Poe Vs. Lovecraft
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Topic: Poe Vs. Lovecraft
Posted By: dralan
Subject: Poe Vs. Lovecraft
Date Posted: January 11 2006 at 20:22
| Inspired by the fantasy writers poll, Id like your thoughts on two of my favorite writers. Discuss....................... |
Replies:
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 05:45
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Poe, hands down. Lovecraft only comes close in "At The Mountains of Madness", which would be my my favourite of him, were it not for "The Music of Erich Zann", which is a masterpiece, in my opinion, because in essence nothing more happens in it but an old man playing violin, but that's just what I love about it: How Lovecraft twists that into a tale of horror. If you like it dark, I recommend Lautréamont, by the way (pseudonym for Isidore Lucien Ducasse). His only work, "Les Chants de Maldoror" ("The Songs of Maldoror"), is perhaps the darkest book ever wrtten. This book would have been forgotten if the surrealists had not rediscovered it. The famous phrase "'as beautiful as a chance meeting of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissection table", used as a motto by the surrealists, is from this book. Another excellent book for those who love it dark: "Die andere Seite" ("The Other Side") by Austiran graphic artist Alfred Kubin. Best to be read in the German original, if you master the language. "Maldoror" should of course be read in French too, but alas!, I don't master that language, so I have to go with a translation. And a third one which lovers of the phantastic may like: "Malpertuis" by Belgian author Jean Ray. Oh, and 2 more Austrian authors of the phantastic come to my mind: Leo Perutz and Gustav Meyrink. Of Perutz I highly recommend "Die Dritte Kugel" ("The Third Bullet"), "Der Judas des Leonardo" ("The Judas of Leonardo") or "Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke" ("By Night Under the Stone Bridge"). The latter has one of the most interesting structures I ever came across in a novel; while reading it it seems to be no more than a collection of stories settled in Prague; sometimes characters appear in two or more of these stories, but otherwise there is no real connection. Only with the last chapter (or "story") of the book everything suddenly falls into place, and it becomes a novel. Of Meyrink defintely "Der Golem" ("The Golem"), "Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster" ("The Angel of the West Window") and "Walpurgisnacht" (a term for which no translation exists; "Beltaine" comes closest and is indeed on the same day, but "Beltaine" is a Celtic tradition, while "Walpurgisnacht" is a Germanic one. The English translation of the novel uses the original title). -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 05:57
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Poe - I can only echo BaldFriede's sentiments. Tales of Mystery and Imagination still has the power to chill today. Lovecraft's prose style puts me off, although it works well in some of his short stories. ------------- 'Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how much to contribute to the already rich among us...' Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom |
Posted By: Bartvarium
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 06:46
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I've read all his novels....absolutly amazing!!!!!!!!!!!I think it is one of the most important writer in the history!!!! The best novel I think is "The pit and the pendulum"!!! ------------- Raise your sword mighty warrior |
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 07:09
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I haven'read anything by Lovecraft, so I'm not going to vote. But the poems by E. A. Poe should not be overlooked. The Raven. Need I say more? Poe was an inspiration for the French symbolists. |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 08:50
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Both great, both well worth reading, but Poe was the pioneering grand master who blazed the trail. It's worth noting than when I took a short story course in university, Poe was in there, but HPL was not. I learned that Poe did not just write short stories, but wrote about how they should be written. He advanced the idea that in a short story (as opposed to a novel) EVERY single word had to count, and help to advance the mood and plot of the story -- absolutely no padding. He was a brilliant writer and literary theorist, and all horror writers who followed (including HPL), were/are in his debt. Neither writer needed to rub blood, guts and gore in the reader's face -- the real horror lay in the creepy, increasing sense of dread -- the reader was made to use his or her imagination (our own worst fears were played upon) to achieve the effect. A horror of the mind -- of sound, shadow and paranoia. Most modern horror writers and movies simply bludgeon the reader/viewer with gore -- nothing left to the imagination -- and I find that far less effective than the work of the old masters. Good thread! ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 09:21
Indeed they do, that's why I recommended the books I did. They are definitely different. "Les Chants de Maldoror" is probably the most "evil" book ever written; Lautréamont started wrting on a "good" counterpart, but died of tuberculosis at the age of 23 before he could finish. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Peter wrote:Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 14:12
Sounds very interesting. Yeah, I find most modern horror writing/movies to be simply DUMB -- 95% blood and special effects, 5% plot and atmosphere. Atmosphere/mood was priority # 1 for Poe. Special effects and graphic violence are no substitute for good writing! In the classic horror films, it was the sense of expectation/dread (plus the music and lighting, etc.) that supplied most of the "horror." You only got to see the monster at the very end. Today, it's all about instant gratification (precious little attention span or patience in the modern viewer/reader), and grossing out a desensitized audience raised on a steady diet of gore. Just plain juvenile, sickening, and, for me, usually completely unbelievable and ineffective. Nice talking to you! ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: Manunkind
Date Posted: January 12 2006 at 15:03
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Lovecraft is very good, but Poe's significantly better. I find his stories much darker and more intelligent. BaldFriede - I will be checking these books out, thank you so very much Also, is Thomas Ligotti any good?
