Episodes
Thursday May 27, 2021
H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 8: Episode 1: Letters, January-March 1932
Thursday May 27, 2021
Thursday May 27, 2021
The H. P. Lovecraft letters from early 1932 show his frustration with the status of the Weird Tales and other magazines, as he finds he cannot match they style they desire and have come to expect from him. Some real anxiety in this set of correspondence.
Thursday May 27, 2021
Episode 457: Barbara Tuchman:The Guns of August (4)
Thursday May 27, 2021
Thursday May 27, 2021
Toward the end of Barbara Tuchman's THE GUNS OF AUGUST we explore the battle of Tannenberg and the retreat of French armies toward Paris. Tuchman also analyzes the situation at sea and the position of the USA in the early days of the Great War.
Monday May 24, 2021
Monday May 24, 2021
I finish up this series on Lovecraft's stories from the late 1920s and early 1930s with a look at his collaboration with Donald Whitehead, "The Trap". While not as amazing as the Bishop revisions, this story does have some interesting ideas, and a 17th century wizards.
Monday May 24, 2021
Episode 456: Barbara Tuchman: The Guns of August (3)
Monday May 24, 2021
Monday May 24, 2021
Part three of a review of THE GUNS OF AUGUST by Barbara Tuchman. The logic of planning leading to entrenchment (military, institutional, and ideology) is explored in the middle chapters of this excellent study of the first days of the Great War.
Wednesday May 19, 2021
H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 7: Episode 14: Medusa's Coil
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Wednesday May 19, 2021
The last of the Lovecraft revisions of Zealia Bishop's work is also the most controversial. This short story explores the culture of the Black Atlantic, the post-war south, and art. It is the most detailed study of the artist by Lovecraft since "Pickman's Model".
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Episode 455: Barbara Tuchman:The Guns of August (2)
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Wednesday May 19, 2021
In this episode, I explore the second part of THE GUNS OF AUGUST by Barbara Tuchman. In these chapters we see how the war plans set up by the Great Powers made conflict unavoidable and prevented military and political institutions from changing course.
Monday May 17, 2021
H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 7: Episode 13: The Mound (2)
Monday May 17, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
I did not plan to record any two-part reviews of the H. P. Lovecraft revisions, but THE MOUND is such a massive and interesting tale that I just had to this time. In this episode, we focus on the culture and society of K'n-yan.
Thursday May 13, 2021
H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 7: Episode 12: The Mound (1)
Thursday May 13, 2021
Thursday May 13, 2021
One of Lovecraft's most significant revision works was the novella THE MOUND. Zealia Bishop provided the original prompt and Lovecraft ran with it creating an entire civilization. Influenced by THE COMING RACE by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Saturday May 08, 2021
H.P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 7: Episode 11: The Curse of Yig
Saturday May 08, 2021
Saturday May 08, 2021
In this episode, I explore THE CURSE OF YIG by Zealia Bishop and H. P. Lovecraft. It is one of his most famous revisions and a great story that takes Lovecraft's worldbuilding to the American Midwest.
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
My final thoughts on THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH by H. P. Lovecraft. This story ends with some action and then an coda examining our narrator's deep family history.
Next, we will explore the Zealia Bishop revisions.