The World Fantasy Convention has decided to redesign their award statuettes in response to a petition complaining about H.P. Lovecraft’s racism. Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi is none too happy about it. Meanwhile, over at Black Gate I threw some gasoline on the fire debating whether Lovecraft’s racism was more him or his times:
No one will argue that Lovecraft was a well-adjusted individual; from sex to seafood, a psychiatrist would have worn out an IKEA’s worth of sofas itemizing a complete list of the man’s phobias. I contend those same anxieties are precisely what make Lovecraft’s writing so much fun. If his racism was more vile than that of his neighbors and contemporaries, then it originated in that same pool of existential paranoia from which only madmen sip. It was part and parcel with his oversensitivity to smells, his finicky eating habits, and all the rest. H.P. Lovecraft may have been a genius. He was also crazy.
I don’t believe changing the award is the worst thing, and Joshi is certainly overreacting (“I will do everything in my power to urge a boycott of the World Fantasy Convention among my many friends and colleagues”). As Jayn commented on my post, “the definition of ‘fantasy’ nowadays includes Lovecraft’s horror as only a subset.” Let the WFC focus on a broader range of material; with endless homages and entire conventions dedicated to celebrating his work, Lovecraft isn’t going to be swallowed by Lethean lake waters anytime soon.
Read my whole post here.