Dealing With Lovecraft's Racism 

I think Lovecraft and his family belonged to some of the last white Americans who clung to their Anglo-Saxon identity. During his time many new immigrants came in from all over Europe (Especially Eastern Europeans, Jews, and Italians) and the definition of whiteness began to expand to accommodate these new groups. Polish, Irish, and even German immigrants were looked down upon by these descendants of the earliest English colonists. I'm sure his family and upbringing with their fear mongering puritanical values influenced him and he was able to see the stupidity in that world view towards the end of his life. Like all people, Lovecraft was a victim of his time and honestly as a South Asian dude I can forgive him for the entertainment his stories and monsters have given me as well as the countless video games and manga I enjoy that have been directly and indirectly inspired by his works.

I'm an african woman, I like sci fi horror and many historical works and read all sorts of things from that time period and earlier. In many ways it's just a reality of of that time tbh,I also think Eugenics was alive and well then , I of course don't agree with these viewpoints of non white people but it hasn't stopped me from appreciating a lot of his work honestly as a writer. He was obviously quite disturbed although talented man.

Can we ultimately separate the artist from the art? Sometimes terrible people make great art and sometimes when you meet your favourite artists (even if they are good people) you might not like them personally. I love Burzum and Knut Hamsun but I'm no Nazi. We're all flawed and art can help us to recognise, accept and improve upon those flaws.

Dude why is this a difficult topic and a complex discussion? The guy was racist, his writing was/is good, thats it.

The street was the first Lovecraft story I read where I was like damn that was racist. It didn't make me love shadow over innsmouth any less. You can be a real bastard and a good artist. The real question is should we idolize them by literally making tiny statues of him? I don't know I'd prefer a little Cthulhu statue, Idolize the work not the person If anything.

H.P. Lovecraft's works are all the more interesting if you look at them as a portrait of a racist and an examination of the racist mindset. H.P. Lovecraft I think really shows more of the raw truth of racism then anything else. Like you said, it's almost self defeating. He was willing to examine it in a way most racist people just don't. He seemed to mellow out about race near the end of his life and seamed to have changed his mind on a lot of his beliefs. I think the more he wrote, the more he really examined this own views, the more he studied up about it, the less he could agree with the racist mindset. Edit: Also, in regards to the lack of woman in his stories, I never really saw it as 'misogyny' exactly. It could be a sign of misogyny, but it could also kinda be a sign of respect. I don't know about anyone else, but I rather see a complete lack of female characters then a really horribly written token female love interest or something. Plus given how much he tended to paint humans as monsters or weak, it would probobly be seen as far more misogynistic if he had used female characters. Not all representation is good representation ya know. Personally though I think it's most likely that he had no idea how to really write woman and nothing really to say about them.

I personally always thought that even though his agoraphobia and undeniable racism do seap into aspects of his literature, that there's a huge kinda "freudian slip". In his stories the protagonist has a very solid worldview, but when he encounters whatever particular outside force is featured in his story it messes up the protagonists view of the world to such an extent it drives them crazy, because the protagonist realizes even if they somehow beat this monster (which they couldn't) that they could never return to the previous status quo of the familiar world they were brought up in because of their new found knowledge. Which has lead them to the realisation that everything they and all other humans have thought was important or held dear or defined who they were as people is actually completely irrelevant (especially on the cosmic scale) and that all matters of money, sex, honour, race and everything else are ultimately meaningless. This then drives the protagonist crazy. (in one essay on horror he specifically mentions how it leads to the realisation that even racial differences are unimportant and this is an aspect of what fucks with the protagonist) Always thought that he unwittingly admitted in his work that he really deep down knew the other races he was afraid off weren't so different, even if he didn't consciously recognize it (because he was a massive racist and agoraphobe)

I felt that Lovecraft’s agoraphobia was inseparable from his racism. His fiction is steeped in a fear of the other and a fear of fundamental change. I also thought that perhaps reading Lovecraft could help to understand the psychology of racism.

I really hate any "separate the art from the artist", it's so lazy and braindead honestly. It's probably more important to get the full picture of the writer or artist, instead of trying to pretend his racism isn't a big deal. As you mentioned, it wasn't a secret he was bigoted but it's something not many people knew up untill 2012, it's more common knowledge even to the average reader, which is good. My experience with lovecraft is that I became obsessed with his short stories when I was young, Shadow over insmouth was my introduction, then later in life I found about about those personal letters and his racist views, it kind of puts his stories into context and gives us a better idea as to how exactly he came up with stories. Being pacific islander he would absolutely hate me lol, so it's odd to me but doesn't necessarily bother me in particular, although if someone told me they wouldn't bother reading his stories because he's a racist I'd completely understand.

When I imagine an unforgivable racist I imagine a violent hate-driven person, but with Lovecraft I can't help but picture a person plagued with social anxiety and irrational fear, making me pity him rather than condemn him. Another thing to keep in mind would be the chronology of his body of work. He wrote a lot, so it's inevitable that some stories were written in very different periods of his life. In his early work you'll see him write monsters that are one-dimensionally evil and indescribable, very much relying on the fear of the unknown. In later works however, like At the Mountains of Madness, you have monsters that are given a more understandable form, who are scientists rather than dark overlords. It would at least suggest Lovecraft was capable of imagining scary unknowns that could turn out to be more than just pure evil if you just took the time to understand them better.

