Lovecraft the Fascist?

In a biting follow up to the discussion on Lovecraft as conservative from "Secular Right," Volgi of "The Gormogons" lashes out, convinced that the political Lovecraft was little more than a lunatic fascist. His heavy opinion is thought provoking, even if a sizable group of Lovecraft admirers will find the tone and some of the content disagreeable. Overall, however one might feel about the historical and political opinions taken by the author, "The Gormogons" piece provides a nice counterpoint to the sympathetic stance taken by most bloggers on "Secular Right."

For the record, I find Volgi's entry relies too much on the modern socio-political lens, where democracy and racial diversity have become sacrosanct. One would be hard pressed to find a Lovecraft reader today who isn't bothered by the draconian and prejudiced leanings of HPL on civilization, race, and government. On the other hand, the heightened passion some commentators continue to direct at Lovecraft on these matters seems more than a little overblown.

Do I believe Lovecraft to have been terribly mistaken in his opinions? Sure. Does that mean those distasteful opinions can be dismissed as psychologically "crazy," as Volgi's post asserts? No, especially in the context of the historical period.

It's also baffling to have the article's author state reluctance to "let him off" (Lovecraft) as S.T. Joshi allegedly has. What does this mean? It seems too intent on putting a dead man on perpetual trial, or permanently searing a scarlet "R" for Racist and "F" for Fascist over all works written by or about Lovecraft.

While "H.P. Lovecraft, Fascist" contains some disagreeable points (at least for this blogger), it's a well crafted, if emotional, case portraying the darker side of Lovecraft's politics. That makes it both an interesting read and an effective contribution to the broadening blogosphere of weird fiction.

-Grim Blogger