [a commentary]; Lucubrations Lovecraftian [an ensemble of commentaries and replies to other writers]; A Matter of Uniteds [a commentary]; Mrs. Miniter -- Estimates and Recollections [a remembrance]; Some Current Motives and Practices [a commentary]; [By Joshi:] Epistolarian [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] (without listing each one, six letters-to-the-editor and three private letters); [By Joshi:] Personal [an introduction to the following group of selections]; [By Lovecraft:] The Brief Autobiography of an Inconsequential Scribbler [a commentary]; Within the Gates [the text of a speech]; A Confession of Unfaith [a commentary]; Commercial Blurbs [a collection of advertising copy]; Cats and Dogs [an essay]; Some Notes on a Nonentity [an essay]; [By Joshi:] Bibliography [a listing of the sources for the Lovecraft texts used in this volume]

(I've somewhat arbitrarily drawn a distinction above between "essay" and "commentary". By the former, I mean more or less self-standing nonfiction pieces; by the latter, nonfiction pieces that refer to the periodical in which they were to be placed or to a specialized audience being addressed.)

As one can see, this is one long and complicated hodgepodge of selections. There's good news and bad news here.

The good news is that this book brings into a collected bound volume many interesting pieces, including certain works of short fiction that were omitted from Arkham House's four volumes of Lovecraft's fiction, that were either long out of print or only available in chapbooks from tiny specialty publishers (mainly Necronomicon Press).

The bad news is what this book isn't. It purports to fill in the fictional pieces omitted in the same publisher's forementioned four-volume set, yet in turn omits two Lovecraft collaborations, "The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast" and "The Slaying of the Monster", that were (finally) first published the year before in chapbook form. Moreover, Arkham House, which was originally established to publish and promote the writings of Lovecraft, should be publishing multiple organized collections of Lovecraft's complete works, not a crazy quilt omnibus that in effect belittles his literary importance.

The editor of this collection, S. T. Joshi, is not to blame here: He'd love to edit a systematically arranged, complete set of the works of Lovecraft. Blame the August Derleth Estate, which controls Arkham House and seems to prefer publishing mediocre s/f anthologies to properly honoring Lovecraft.

Miscellaneous Writings is an extensive and impressive collection of works by the famous and ground-breaking horror author H. P. Lovecraft, who is perhaps best known for creating Great Cthullu and other primordial cosmic entities. This volume compiles Lovecraft's little-known letters, essays, short stories, and much more spreading the gamut from nonfiction to personal to instructional to commentaries on social issues. To put it plainly, this Arkham House edition of H.P. Lovecrafts' Miscellaneous Writings is a mandatory addition to the reading list of dedicated Lovecraft fans and scholars who would learn more about this enigmatic and influential author through his erudite and deftly penned correspondences and writings.

From S. T. Joshi's notes concerning the book in SIXTY YEARS OF ARKHAM HOUSE:

Jacket design (uncredited) by James Turner, consisting of facsimiles of letters and manuscripts by Lovecraft on the front and back cover, surrounded by a marbled border. 4959 copies printed. A long overdue volume, initially conceived by Derleth and now edited by Joshi, with editorial input from James Turner. The volume is divided into nine sections, each of them with an introduction note by Joshi: "Dreams and Fancies" (containing the remaining fiction not reprinted in the four previous Joshi-edited volumes); "The Weird Fantasist" (containing Lovecraft's essays on weird fiction); "Mechanic Materialist" (containing essays on metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics); "Literary Critic" (containing essays on literature, chiefly poetry); "Political Theorist"; "Antiquarian Travels"; "Amateur Journalist"; "Epistolarian" (containing selected letters published in magazines and newspapers); and "Personal" (containing autobiographical essays). Although Derleth may have envisioned the volume as merely reprinting the Lovecraft material contained in previous Arkham House collections of Lovecraft miscellany, Joshi designed the book to present the wide range of Lovecraft's essay-writing. All items have been presented in accurate texts based upon consultation of manuscripts and early publications. For "The Challenge from Beyond," only the portion by Lovecraft has been included. The text of the commonplace book is based upon the edition prepared by David E. Schultz.... Several essays appear here for the first time in print, notably "Travels in the Provinces of America" (1929) and "An Account of Charleston" (1930; not to be confused with the 1936 essay published by H. C. Koenig and included in MARGINALIA [1944]); most of the other items are derived from their first appearances in amateur journals. A number of the items were first published or reprinted in small-press editions, especially by Necronomicon Press. Several illustrations grace the volume, reproductions of pages from amateur journals, and the like."

Most of the material in this book has now been reprinted in the five volumes of Lovecraft's COLLECTED ESSAYS published by Hippocampus Press. But MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS is a charming and fascinating volume. S. T.'s fascinating prefaces to each section are fascinating, and there are many fine reproductions of art, such as the fabulous Virgil Finlay drawing of "The Shunned House" that served as cover for MARGINALIA; & one of Frank Utpatel's wood carving illustrations from THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH, the only book of Lovecraft's that was published in his lifetime. Also included are rare photos of Lovecraft. This is an excellent book.

An outstanding collection with wonderfully insightful introductions. It was a great pleasure to read. I recommend it for anyone curious about H.P. Lovecraft. From an academician's stand point, it is a must. Thank you, Joshi.

Oh yes, a dreambook arrived. Listen, the price and the (possible) waiting is worth every pint of blood you have! For the insight in Lovecraft's psyche, thinking, philosophy, childhood, and more, get this book. Hail to S.T. Joshi for this noble and fair deed. This proves once again Lovecraft's genius and how it is neglected by most. But, I have perceived he is now among Penguin's 20th century classics. Finally, acknowledgement for the good man!

This is the final volume to date in Arkham House's decades-long effort to get Lovecraft between hard covers. With a literary style honed on the finest 18th Century models, Lovecraft is a continuously interesting writer, and this volume covers a vast miscellany of his output, from hilarious dime-novel imitations written by the pre-teen Lovecraft, to some of the last heartrending notebook entries from just before his untimely death. If you love Lovecraft, you need this one.

This book exceded all my expectations. Some of Lovecraft's best writeing was done in the very short storys. One in particular called "What the moon brings" was Lovecraft at his best. Not only does this book give you some of his best fiction it also gives you a lot of non-fiction and some interesting views on Lovecraft himself. If you are a Lovecraft fan then you should definitly check this book out. You WILL NOT be disapointed.