------------- "In war there is no time to teach or learn Zen. Carry a strong stick. Bash your attackers." - Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun |
. Especially for reminding me of Lautreamont, I wanted to read him a long time ago, but the only copy in the university library was borrowed and it was exam session time, so I forgot all about him, I'm not going to make the same mistake again.Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 00:42
NEVERMORE! 
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Posted By: Manunkind
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 04:42
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Awesome band ------------- "In war there is no time to teach or learn Zen. Carry a strong stick. Bash your attackers." - Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 04:49
Musically , HP Lovecraft was much more progressive than APP's Tales Of EA Poe ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: krusty
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 05:36
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Poe, I have some excelent audio books read by Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price, fantastic voices. ------------- http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=309" rel="nofollow - Humanism |
Posted By: porter
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 10:09
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I happen to like Lovecraft a bit more. I also think they're pretty different as writers, Lovecraft had a "cosmic" thing that Poe didn't have. It's a pretty different style. I think they shine equally but in different fields: Poe's work was probably more stretched in themes, while Lovecraft was pretty much into this sci-fi mood, which is really great in my opinion. It's great to feel the horror coming not much from the things you read about, like the monsters, the entities and so on, but more from the realization that the universe is an infinite dark and misterious place. I think that's what Lovecraft was all about, and I think it's great. ------------- "my kingdom for a horse!" (W. Shakespeare, "Richard III") |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 10:48
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Ah, Basil Rathbone, that's a name I've not heard in ages! Last
time I saw him was in Sherlock Holmes in '50s (no, I'm not that old) on
that television thing I detest so much. I regret to say I've yet to read much Poe of Lovecraft. I started to read "The Fall of the House of Usher" and everyone has read "The Raven" and I think I read a few of Lovecraft's easlier pieces, to get a feel for his writing, but just haven't gone any further reading-wise with either of them yet, but all in good time. -------------   
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 12:51
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We have the complete writings of Poe and Lovecraft in our library. Lovecraft's whole oeuvre fits into 3 books of around 300 pages each. Poe's work, including letters and literary critiques, needs 10 books.
------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Xymphony
Date Posted: January 13 2006 at 19:44
| Lovecraft |
Posted By: Rosescar
Date Posted: January 14 2006 at 18:16
American Psycho... ------------- http://www.soundclick.com/rosescar/ - My music! "THE AUDIENCE WERE generally drugged. (In Holland, always)." - Robert Fripp |
Posted By: porter
Date Posted: January 15 2006 at 06:18
American Psycho is the greatest movie ever!!!  ------------- "my kingdom for a horse!" (W. Shakespeare, "Richard III") |
Posted By: tardis
Date Posted: January 15 2006 at 13:58
| E.A. Poe, easily! |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: January 15 2006 at 14:02
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Poe. I like Lovecraft and some of his stuff is very good. But overall, Poe is the master of this genre of writing. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Manunkind
Date Posted: January 31 2006 at 18:46
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I've resurrected this thread to plug for an artist called John Coulthart and his Lovecraft-related drawings: http://www.atelier.abelgratis.co.uk/retinacula/haunter2006.html - http://www.atelier.abelgratis.co.uk/retinacula/haunter2006.h tml And a different, more 'comic book' approach: http://members.shaw.ca/csstrowbridge/Tulzscha/Information.htm - http://members.shaw.ca/csstrowbridge/Tulzscha/Information.ht m
------------- "In war there is no time to teach or learn Zen. Carry a strong stick. Bash your attackers." - Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: January 31 2006 at 19:10
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Being a Baltimore native I have to go with our native son E.A. Poe. His home isn't too far from where I live,and we have gone and visited his grave numerous times,he's buried here too. -------------  |