This guy started a whole genre of fiction and lived 100years ago. You wanna judge? What have you done?

Great thought-provoking video! I was worried, you hadn't posted anything for more than a month. :/

I was introduced to Lovecraft in a kind of accidental way when I was about 14 and had just discovered the game Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I was so enthralled by the overall atmosphere and aesthetic of the game that I started doing research on the origins of the story and eventually came across Lovecraft's writing. I've always struggled with a processing disorder that makes it difficult to draw images from a lot of writing styles, so I read his shortest stories and then would go online to read a simplified step by step synopsis of each one. Because of that, I was blissfully unaware of his blatant racism and for about three or four years, I had no idea how prevalent it was in his work until one of my friends brought it to my attention. By then, the general aesthetic that Lovecraft's world has inspired had very much seeped into my personal preferences as far as decorations (In the words of one of my friends, I decorate my apartment as though I'm setting it up for a Rob Zombie music video). The point I'm trying to get to is that I was one of the people who tried to kinda sweep it under the rug for a while, with my attitude towards it being "if the man is no longer living, and his work is entirely in the public domain, then I'm not actively supporting a terrible person," but then I got to a point where I couldn't ignore it when reading any of his work (I've gotten to a point where I can piece one of his stories together like a jigsaw puzzle, it just takes about ten readings in a row), and I ended up questioning the morality of obsessing over a world created by someone who's work felt like an allegory in which POC were constantly painted as hideous monstrosities. Works like Lovecraft Country have helped me to come to terms with things like that, and I'm hopeful for a world where adaptations more openly challenge the xenophobia in the source material instead of pretending that it simply isn't there. Tl;dr, I take issue with how prevalent the xenophobia is in Lovecraft's body of work, but I am hopeful for a world in which fans are willing to confront that head on. This has been long winded so I don't blame you if you don't get through this whole thing. Overall, great video! I have now subscribed and punched the like button in the face! I look forward to more thought provoking analyses of nuanced literary work in the future!

Easy to deal with when you agree with it.

Thanks for posting this! I have been working my way through his Complete Works and am only up the “The White Ship” and haven’t been sure how to psychologically “deal with” his personal views or his racist, misogynist or xenophobic descriptions. I am enjoying diving into it, but it’s hard to separate the art from the artist. This happens all the time when we learn about the human failings of artists we admire. I thought your video helped me digest some of what it was thinking and feeling, not just about Lovecraft, but about other artists. I think i agree with you that the racism itself is not central to the point of his narratives and it often highlights the point of the stories that all people are monsters. I will keep this in mind as I continue in my journey. Gotta go! Next on my list to read is “The Street”.

I must say, as a Black American, he made my skin crawl. Didn’t really understand why, until I dug into him. He needed therapy - not an audience.

Racism 2.0... ignore as long as the person is talented

I watched an old Lovecraft Ezine interview with ST Joshi in 2013 (I think it's unlisted now), and Joshi said, when he was asked what he would say to Lovecraft, "Why were you a racist? Don't you realise you're being an idiot?" and would have challenged him to read up on the less-racist intellectuals of his time like Sinclair Lewis and DH Lawrence. So ST Joshi was also aware of Lovecraft's racism, but is still fascinated by his ideas and writings. I wonder how HP Lovecraft would react if he comes back to life and found out that the foremost scholar and defender of his vision and works is a man of Indian descent. Would it have changed his outlook on minorities, or maintained his xenophobia (with the exception of this one guy)?

I'd urge people to read S.T. Joshi's biography. Lovecraft was never a member of the KKK, didn't belong to any white nationalist parties, didn't kill or harm or injure any black people, didn't voice his opinions in public. Also he didn't really take racism seriously, he was very tongue in cheek about it. And later in life he recanted his earlier attitudes. But because people only read Wiki or get triggered by social media posts they assume they know everything about him via misinformation. Some other facts about Lovecraft they never mention. 1. His wife was Jewish 2. he had Friends who were gay 3. He loved Arabic folklore 4. He helped female authors get published.

Lovecraft was correct in everything.

To be fair, Lovecraft despised the Irish more than he did anyone else, and, he had a negative view of people in general. He flat-out says that he views everyone as merely part of the the scenery. Like a tree, or a garbage can LOL

HP Lovecraft wrote a poem titled "On the Creation of N*****s," and supposedly had a cat that he named "N****r Man." Many of his other works have also been widely criticized for being racist and xenophobic. But alas, he was merely a product of his time, so I suppose you can't really blame him for his racism.

To be fair, Lovecraft seemed to be a near recluse, afraid of everything outside of his room. Had a real grudge against penguins.

Misoginy is hatred of women... HP didnt hate women

Love his colorful horrible visions, not so much his fear of colorful people . 🙏🏻🖤

Bravo for tackling this topic! Love his work but it can be a bit jarring at times.

