Voluminous: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
The Unknown the Weird and the Impossible
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Strange Stories
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Barbaric
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
We Are Mostly Puppets
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, aes...
Brawny Viragoes
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Letters to Sonny — a Hay Homecoming
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 B...
Live from NecronomiCon
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 lo...
Live from NecronomiCon
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 lo...
Rapidly Ascending to Cosmic Matters
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Elizabeth and the New York Boys
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 Eli...
Candidates for Immortality
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Nazis, Gangsters and Elvis
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to J. Vernon Shea about his wonderful new flat at 66 College Street. He also talks about Nazis and movies which leads Sean and And...
Enemies of Civilization
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL vigorously engages with fellow author Robert E. Howard regarding barbarism, civilization, the Wild West and European nations invading nei...
Curious Wonders and Spaghetti
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to his "grandson" Frank Belknap Long of his explorations of never-before-seen neighborhoods of old colonial Providence, including ...
Everyone's a Critic
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
HPL's correspondence with his amateur press buddy Edward H. Cole is revealed through six letters. Spanning decades, the letters explore art criticism,...
Witch-Haunted Salem and Other Ghastliness
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes his friend Samuel Loveman of goings on in the amateur press world and then recounts his visits to witch-haunted Salem and Newburyp...
The Case of the Missing Dickybird
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL discusses James F. Morton's plan to write detective stories about mineralogists and in which a "dickybird" stamp goes missing from an env...
Horrors and Red Hook
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft writes to Bernard Austin Dwyer and recalls his difficult days living in Red Hook, New York two years before. Life in a rough and di...
The Wind that Is in the Grass
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL prepares for a trip to DeLand, Florida to visit his young correspondent Robert H. Barlow. HPL offers travel tips, thoughts on mental heal...
This Is A Great Country
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL sends a bunch of postcards to his aunts while on a visit with Vrest Orton in Vermont. HPL rhapsodizes about the glorious scenery and surv...
A Symphony of Galpin
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A letter from June 24, 1933, in which HPL writes his old friend Alfred Galpin, sharing his joy about his new digs at 66 College Street and many other ...
Currying Favor
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A pair of letters in which HPL writes to his New Orleans friend E. Hoffman Price and discusses some of his favorite things: writing weird fiction, pla...
Long and Love-Kraft
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to Frank Belknap Long and, as usual, discusses a great many topics including cheese. And in which Sean & Andrew tell the tale of t...
Four for Farnsworth
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which we explore four letters from HPL to Farnsworth Wright, the editor of Weird Tales. Over a nine year period, we see the evolution of their rela...
An Antiquated Mummy from the Other Side
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In one of the last letters of his life, HPL writes to author C.L. Moore. Is this the fabled letter in which Lovecraft rejects his racist attitudes? No...
Wales, Whales, and the Stars
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to one of his only overseas correspondents, Arthur Harris in Wales. This pair or letters documents his visit to Nantucket Island a...
Oleaginous Fascists
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In which, on March 2 of 1927, HPL writes to Paul J. Campbell, one of his mentors in the amateur press movement. Lovecraft has plenty to say about the ...
Citizen Lovecraft
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year! In this letter from November of 1916, the young HPL tells his friend Rheinhart Kleiner about his early childhood. Many details are rev...
Live from the Lovecraft Film Festival
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Immortality! Booze! Police brutality! Graphic violence! In a special episode recorded live from the HPL Film Festival with guest commentator Stephen F...
Whoop Bang Hooray
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which an ebullient HPL squeals with joy at his aunt's invitation for him to leave New York and return home to his beloved Providence. Sure, there's...
HPL - Colonial Tourguide
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which the newlywed HPL writes his aunt Lillian, inviting her to come live with him and his wife. What could be more fun than that? How about a thro...
Clark Ashton Lovefest
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Two letters from Lovecraft to Smith display HPL's great enthusiasm for Smith's work as both writer and illustrator. He optimistically discusses a new ...
REH Part 2 - Witch Cults
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of a long letter to Robert E. Howard, HPL discusses the Salem Witch Trials and their connection to witch cults in Western Europe. He also ...
REH Part 1 - Rhode Island
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first part of a long letter to Robert E. Howard, Lovecraft shares many thoughts including the fascinating and sometimes horrifying history of R...
The Case of Old Dolph
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to one of his revision clients, Adolphe Danziger de Castro. Lovecraft's frayed nerves cause him to decline taking on future revisi...
I Am Home
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which, following a disastrous experience of living in New York, Lovecraft celebrates his homecoming to his beloved Providence. Hear an emotional HP...
O Mighty Ar-Ech-Bei
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to R.H. Barlow, who will go on to be his literary executor. This letter shines a light on why Lovecraft might have selected him fo...
A Lovecraftian Romantic Comedy
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL tells his friends Kleiner and Moe of his early encounters with Madame Greene (who will go on to become Mrs. Lovecraft). Is HPL the leadin...
