Bobby D.Sometimes there are subjects I want to tackle on my blog that don't fit in the normal review format - in-depth articles on specific subjects related to Lovecraft or his pulp peers. These are Deeper Cuts.
William Stanley Braithwaite was a prominent Black poet and editor during the early 20th century...and Lovecraft's only known Black correspondent. Language warning.
https://deepcuts.blog/2021/02/03/deeper-cut-william-stanley-braithwaite/
J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft were contemporaries - and the way that each approached race in their fantasy was informed by their historical context.
#lovecraft #hplovecraft #blog #tolkien #jrrtolkien #racism #history #weirdfiction
Lovecraft visited New York City in the 1920s - and there he found Harlem, the thriving center of Black culture in the early 20th century.
Language warning.
https://deepcuts.blog/2021/02/06/deeper-cut-lovecraft-in-harlem/
Lovecraft also visited various Chinatowns in the United States - some of them no longer extent.
https://deepcuts.blog/2022/10/05/deeper-cut-lovecraft-in-chinatown/
#lovecraft #hplovecraft #blog #history #chinatown #asianamerican #asian #racism
Racism and discrimination were pervasive - and legal - in the United States during the formative years of science fiction fandom. Ever wondered how Jim Crow affected science fiction conventions like Worldcon?
https://deepcuts.blog/2021/06/19/jim-crow-science-fiction-and-worldcon/
#racism #blog #history #jimcrow #worldcon #fandom #sciencefiction #scifi
Hugo Gernsback was one of the founding figures of pulp science fiction - he was also Jewish. That made him a target for antisemitic comments by Lovecraft and his peers such as Clark Ashton Smith.
Language warning.
https://deepcuts.blog/2021/11/27/deeper-cut-hugo-gernsback/
#lovecraft #hplovecraft #hugogernsback #pulp #history #blog #antisemitism #jewish #clarkashtonsmith #scifi #sciencefiction
Harry Houdini is one of the most popular and successful magicians of all time - and he had a personal connection with WEIRD TALES and H. P. Lovecraft.
https://deepcuts.blog/2022/07/06/deeper-cut-houdini-weird-tales/
#lovecraft #hplovecraft #houdini #harryhoudini #weirdtales #pulp #blog #history #weird #weirdfiction
Early science fiction was contemporary with advancements in biology and the discovery of hormones - which would eventually lead to everything from birth control pills to hormone replacement therapy for transgender folks. Science fiction writers like H. P. Lovecraft had an eye toward the possibilities when they wrote "gland stories."
https://deepcuts.blog/2022/08/31/deeper-cut-the-hormonal-lovecraft/
#blog #lovecraft #hplovecraft #weird #weirdficiton #history #scifi #sciencefiction #hrt #trans #transgender
Elsa Gidlow was one of the most prominent lesbian poets of the 20th century - and she was quite literally Lovecraft's counterpart in amateur journalism, heading up a rival faction of the same organization.
https://deepcuts.blog/2022/05/11/deeper-cut-elsa-gidlow-les-mouches-fantastiques/
#lovecraft #hplovecraft #elsagidlow #poet #poetry #amateurjournalism #lesbian #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia
Antisemitism was regrettably common in the early 20th century United States - and it had its influence on many pulp writers, including Robert E. Howard of Texas, the creator of Conan the Cimmerian.
Language warning.
https://deepcuts.blog/2022/04/06/deeper-cut-conan-and-the-shemites-robert-e-howard-and-antisemitism/
#robertehoward #reh #weird #weirdfiction #blog #history #pulp #antisemitism #jew #lovecraft #hplovecraft #weirdtales
A lot of these essays cover difficult subjects like historical racism, and don't make for easy reading - but it is better to look at these things clearly than pretend they didn't happen.