Hate speech is free speech. "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

As S.T. Joshi has pointed out, "Racialism was for him a bulwark against acknowledging that his ideal of a purely Anglo-Saxon America no longer had any relevance and could never be recaptured." Lovecraft's views on race were very abstract, he could be friends with Jews, married a Jewish woman, and homosexuals, whether he knew Samuel Loveman was gay or not (there's a few hints here and there that he might have). When it came to countries like Italy or Ireland or Spain, he could express admiration for the civilised cities of these lands and their tradition of preserving their cultures, while also resisting a mass immigration into "his" America that would overtake or "distort" Anglo-Saxon American culture. As wrongheaded as it was, that's what he admired in Italian fascists like Mussolini, who he saw as resisting the decadent influence of modernism. There's a poem he wrote, in the collected edition of his poetry The Ancient Track, ('A Year Off') where he writes of where he'd go if he had the funds, which includes an imagined visit to the British Isles, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and other famous places that appealed to him as a tourist.

Later he regret it and even wanted to take back some stories. Why no one want to cancell Disney? Disney is much more controversial

There is no need to be soy about it. I'm Slavic and you're Italian, we are both, more or less, on his shitlist. People who are 'upset' about his racism are mostly upper-class Anglo-Saxon firstwordlers with heavy social network presence. They are dishonest and have very patronizing attitude both towards work of HPL and his 'victims' . They think they can hold position of universal subject, yet we, others, must identify with particular? It doesn't work like that. Why would a person, who reads and can think for himself, allow those people to influence him and casually dismiss this and that about anything? They need to shut up and let people who are 'supposed' targets go through it by themselves.

I mean its like my aunt. Were colombians and she lives in New York... All her adult life she hated black people... Now she loves their music and culture and i told her race doesnt even exist according to science... Shes an amazing human being with a huge heart just she was a lil bit racist in her youth

Loved this video. Doubt you’ll see this comment so long after the fact but I’ll put it in there anyway. It’s about the misogyny comment. Like you, I’m just not going to eschew his negative personality traits or anything like that. I just want to point out that….maybe he just can’t write women well. Just because you can write a great mystery, that doesn’t mean you can write a great horror story. Same goes for developing great characters. Maybe he felt comfortable with the male experience so he could develop good characters there but the female POV just eluded him. There are plenty of novels written by women where the men are flat and not interesting. And vice versa. So while I think it’s worthy to note (just like his racism), from a story writing perspective,it isn’t that much to read into.

Racism is an integral aspect of his horror. Lovecraft was a proud Anglo-Saxon, he wrote during an age when white Anglo-Saxons ruled the entire world. In his stories, the white Anglo-Saxon doctor/scientist/college professor discovering that there are entities that they cannot begin to understand or even comprehend despite living in a world in which their race has dominated is an aspect of the overall horror that is lost on the modern reader

But if hitler were just an artist he'd be just like Lovecraft. Just a racist artist. There would be no hitler who demanded the murder of millions. Later in life he regretted his racism

No problems. No complexity. Dude hated non English. I know he was racist against the Finns, swedes, Scots, Irish, Italians, French, Spanish, slavs, Russians, Croats, Serbs, etc. And jews like his wife.

I remember when I was in english class and the teacher was throwing ideas for books the class can read for the class this was back when I didn't know much about Lovecraft only that I was interested in his stories around that time I purchased the complete fiction of H.P Lovecraft because I saw this radiant energy when people talked about his works and that complex to me and compelled me to read it so I raised my hand the teacher call on me I told him it would be cool if we could read some h.p lovecraft but before I could say anymore a classmate across the room shouted out WHY WOULD WE WANT TO READ LOVECRAFT HE,S A NAZI! I was baffled at what he said I had no idea Lovecraft was a racist but this did not scare me from looking into his works it actually compelled me to read even more of his stories the reason being I wanted to understand how can Someone make such frightful but yet beautiful works of literature art like one of my favorite of his works being at the mountains of Madness and be racist it taught me a valuable lesson about Humanity and that lesson being that art is ability that can give someone to create something truly unique no matter what they belive or moral code they live by as long as they're willing to pursue it and build on it. So there for I do hate Howard Phillips Lovecraft becuz I fail to see how can Someone despise a long dead man who had the imagination to craft the most breathtaking tales of cosmic horror known today

I think HpL was not only a racist but also a nihilist, and thats why his racist heroes always lose, which kind of counteracts his racism in a weird way. Also, I think its much more interesting to read HpL if you admit his racism.

Why do we have to "deal" with the racism of a writer who lived 100 years ago? If you're not able to handle some fiction because the writer was racist and said things that are offensive to you then don't read it. It seems like some people are just out to ruin anything they can because so many others enjoy it. Maybe we should let anyone who is offended pick out the parts they have a problem with and rewrite them so they're more in line with today's PC culture. Then they could be just as bland and predictable as the people possessed by that ideology .

Brutal video man!! Lets forgive a human being for not being perfect! Lets get lost in betumen oceans of ethereal frenzy!!

