Letters to Alfred Galpin and Others

The world of amateur journalism that H. P. Lovecraft entered in 1914 introduced him to a variety of interesting and accomplished individuals, some of whom remained his colleagues for the rest of his life. One of these was Edward H. Cole, a writer and editor from Massachusetts whom Lovecraft met frequently in the succeeding two decades. The two discussed the byzantine world of amateur journalism in their long, if sporadic, correspondence.

Cole introduced Lovecraft to John T. Dunn, a young man in the Providence area who helped to found the Providence Amateur Press Club. Dunn, as an outspoken Irish-American, clashed with Lovecraft repeatedly on the question of Irish independence.

Some years later, Lovecraft became acquainted with Alfred Galpin, who proved to be a prodigy in the realms of literature, philosophy, and music. Their correspondence also lasted for decades and contains some of Lovecraft’s most profound discussions of weird fiction, materialism, atheism, and other subjects.

In the mid-1920s Lovecraft came in touch with Adolphe de Castro, a former colleague of Ambrose Bierce. Lovecraft struggled with revising de Castro’s weird fiction, advised him on the writing of a memoir of Bierce, and in later years engaged in intense discussions regarding a treatise on early Christianity that de Castro was writing.

Throughout these letters, Lovecraft reveals himself to be learned, courteous, patient, and at times outspoken, revealing many sides of his personality not always visible in his weird fiction. The letters have been thoroughly annotated, and a great deal of ancillary material by the correspondents in question has been supplied.