The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,And the trees have a silver glare;Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,And the harpies of upper air,That flutter and laugh and stare. For the village dead to the moon outspreadNever shone in the sunset’s gleam,But grew out of the deep that the dead years keepWhere the … Continue reading Poem – “Halloween in a Suburb”
Lovecraft
Poem-“October”
Mellow-faced, with eyes of faery, wistful clad in tinted leaves,See the brown October tarry by the golden rows of sheaves;Oak & acorn in his garland, fruit & wineskin in his hands,Mystic pilgrim from a far land down the road to farther lands. Softly treading, gently breathing, casting spells on wood & wold,Vines with purple clusters … Continue reading Poem-“October”
Thought of the Day: Most Important Authors
My preliminary picks for the five most important authors of the 20th Century: -J.R.R. Tolkien-Edgar Rice Burroughs-Agatha Christie-Raymond Chandler-H.P. Lovecraft (A case could be made for H.G. Wells, except that his most important works were almost all written at the tail-end of the 19th century)
Poetry: “Lines on General Robert E. Lee”
“Si veris magna paraturFama bonis, et si successu nuda remotoInspicitur virtus, quicquid laudamus in ulloMajorum, fortuna fuit.”—Lucan.Whilst martial echoes o’er the wave resound,And Europe’s gore incarnadines the ground;Today no foreign hero we bemoan,But count the glowing virtues of our own!Illustrious LEE! around whose honour’d nameEntwines a patriot’s and a Christian’s fame;With whose just praise admiring … Continue reading Poetry: “Lines on General Robert E. Lee”
When H.P. Lovecraft Met Samuel Johnson
Well, this is a find: it isn't often you encounter two of your favorite writers meeting face to face, especially when the one (supposedly) was born over a century after the other died. A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson is one of Mr. Lovecraft's earlier works (published in 1917, the same year as Dagon), in … Continue reading When H.P. Lovecraft Met Samuel Johnson
Flirty Lovecraft
Since it's still Shrove Tuesday, a bit of last-minute humor
Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
1. The Wisdom of Walt Disney re-release went off with very few hitches. There was a close call where I thought none of the updates (including the discount) would be available by the release date, since, at least as far as I can tell, Amazon doesn’t provide the ability to precisely control when the book … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
Flotsam: A Hodgepodge Ending in Lovecraft
1. I try to hunt up simple, straightforward points where ideas make contact with reality in order to judge their truth or falseness. Preferably reality I can see for myself, or which is at least clear and concrete enough to be resistant to rhetoric. For instance, a question that occurred to me this week: has … Continue reading Flotsam: A Hodgepodge Ending in Lovecraft
Serpent's Den 