Lovecraft's racism & classism caught me off gaurd for a split second but having read Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs & other writers from his time,similar genres & from his circle I quickly remembered the racist views Lovecraft held was far from rare in his era and as we've recently discovered not so rare today. I do think you're attributing far to much into Lovecraft's using racist tropes as being anti-racist, symbolically or intentionally but I do agree with your view his writings can be seen as self diffusesing the racism in his literature is you observe them from your point of view. As for his prose I find it compelling. Super wordy & a bit pompous & I chuckle everytime he writes things like "it was a terror so utterly macabre for me to even attempt to describe it is an impossibility" then he goes on in an attempt to describe it😂

One of your most interesting videos!!! Continua così 💪

ST Joshi points out that Lovecraft's racism may have been vile but it formed a fairly small part of all his views, philosophies and writings. People have blown up the racism point to the extent that they would have you believe that it was the be-all end-all of the man, that it casts a shadow in which the rest of his life stands. Joshi is right that one can acknowledge Lovecraft's awful racism amidst the myriad, hugely fascinating and enjoyable facets of his life and writings without it spoiling them. And before anyone shouts 'white privilege', Joshi is Indian.

Thanks I like your analysis. Re: the lack of female representation I always just attributed that to him being a shut in loner who didn't know any women and it doesn't bother, also the racism comes from mostly character we're not even meant to like in any way.

The guys life was based on fear, so why would it be a shock that he was racist?

in the end of his life he reformulated some of his theories. Yes he despised strangers, non white peoples, against jews. But he married a jew woman. And said, in the end of his life, tha he would prefer peoples to not find or print his old texts...too late. But he started to make some apologies.

Whatever his views were that doesn't take away from his work. Being a liberal revisionist is evil, dishonest, and nonsensical. But to be fair, Lovecraft changed a bit near the end of his life and became more accepting and tolerant, saying "Many qualities commonly regarded as innate-in races, classes, and sexes alike-are in reality results of habitual and imperceptible conditioning."

I was really surprised how progressive (?) “In the Walls of Eryx” was. Definitely subverts racism.

Thank you so much- that was enjoyable and illuminating! I've read some books on HPL as a person and in a literary sense, but you still had much to add. Coupla points. HPL's worst writing style was early on, when he emulated Poe. Poe's style was already passe by HPL's time, and HPL loved that retro classic feel. I find the absence of women does not necessarily mean misogyny. When they appear, there is a rough parity with male characters regarding how good/ bad or competent they are as supporting cast. Also, he seemsto have mellowed out by end of his life a fair bit. I read a lot of historical journals, and naming black pets the N word seemed par for course at the time. He certainly was not progressive for his time, though. I also never thought before in tHitD story about how wise the Italians were. Again, TY. See my Dark Arcadia book review online on the Cdn. Amazon book review.

i am not dealing with it. he's dead, he can't hurt anyone anymore... other than giving you nightmares, lots of nightmares

Oh he was a racist alright, but I found after reading about his life and listening to podcasts about him, that he seemed to soften and change once he actually met more people and was exposed to different types of communities. Had he been exposed to more cultures and people, etc., in his youth, he might have been a different person altogether. It's a pity. It's good we can admire, love, and respect an artist's work and not like the artist. They aren't mutually exclusive.

The racism of Lovecraft is the racism of our ancestors. Think about it. Twice.

Thank you for being fair and not simplify this issue. I share the same opinion and approach on the topic. As a teenager, living in Brazil, I fell in love with his works and simply dismissed his racism as something that, well... unfortunately exists, but would not take from me the pleasure of reading a great body of work, but now writing a narrative podcast heavily influenced by Lovecraft, I feel a growing need to reconcile his racism especially when bringing (even if indirectly) the author to new readers/listeners. Now I live in Brooklyn and sometimes like to imagine Lovecraft on a corner, paralyzed by fear, incapable of processing how the melting pot of different races and ethnicities became the norm in this city. - "the horror! the horror!".heh Always brings me a smile. :) - Your video was a breath of fresh air (not cold) and I enjoyed how well-articulated you are in English. I'm not in any language. Keep the good work!

While I don't approve of Lovecraft's racism, I will say that if I was to discount every author that held views I don't agree with, I wouldn't have much reading material left. Martin Heidegger was a Nazi, Ernest Hemingway was (arguably) a misogynist, Norman Mailer was for damn sure a misogynist, Charles Dickens was anti-Semitic, Ken Follet supports the British Labour Party (okay, that one's just a personal qualm), but the point is, nearly all of the literature that we consider "great" was written by people who likely held views we don't agree with. I mean, hell, We the Living is one of my top ten favorite books of all time, but that doesn't mean that I agree with everything Ayn Rand had to say; (I actually rather detest Atlas Shrugged, in fact!). Besides, there's a difference between a person letting their views bleed over into their writings, and actively using those writings to promote those views. I think Lovecraft only let his views run over into his writing, but I don't think anyone could argue that any of his works actively attempt to convert the reader to his way of thinking. My thoughts...

