Description
Book SynopsisH.P. Lovecraft, one of the twentieth century’s most important writers in the genre of horror fiction, famously referred to Edgar Allan Poe as both his “model” and his “God of Fiction.” While scholars and readers of Poe’s and Lovecraft’s work have long recognized the connection between these authors, this collection of essays is the first in-depth study to explore the complex literary relationship between Lovecraft and Poe from a variety of critical perspectives. Of the thirteen essays included in this book, some consider how Poe’s work influenced Lovecraft in important ways. Other essays explore how Lovecraft’s fictional, critical, and poetic reception of Poe irrevocably changed how Poe’s work has been understood by subsequent generations of readers and interpreters. Addressing a variety of topics ranging from the psychology of influence to racial and sexual politics, the essays in this book also consider how Lovecraft’s interpretations of Poe have informed later adaptations of both writers’ works in films by Roger Corman and fiction by Stephen King, Thomas Ligotti, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. This collection is an indispensable resource not only for those who are interested in Poe’s and Lovecraft’s work specifically, but also for readers who wish to learn more about the modern history and evolution of Gothic, horror, and weird fiction.
Trade ReviewThe Lovecraftian Poe is an illuminating collection of scholarly essays on the two major titans of horror fiction.... Many a volume of forgotten lore has been devoted to these two authors, and yet this one manages to bring plenty of fresh insights to the table and is thus strongly recommended for all students of fantastic, weird and horrific literature. * Rue Morgue *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword: Poe and Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi Introduction: Poe After Lovecraft, or Beyond the Flaming Walls of the World by Sean Moreland Chapter 1: ‘The Strangeness of My Heritage’: Lovecraft’s Poe and the Anxiety of Influence by Brian Johnson Chapter 2: The Call of Ligeia: Influence and Effect in Poe and Lovecraft by Dan Clinton Chapter 3: ‘Tekeli-li!’ Poe, Lovecraft, and the Suspicion of Sameness by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock Chapter 4: Cosmic Horror and the Supernatural in Poe and Lovecraft by Michael Cisco Chapter 5: Descending spirits: ideological implications of the vertical movements in Poe and Lovecraft by Juan L. Pérez-de-Luque Chapter 6: The Fiery Eyes: The Black Cats of Poe and Lovecraft by Robert H. Waugh Chapter 7: Lovecraft’s Poetry and Poe’s Poetics by Slawomir Studniarz Chapter 8: Rarebit Dreamers: the Poetics of Lovecraft, Poe, and Winsor McCay by Miles Tittle Chapter 9: Poe/Lovecraft/Corman: The Case of The Haunted Palace (1963) by Murray Leeder Chapter 10: ‘You Fancy Me Mad:’ The Unreliable Narrator’s Defense in Poe, Lovecraft, and King by Alissa Burger Chapter 11: The Killing Crowd: Poe and the Deep Crime of the Media by Ben Woodard Chapter 12: ‘Not like any thing of ours:’ Waking Poe and Lovecraft in Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl by Sean Moreland Chapter 13: Conversations Among the Dead: Thoughts on Poe, Lovecraft, and Influence by John Langan Afterword: The Tomahawk Man and the Gentleman from Providence by Caitlín R. Kiernan
