Eldritch Heaven

I love that jacket for Lovecraft Remembered, with E'ch-Pi-El hovering in ye heavens as some Eldritch Yahweh.  He hovers there for me, in this sad modern era.  I have been an obsess'd Lovecraft fanboy for moft of my life, since around 1973; & yet it is now, to-day, that being a Lovecraftian, for me, has reach'd heights of wonder.  I cannot believe how lucky I am! This evening Leslie Klinger and S T. Joshi will appear at the University Bookstore to discuss HPL as part of a book signing event for The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft.  Have I told ye yet how much I LOVE this new edition of Lovecraft's tales?  Such a fabulous book!!!  One of the great things about being a Lovecraftian to-day is the serious critical work being done on Lovecraft's texts.  The definitive edition of those texts will be S. T. Joshi's forthcoming Variorum edition--now, alas, postponed until January or thereabouts.

As an author who is obsess'd with writing stories that are linked to Lovecraft's fiction and poetry, I am greatly aided by the current scholarly writings, which inform me of aspects of Lovecraft's genius that I am too intellectually clueless to discover on my own.  One of my great joys in the past has been to hang with Lovecraft scholars at conventions or the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival.  Because of increasing poor health, I will no longer attend such exhausting events--but that's okay, because we have our own wee Lovecraft/Weird fiction gang here in Seattle.  

Seattle has been magical since S. T. Joshi moved here, and to-night is going to be one enchanted evening.  Some few of us will meet at S. T.'s for a pre-signing nosh of cheese & wine, and then we will all pile into one car and drive to the signing.  I will be buying a copy of The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft for a friend--but because S. T. is a part of the event, I am hopeful that his editions of Lovecraft and his Lovecraft and a World in Transition will also be offer'd for purchase.  I am also hopeful that a huge crowd will assemble to hear these two editors of Lovecraft discuss his work, his text, &c.  Bitches, I thrive on this kind of thing.  After the signing, if it isn't too late, some of us will find a place for a late dinner, & thus continue the discussion on HPL &c.  

I never thought my life as a Lovecraftian wou'd be so enrich'd.  Hell, I never thought I'd have my own wee books of weird fiction publish'd.  Life is good.  Life is eldritch.