It is really interesting to think of literature with racism as subject to anti-racist interpretation. It is also interesting that you say Lovecraft's writing seems to defuse racism, possibly exposing the insecurity and arrogance it is often coupled with. Perhaps he was torn between racist sentiments and his own empathy for a long time. I cannot help but appreciate his contribution to the horror genre, but I am worried that discussing his work without context could lead others to think his racism is accepted by me or others. It's odd to say that the misogyny is indefensible, somewhat implying that the racism is not, but from what I have heard in this video (I have not read Lovecraft myself) it seems the misogyny is more like a lack of representation (and thus a dismissal of the agency and importance of women) whereas the racism is explicitly offensive, and used by unsavory characters. The argument might be made that the former definitely reflects the author's prejudice, but the latter seems to be a tool of characterization/deconstruction of racism. Depending on the cultural context, it might be considered subversive to subtly attribute racist attributes to the "bad" characters. That's why you say his work could not be used as a defense for fascism. Sort of like when we discuss cryptofascism: HPL's stories contain overt fascism and covert misogyny, which might suggest that he was an antifascist cryptomisogynist. Ain't that a mouthful? It seems that the more you dive in to media with a darker tone, the more likely you are to find artists who have said or done some terrible things themselves. There are several people in the emo rap scene I can't support anymore because of sexual assault allegations. Simultaneously, dark media (such as horror and depictions of depression and death) are often enjoyed by misanthropes who are frustrated by the prevalence of bigotry.

Im ignorant on Lovecraft _AND_ Chabon (and shall correct that, soon, this year) but Mr Pynchon I am not ... Got a few hundred pages start upon the promised _Against the Day_ readalong ... Now _that's_ what Im awaiting. 🍀😎🇮🇪 All Best!

I just recently started reading Lovecraft, and I find his writing style very compelling, but the way he seems to almost go out of his way to be contemptuous of any character that isn't an upper-class WASP is detrimental to the story. Even if I can dismiss it as merely a product of its time, it's still something that catches my attention and distracts me from the story that he's trying to tell.

A brilliant analysis

Now an article argues to "cancel" him over his views. A LOT of people held bigoted beliefs. We all probably had beloved family who were unrepentant bigots, yet still love them. This idea of eradicating bigotry by ruthlessly excising all racists throughout history will not end well. Peace and love can not exist from militancy, honest change can not come from a place of shame and hatred. Personally, I choose to believe Lovecraft was a great author in spite of his views. I choose to think his views and many like his were of ignorance, not of hate. I choose to feel we all have these dark sides in us, and must always be vigilant against them. And those who fall into their darkness, I hold hopes they can change, because without that hope then what exactly have the activsts been seeking to accomplish?

He was disgusting as hell

This was so excellent, finally some nuance on these matters. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

What's a good book by lovecraft to start with if you've never read any?

Well i first read lovecraft's fiction through a semi collected works of three major stories : at the moutains of madness, the shadow out of time, and the whisperer of darkness. I believe these stories are as you said though expressing lovecraft's racist views was complicated and challenged by his, as you said, cosmic nihilism, the belief that we humans and our follies is just a meaningless struggle and a joke compared to the near infinite uncaring cosmos. Like you i did not ignore his racist views but i appreciated his complex fiction and unique prose while being aware of the views.

What's weird to me is that he had several characters, whom he obviously liked, who are also seen to be pointedly anti-racists. One of the desk clerks in Shadow Over Innsmouth comes to mind. Potrayed in a very positive light, the clerk denounced the people of Innsmouth as contemptible racists. There are a couple of other instances like that which spring to mind, but maybe they're relegated to his later work when, as Lovecraft claims, he had finally realized what an ass he'd been. Oh well, nobody's perfect. I can't even imagine how much more characterization he could've done of he'd incorporated positive characters of other ethnic backgrounds in his work.

Cool video! Lovecraft is like Wagner to me. Sometimes a shitty person can create great art. A broken clock is right twice a day? Anyway, thanks for the cool video and good take on this classic author. Are you on Bitchute?

Fear of the other is tied to fear of the unknown. And given the time period he was alive, most people were racist then, and that includes all races. Besides, there are old racist cartoons and people still watch Merrie Melodies and Tom & Jerry.

Very good vlog on the topic. I’ve always been fascinated by Lovecraft’s racism because it’s such a unique and individual expression of racialist thought (I came a gnat’s nutsack from pursuing a doctorate on fascism, so I have *some* understanding of the materials). Towards the end of his life he abandoned racialist aristocratism for socialism (and FDR’s New Deal), but in his letters made it clear he still saw the “negroid race” as inferior. G.K. Chesterton’s views on Jews can offer an interesting counterpoint: he clearly distrusted them throughout his life and made that clear in his writings, but like Lovecraft, was horrified by the anti-semitic violence in Nazi Germany. How “racist” someone sees themselves can sometimes not be fully grasped retrospectively. Take the recent “unearthing” of the John Wayne Playboy interview (it had actually been on Wikipedia for at least ten years). Wayne very clearly says racist things (even for the time), but he also says things we would alternately consider “woke” or fair; you have to judge it in its own context.

Have you seen Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities? In the first episode: Lot 36, the protagonist is a bigot, there is an scene with him listening to a far right wing radio show, and another scene where he is rude to a mexican american woman (later she will have a role in the ending of the episode) The episode was based on an story written by Del Toro, I wonder if this was some kind of reference to Lovecraft's bigotry: If you are writing a lovecraftian story, make your protagonist a bigot.

