Discussion on H.P. Lovecraft at Pulpfest

A discussion on H.P. Lovecraft is due to be held at 11:00 PM on July 31st at the Pulpfest 2009 Convention in Columbus, Ohio. The talk will be headed by Ian Lohr, editor of a series of Lost Pulp Classics by the Howling Wolf small press. Further details are available below, or at the linked Pulpfest website. The convention runs from July 31-August 2, 2009 at Columbus' Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

Today recognized as a master of supernatural fiction, during his lifetime Lovecraft was an impoverished writer who subsisted on canned pork and beans while spinning what would become some of the most widely respected tales to emerge from the pulp market. In such stories as "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Colour Out of Space," and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," Lovecraft combined the elements of Gothic horror with the emerging field of science fiction to create some of the most unique fiction of his day or any day.

In his voluminous correspondence, Lovecraft encouraged other writers to develop further the ideas he was exploring in his own fiction. Soon, Frank Belknap Long, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and others were refining their colleague’s "Yog-Sothery," now better known as the Cthulhu Mythos.

Lovecraft’s influence is felt even today in the fiction of Poppy Z. Brite, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and others as well as in other areas of popular culture such as film, comic books, role-playing games, Scandinavian heavy metal music and a wide array of contemporary mythologies.

So join Ian as the witching hour approaches for an evening of cosmic horror, pop culture and philosophy.

-Grim Blogger