Alan Davey Vision Quest Request

[Mary Sullivan]

Hi John,
Nice to be remembered by the name Alan dubbed me with.  Thanks, again for
your well thought out perspective, it all makes more sense now.  A novel
would have been incredible.  I didn't care for the film adaptations of
Lovecraft's work.  I did think that Night Gallery did a good job with Cool
Air, but I only watched it once, and that was probably 30 years ago,
actually more, now that's really scary.  As everyone here knows, I always
enjoy a good story.

Your friend, from way back,

Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List [mailto:BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET] On
Behalf Of John Majka
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 11:52 AM
To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET
Subject: Re: Alan Davey Vision Quest Request


No offense taken, Madame Quantum.  I'd agree that there are certain aspects 
to his writing which appear in multiple stories, but I'd also argue that 
this is due to the milieu in which he was writing.  These were stories 
published here and there (mainly in Weird Tales) over a period of years, and

were never originally intended (or expected) to be read consecutively, so 
each story will tend to almost have a synopsis-like quality about it.  If 
you notice his habitual mentioning of the gambrel-rooved New England homes, 
this would certainly be one characteristic, as he tries to set the 
atmosphere anew in each tale.  If he had lived long enough to collate his 
stories into a book, or even write a sequence of stories with the intention 
of putting them in book form, I suspect he would have done some editing and 
adjustment so there would be little or no restatement of ideas between them.

It's remarkable how much Lovecraft has been ripped off without 
acknowledgement over the decades, such that his writing has simply become 
part of the cultural knowledge base.  There are instances like the hijacking

of the word "Arkham" by the Batman people and so forth.
John Majka



>John,
I didn't mean to come off as negative about Lovecraft yesterday, especially
since I'll read anything of his I can find.  When I stated Lovecraft became
a parody of himself, what I meant was he could blatantly copy his own style
in "The Unnamable."  I'm nearly positive that's the right story, it's when a
skeptic and a character who's into the occult (Lovecraft, I think), are
waiting for something to happen, and it does.  I'm glad his attitude evolved
with respect to racism, and I believe if he'd lived longer he may have
perceived the role of women in horror with a more enlightened perspective.
It comes down to the Spirit Of The Age. You really help put things into
perspective.

Cheers,

Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List [mailto:BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET] On
Behalf Of John Majka
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 9:30 AM
To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET
Subject: Re: Alan Davey Vision Quest Request


Lovecraft is definitely a favorite of mine.  The course of his life shows
the progress of a true humanitarian and scholar.  It is true that earlier
on, Lovecraft could have been considered (along with 99% of Americans) to be

racist, but he dropped these views in later years and there are many letters

showing his regret that he could have ever been so callow or could have
thought in such a way.  It's heartening that he evaluated himself and his
views and remade himself.  Even the quality of the stories exists on an
incline, getting ever better and more sophisticated.  It's a shame that
cancer killed him at such a young age and that none of his writing was
published in book form before his death.  He would surely have gone on to
even greater achievements.  One can only speculate about the greatness of a
Lovecraft novel.... John Majka

> Re: Lord Dunsany. He was much lass dark and more literary than 
> Lovecraft, not to mention less openly zenophobic. Lovecraft wrote some 
> amazing stories however. Love the Cthuhlu Mythos idea. He was 
> extremely influential to the fanatasy/ horror genre.
>
> I have never managed to relate to the band...
>
> 2010/1/7 Mary Sullivan <maryann.sullivan1 at verizon.net>
>
>> I haven't heard a lot from the band, but found I liked what I heard. 
>> I remember a song "The Mountains Of Madness."  It took forever for me 
>> to get a copy of that story, I expected more.  The stories are well 
>> told, after a while Lovecraft became a parody of himself.  I liked 
>> the influence of Lord
>> Dunsany.  I haven't read anything by him, but I can tell which stories
>> were
>> influenced by him, they're a totally different style, more dreamy.
>>
>> Mary
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List 
>> [mailto:BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Paul Mather
>> Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 9:43 AM
>> To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET
>> Subject: Re: Alan Davey Vision Quest Request
>>
>>
>> On Jan 7, 2010, at 9:01 AM, Chris Allen wrote:
>>
>> > Mind you, I've a wee soft spot for HP Lovecraft the band, too. 
>> > Maybe I shouldn't admit that openly...
>>
>> Why not?  Their 1968 live album is really good.  There, I said it.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Paul.
>>
>