Personally I think people know he's racist and they read things into the text that aren't really there. Not saying he wasn't racist, clearly he was. However, I don't think it infiltrated his fiction as much as people say. I do think it did a little, however.

the art is the art. if the person creating wonderful art has bad qualities. its laughable to assert a persons existence should effect your comprehension of the art. it can give you new perspective however.

A similar problem arose with Heidegger in academia, as many consider him to be an important philosopher, but he was also someone who embraced Nazism and never apologized for it or admitted his mistake. In a much lesser sense, I personally like early crime and detective fiction from the 20s to 50s and have run up against the problem of racist comments creeping in when reading Dorothy L Sayers. Although there is a debate around whether she was just describing her times or expressing opinions. Interestingly, though, I've been re-reading some of Raymond Chandler's books and have not found the same kind of racist comments in his writings. At least so far.

he was born in 1890 and lived to 1937. you cant blame him since that was a very common view point of the time

We came to the point where you hve apologise 10 times during the video so hateful idiots don't get offended. I disagree with most of your views so what!? It ruins nice explanation video.

He was a product of his upbringing. JT Joshi's biographies do not excuse his racism,but allowances must be made for this. He wrote about fish people because he hated seafood! His suffocating childhood after his beloved grandfather died really shaped his views on women and his wife was managing and bossy. He was a master of creating atmosphere and building a sense of place; his "purple prose" makes me laugh. I truly believed if he hadn't died so young,he would have mixed with more people and his white Suprematism would have mellowed. We are all products of our times. In a few decades the popular and frankly downright fallacious Critical Race Theory now being taught,which is still racist,will be looked upon in the same light as the views of his own day (which led to Fascism and genocide).

I am curious. Have you read Neonomicon and Providence by Alan Moore?

Not a surprise that someone who reads a lot has such a good opinion on this.

A beast they wrought, in semi-human figure

On a general note, I personally believe that it is highly objective to each and every reader, and generally admirer of someone's work (be it literature, music, etc.), how he chooses to assess the work, but also the personal opinions of a writer. Plus, it is a well known fact that many writers become subjects of criticism long after they are dead. I have to admit that there are many times that I have heard something negative about my favorite artists and writers. Nevertheless, I always try to approach each case with caution (cause let's be honest most of the times what is said is hardly in touch with reality) and try not to be really put off by the libels. Now, of course there are times that the writers have written something down or said something that was officially recorded and no one can challenge the validity of what was said. But, again we always have to give someone the benefit of the doubt to recall, rephrase or stand by what he/she said, as we as humans have the cognitive capability to see our fallacies and correct them . Besides the above mentioned, it is a general truth that great thinkers lived in a different time from the one we currently live, read and criticize them. It is well documented that writers and philosophers such as Rudyard Kipling, Ezra Pound, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche and many others often adopted positions that today can be characterized as extreme. Amongst all other factors that probably led them to those decisions, though, I personally believe that they were primarily the product of the "Zeitgeist" of that time. For example, we can't slander Plato or Aristotle for being avid supporters of slavery, because at their time it was considered normal, almost natural, to own another man. Therefore, I always try to not be very critical towards someone in order to understand and appreciate their work wholly and without any biases. Although, admittedly sometimes it becomes really hard to keep that in mind and make this distinction. That's all, sorry for my babbling.

This discussion is of a certain peculiar simian quality, one most horrifying to gaze at.

ohhhhhhh no not racism everyone has had and said something racist

Most people are racist in many different ways we had no choice when we are born and what colour we are but thats life im not racist but can be if you do something to upset me but that's human nature

Love you dude. Love that dude’s fiction too.

There is literally no such thing as Hate Speech. There is speech that is hateful, of course. And ultimately, speech is expression of thought. And there should be no thought that is not allowed. I know that wasn’t the point of this video, but we, as humans, must be able to express ourselves freely. Also, what’s considered acceptable is very fluid and specific to particular cultures and time periods.

I don't know, way I see it, he should be commended upon what he did for the horror genre, and his works should be ultimately respected despite their controversy (Herbert West: Re-animator springs to mind). you could argue that his nature was a product of his time and upbringing, the same argument can be said for Hitler, difference is, apart from in fiction, he wasn't known to act upon it, in the same way. I love his works, but that doesn't make me racist, likewise you could consider if Hitler had been a better painter, as goes the butterfly effect, he may not have committed the atrocities he is known for, and would either repress his views, or act in a way that is purely theoretical, using art as a medium and way of venting as Lovecraft did, though it could be argued a physical painting depicting a racist or violent act may be more dangerous than a short story that acts as a metaphor for the meaning behind it. Also thanks for reminding me to read Dante's Divine Comedy, i've been meaning to for some time.

Do you think he regretted his racism later in life, it’s some thing I’ve heard but haven’t found much about.

