Letters to Sonny — a Hay Homecoming

In what may be our last episode, we explore two letters: one from early in HPL's life and one from near the end. We reflect on what we've learned over a multi-year deep dive into HPL's letters and what it means to a be a Lovecraft fan.

In which a letter from HPL to Clark Ashton Smith is dissected by Sean, Andrew and our special guest hosts: Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer of the podcast Strange Studies of Strange Stories. It's an episode brimming with weird tales, and of course, cats.

In which guest podcaster Martin Andersson of Sweden joins Sean and Andrew for a discussion of a challenging letter. Classic topics like HPL's favorite foods hide in the shadows cast by topics like police brutality and slavery. Not for the faint of heart.

A super-sized episode about one of HPL's longest letters. In this 70 page monster, HPL writes to Woodburn Harris and covers topics such as ethics, aesthetics, art, and the fall of the Roman Empire. Content warning: this episode features a few instances of the word we bleep. Brace yourself - we're going to be here for a while...

In which HPL engages with Texas author Robert E. Howard in a feisty debate about police brutality, chivalry, barbarianism and more. But all is well in the end as they celebrate their mutual love of cats and ice cream.

We explore a feisty letter from HPL to Frank Belknap Long. It's part of a recent acquisition of Lovecraft letters donated to the John Hay Library at Brown. Sean & Andrew visit the Hay for a chat with HPL's personal librarian: Heather Cole.

In which Sean and Andrew record a live show at NecronomiCon Providence. There they read an exchange of letters published in the newspaper between a local astronomy enthusiast and the astronomically inclined HPL. Hilarity ensues.

In which HPL writes young Donald Wandrei and opines about man's place in the vastness of the cosmos. Sean and Andrew discuss the Webb telescope and the history of man's understanding of the universe.

In which HPL writes his Aunt Lillian a diary letter describing a month of his life while living with Sonia in New York. He recounts two outings to Elizabeth, New Jersey and numerous excursions with his New York pals. Bleep Warning: this episode contains three instances of the word we bleep. https://www.hplhs.org/voluminous74.php

In which publisher E. Haldeman-Julius writes ABOUT a letter from H.P. Lovecraft in which HPL provided lists of his favorite and least favorite people in history. Hear HPL celebrate Epicurus and Remy de Gourmont while he bags on T.S. Eliot and Jesus.