I liked the poetry and the understanding you have of your two heroes: H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Each has his own way of writing; and you are quick to compare and contrast them.
I've yet to come across a collection of Lovecraft's work that can be accurately called 'Complete'. His poetry and much of his pre-Cthulhu Mythos writing remains missing or is merely overlooked. hplovecraft.com has a great online catalog of his writing if you're ever interested in reading his obscure stuff.
Lovecraft is seriously overlooked as a poet, though unfortunately much of his poetry is now lost, as he wrote a significant amount of it before he broke into weird fiction (1917/1918 were his most fertile years for poem composition).
Your tribute to 'A Garden' is introspective, understanding, and positively lovely, it grasps a firm understanding of Lovecraft's life and the primal beauty of his oeuvre. I particularly enjoyed this line:
--"amidst the decay of his childhood and idyllic years, as in the natural world, new life still sprung out of it. Lovecraft created a new, dark garden where furtive life could lurk and the pale light of moon and stars, rather than the sun, nurtured blossoms of unnamable hues."--
Beautiful. I think the man, himself would have been honored to hear such praise.
Some other poems of his I recommend looking into are "Astrophobos", "Nemesis", and if you're hankering for something unorthodox and fantastical, "Nathicana". I've been meaning to do more research on his poetry, as I wholly believe some of them made their way into his later, well-regarded fiction, especially Fungi from Yuggoth.
I've been in a rut with my Legacy of Lovecraft series, but you've reignited the fire to keep me going. Excellent work, Ethan! Another fine tribute to National Poetry Month!
Although one could read this as HPL being down on himself it's ironic due to how just plain lovely it is, contrasting the gloomy imagery.
Thanks for the recommendations! I know "Nemesis" very well thanks to the "Piano Man" renditions of it! The others I look forward to reading!
I'm really glad that this helped get you excited again! I always feel like any small thing from Lovecraft is worth a lot more than the sum of its parts.
I liked the poetry and the understanding you have of your two heroes: H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Each has his own way of writing; and you are quick to compare and contrast them.
Good article, I had completely forgotten about that poem (or it's not in "complete" collection of his work...)
Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is another tragic poem with haunting beauty:
"And now there came both mist and snow,
"And it grew wondrous cold:
"And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
"As green as emerald."
I've yet to come across a collection of Lovecraft's work that can be accurately called 'Complete'. His poetry and much of his pre-Cthulhu Mythos writing remains missing or is merely overlooked. hplovecraft.com has a great online catalog of his writing if you're ever interested in reading his obscure stuff.
I love that site! It's such a great resource for fans!
Lovecraft is seriously overlooked as a poet, though unfortunately much of his poetry is now lost, as he wrote a significant amount of it before he broke into weird fiction (1917/1918 were his most fertile years for poem composition).
Your tribute to 'A Garden' is introspective, understanding, and positively lovely, it grasps a firm understanding of Lovecraft's life and the primal beauty of his oeuvre. I particularly enjoyed this line:
--"amidst the decay of his childhood and idyllic years, as in the natural world, new life still sprung out of it. Lovecraft created a new, dark garden where furtive life could lurk and the pale light of moon and stars, rather than the sun, nurtured blossoms of unnamable hues."--
Beautiful. I think the man, himself would have been honored to hear such praise.
Some other poems of his I recommend looking into are "Astrophobos", "Nemesis", and if you're hankering for something unorthodox and fantastical, "Nathicana". I've been meaning to do more research on his poetry, as I wholly believe some of them made their way into his later, well-regarded fiction, especially Fungi from Yuggoth.
I've been in a rut with my Legacy of Lovecraft series, but you've reignited the fire to keep me going. Excellent work, Ethan! Another fine tribute to National Poetry Month!
Although one could read this as HPL being down on himself it's ironic due to how just plain lovely it is, contrasting the gloomy imagery.
Thanks for the recommendations! I know "Nemesis" very well thanks to the "Piano Man" renditions of it! The others I look forward to reading!
I'm really glad that this helped get you excited again! I always feel like any small thing from Lovecraft is worth a lot more than the sum of its parts.