I read all of Lovecraft's narrative (and a couple of poems) some 4 years ago, and at that time I was pretty firmly in line with your idea of focusing on the text and not the author, so while I detected some racist/xenophobic subtext, I dismissed it in order to focus on the stories. I don't know if I'd do the same thing today, but that's beside the point. The matter is, while I was all about most of his themes (and I'm still enthusiastic about the cosmic horror and his oneiric explorations, at least in theory), I did sadly find many of his works to be badly written. And it detracted a lot from them in many cases. I didn't know this was a position shared by respected writers or critics, by the way, it was just a conclusion I came to by myself since I haven't discussed reading Lovecraft with anyone really in my circles. I don't understand your dismissal of this position as "idiotic" and an "embarrassment". I find your argument for this to be... just an empty one? We don't like the way Lovecraft writes because we think "certain ways of portraying the human experience are good and forms that don't conform to that are bad or ugly"? That is a vacuous phrase to me. The kind of phrase that can be applied to anything but doesn't really say much. Sure, there are unconscious biases that make us think that (I'm going to go for the classical sociological example here) traditional European storytelling (and thus, mainstream international storytelling) is more beautiful than, say, Inuit storytelling because we are just accustomed to one and find the other one alien and thus "ugly". Sure, there biases like that. But we can't just relativize it and apply to everything or we just end up denying other people the possibility of just plainly not connecting with the way some texts are written. I get it, discussing the quality of prose can be an iffy matter. There's so many factors that go into esthetics, appreciation, personal experience, knowledge of writing, reception theory and all that... especially when we talk about our favorite authors, with which we may have become enamoured. There's a (how would you say it in English?) I guess a YA writer whose books meant a lot to me growing up and whose prose I can read today and some part of my mind can recognize with some semblance of objectivity to not be good. Because his prose is mediocre. I'm sure that if I had read him at my current age instead of at my youth he would have probably bored me to death (kind of happened to me with the Narnia books, which I tried to read as an adult and just couldn't get into). But even today when I reread the works of this mediocre YA writer (but only those I had already read as a teen and that had meant so much to me) I read this bad prose and... I find it full of magic, of poetry, of a multitude of meanings, I find it speaks in its own crooked and oblique way to the human experience, and all that. But I know I'm finding most of that not in the text itself but in my own enamoured view of it, and I am infusing into it a lot of myself and of the way I saw the text when I first read it. In any case... There's just so many factors going into this kind of thing that I personally can't do much else than go for: just like in determining beauty, in finding if certain prose is good or bad there is, among other more 'objective' considerations, a large component of subjectivity. Which is why I don't get why you dismiss my position. I just... found many of Lovecraft's works to be badly written. Had I read him when I was younger, he would have probably become (and still be today) one of my favorite writers, because I would have found his themes just as compelling as I do now and his prose, in my inexperience, maybe magical or pure poetry or at least non intrusive. But... that's not how the timeline went in my case.

If you look at white people in Key Peele's "Lovecraft Country" Lovecraft was a progressive supporter of black rights by comparison. Also since you brought up Hitler ... Hitler caused the death and torture of millions of people to such a point that his name is now synonymous with "evil", Lovecraft just wrote some edgy, racist poems.

Borrowing from Hegel, it is very important to judge an individual of another time in his time. Example would be ancient greece/world and slavery. It was seen as acceptable and a functioning norm, though nowadays it is horrible to think of it. In medieval times taxes equivalent our time's taxes were paid only by military conquered etc. Lovecraft maybe have been racist even for his time. But, is an excellent author in establishing and communicating the feeling of terror. So should we separate the work from the creator? If the creator and his views did harm, made people suffer and was a black spot in the history books, Yes in my opinion. Condemnation would by just ere even necessary. But, for Lovecraft that was not the case. He did no harm and his works were admired for the birth of cosmic terror genre not racism and eugenics agendas. He was a very frightened man, from an environment that cultivated those fears. And this is the reason he was so good conveying the feeling. He was deeply frightened of the world and humanity. He started becoming a more mature and understanding person near his death but alas when some of his best material was starting to take form from a writer now more free, his life ended. As for the misogyny, indeed there is no absolution i can think for that one. He was profoundly afraid of women and completely unable to understand and feel them but from a grown man not living around 1550 in west Europe that is no excuse indeed. Nevertheless, his work shall continue be enjoyed and its influence deep in modern nerd culture for many more years and take that as you may.

The Mound was really hard for me to get through. If you ever question the presence of racism in Lovecraft's stories listen to them read aloud. There is another layer of cringe. I do want to say works that push racism to the forefront as a focal point like Ballad of Black Tom and Lovecraft Country are really helping me approach this matter.

I've heard of him and the racist accusation but I've never read any of his work, mainly because I have never encountered his work here. But now I'm intrigued to read and see for myself. and is that a demon slayer's t-shirt?

Thanks for addressing this. I feel you gave a fair analysis of the work and as much as I love Lovecraft, I feel I'm always reading around the text that reminds me how far away the thinking was back then.

"Lovecraft was totally based and 100% redpilled and a groyper". There. I dealt with it.

16:22 wow, you're a great communicator I love the video

I love how people of today use today’s standards to judge people of the past…how about if you don’t like ,it don’t @#+¥ing read it!

I have a love, hate relationship with Lovecraft. He's a good writer, which the only weak point in his writing is his dialogue, ironically I find dialogue to be the most important thing of novels and any writing. I can appreciate what he wrote, but as a person. I don't think we'll get along that grandly, since I am Jewish and what I've heard and read, he's anti-semitic. I don't own that much of his stuff, I own a few short stories of his, but that's probably at most I'll go with owning his writing, since I don't like his dialogue, that much, but I do check out some of his novels from libraries, when I'm in the mood for giant tentacle creatures. And I hate to say this, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt since he was born in 1800s, when racism was big, and how he was raised most likely influenced him, in his beliefs.

This man inspired so much work in both expanded literature and film after his death rightfully deserving his recognition. How dare we throw out his reputation all because he had a "RaCiSt" viewpoint. So what? Many did in his time. Does it negate that he was still a great author? Absolutely not. People really need to get over themselves about people having racist views in the past. It was just how it was back then, get over it!

Truly I believe the best response to the flaws of those we idolize is to take it in stride and realize the world is bigger than our small microcosms of petty desires. Lovecraft was not meant to be a moral paragon. He was meant to be a man. But let's not pass opinion off as in-depth analysis. This is, after all, a RU-vid comment section.

Mattia,scusa al solito se uccido le possibilità di interazione con gran parte della community commentando in italiano,ma la questione è seria e voglio evitare di scrivere più cazzate del solito. Lovecraft mi ha cambiato la vita in molti modi e spesso mi limitavo a leggere le sue opere ignorando (mea culpa,ma ero piccolo) più o meno volontariamente determinati spettri semantici e implicazioni orrende alla base del suo pensiero.Il punto è che,proprio in base a ciò che hai detto nel video,non credo che potremmo apprezzare Lovecraft così tanto se non avesse avuto quelle visioni lì, perchè per quanto sia terribile,sono del parere che il suo ''terrore sociale'' fosse la fonte stessa della sua creatività e ciò che paradossalmente ha reso universale il suo lavoro.Era tremendamente sensibile e percettivo circa i cambiamenti che si sviluppavano intorno a lui e la sua reazione in merito era quella di rigettarli,a differenza di molti dei suoi coetanei e connazionali che tendevano ad ignorare o a trattare con relativa sufficienza e\o passività movimenti socio-culturali come la nascita di ferventi comunità gay negli anni '20 (e Moore in Providence fa un magistrale lavoro,come sai,ad identificare questo aspetto spesso sottovalutato quando si analizza il periodo),lo sviluppo del modernismo con conseguente destrutturazione della letteratura per come era concepita più o meno fino a quel momento (come saprai Lovecraft amava alla follia Alexander Pope e odiava Eliot,pur essendo egli stesso ascrivibile a questa nuova corrente di autori) e la presentazione della teoria della relatività generale nel '25.Con questo non voglio assolutamente difenderlo o sorvolare sul suo sostanziale bigottismo cosmico-nichilista,ma ai miei occhi appare palese che egli stesso come uomo e come scrittore (ed è l'unica,vera similitudine fra queste due figure) incarnava quel terribile senso di repulsione di fronte al nuovo,all'incomprensibile,al diverso che ci accomuna.Se ci pensi,tutti noi possediamo sin dalla nascita i semi del Lovecraftian Horror nella nostra psiche,che non è altro che l'attitudine (purtroppo) umana all'alienazione e al ripudio di fronte ad una realtà (o alla nostra percezione di essa) troppo complessa per essere ascritta ai parametri di semplificazione che usiamo ogni giorno per sopravvivere e per stabilire il ritmo e i limiti di ogni aspetto della nostra vita.Siamo tutti dei mostri,appunto,ed è questo ciò che rende Lovecraft immortale e degno di esser perlomeno letto da chiunque. Poi,certo,mi rendo conto che per molte persone la natura della sua fiction sia inaccettabile (lo stesso immenso Michael Moorcock non la sopporta a causa di ciò),ma definirlo un pessimo scrittore per queste ragioni o per le pippe stilistiche da due soldi che hai citato nel video non credo sia un atteggiamento intelligente. Spero di essere stato il più chiaro possibile e grazie per aver messo in risalto una questione di cui si parla forse troppo poco. P.S. Mattia,posso chiederti quale è stato il tuo percorso universitario? Non mi pare che tu ne abbia mai effettivamente parlato, PhD a parte. P.P.S. Scusa,ma conoscendo il tuo apprezzamento per i Coma_Cose dovevo chiedertelo.Hai ascoltato Hype Aura? Piaciuto?

Dostoevsky, Tolstoy most of the writers were antisemitic which is shame because I liked their work. Tolkien mocked my race and ethnicity by calling orcs "Uruk Hai" which he got by transforming turkic-mongolian tribe name "Uraankhai". I really liked " Lord of the rings" movies.

I cant believe it some one in the 1920 was a racist. Some one that was not even a public figure. We like love craft for his literature not his thoughts on race that they have at its time. Something that was the norm back them is basically a crime r rn

I am H.P Lovecraft who was and is still alive today, this year, this month, today, this hour, this minute, this second saying whoever that person is who bullies and says I am RACIST, WHITE SUPREME, afraid of mixed races, afraid of other races, anti-marriage of different races, anti-LGBT, homophobic, anti-people of color, I will say "an eye for an eye" I'm not the one to retaliate and I won't take revenge on those who persecute me but GOD IS ALMIGHTY, AZATHOTH GOD ALMIGHTY , AZATHOTH GOD ALMIGHTY TRUE who will avenge those who persecute me (H.P LOVECRAFT) BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!