Greetings from St Augustine
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to a young friend of Clark Ashton Smith, telling of his travels in St. Augustine, Florida. The travelogue segues into useful advic...
Howard's Bombshell
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL breaks some big news to his poor Aunt Lillian. HPL's run off and married Sonia Greene in New York! This letter is amazing not just for wh...
Pronouncing Petaja
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to the young writer Emil Petaja. Learn whether or not Ibsen is a "weird author", how to pronounce Emil's surname, and many other g...
The Dark Swamp
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a letter of August 1923 to original Weird Tales editor Edwin Baird, HPL talks a bit of business before describing his plan to visit a legendary sit...
I Wish I Were a Housecat
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this rare letter from March of 1923 to poet Samuel Loveman, HPL speaks with great sensitivity about their mutual friend Alfred Galpin, and somewhat...
I Genuflect I Grovel
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to Wilfred Talman, abjectly apologizing for miscommunication regarding the idea of HPL writing a novel. This letter from late in L...
The YMCA
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to his friend Maurice Moe and questions the truth (or lack thereof) in religion. Lovecraft gives a spirited argument to his friend...
Danger - Politics Ahead
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to C.L. Moore, one of his female correspondents. Howard unleashes a torrent of thoughts on life in the Great Depression and the re...
Laundry and Influenza
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Written during his time in New York, this letter to HPL's Aunt Lillian discusses day to day issues like laundry, and more impactful issues like the Sp...
Herr Hitler
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this letter from 1933, HPL speaks candidly to his young friend Robert Bloch about the recently-elected Chancellor of Germany: Adolf Hitler. Lovecra...
Gallomo Part 2 - Howard's Grandson
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of his letter to the Gallomo, HPL describes another key figure he's become acquainted with: Frank Belknap Long. This young man from New Yo...
Gallomo Part 1 - Recaptured Youth
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part one of this long letter from the summer of 1921, HPL tells his buddies in the Gallomo of a return to his boyhood clubhouse as a middle aged ma...
Shut Up and Listen
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which, during tumultuous times, the HPLHS opts not to read a letter. Don't worry - we'll be back. Here are a couple of other podcasts that are wort...
Divorce and Bigamy
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this letter of July 2, 1929 to Maurice Moe, HPL discusses his thoughts on marriage and, more importantly, divorce. Written after the collapse of hi...
Shea Part 3 - War, Peace and Justice
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the sometimes uncomfortable finale of our three-part letter to J. Vernon Shea, HPL opines on weightier topics, including the looming forces of war ...
Shea Part 2 - Bedelia and Friends
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our three-part letter to J. Vernon Shea, Lovecraft visits popular culture, discussing music, plays and his favorite motion pictures. Ev...
Shea Part 1 - Let Suicide Wait
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part one of this lengthy (three episode!) letter, HPL writes to his friend J. Vernon Shea. Among the many topics he delves into are Lovecraft's you...
Defending Sonny
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a letter to his revision client Zealia Brown Reed Bishop dated August 25, 1929, HPL emphatically defends the editorial work of his young protege, F...
Cats, Cheese and Hawaiians
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft speaks of many things, but most extensively on his fondness for cats. That leads to a discussion of local colloquialisms which then...
Letters Phantastique
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes about space travel, alien life, and the shortcomings of fictional science in a suite of letters to one of the first fans of scienc...
Things That Go Bump in the Night
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
February, 1937. In one of the last letters he would ever write, HPL tells Harry Otto Fischer about the things he's afraid of, and explains his etymolo...
Dunsany & Childhood: My Favorite Things
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to the Gallomo (Alfred Galpin and Maurice Moe) of his potent dreams, his first encounter with Lord Dunsany, and his idyllic youth ...
Pornography!
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft opines to his young friend Frank Belknap Long about the perils of pornography and includes a ribald cautionary poem in an 18th cent...
Anything But The White Ape
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to Edwin Baird, his first editor at Weird Tales. They talk a bit of business before HPL launches into his autobiography. Yes, we h...
Melmoth the Wandrei
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft writes to Donald Wandrei, a young correspondent who will go on to be one of the founders of Arkham House, and play a key role in pr...
A Comedy of Vain Desire
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL attempts to bring good cheer to his depressed friend Rheinhart Kleiner. We hope Rheinhart took comfort from Howard's suggestions of fixin...
The Worst Anthropologists in the World
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL and Robert E. Howard discuss a number of issues of the day. They opine about the Massie Affair, an incident in the Hawaiian Islands which...
New Orleans and other Horrors
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to Robert E. Howard during his trip to New Orleans. And in which Sean and Andrew grapple with the language of racism and other pro...
Spanking Sonny Part 4 - About Art
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the thrilling conclusion of our coverage of Lovecraft's eternal letter, he tells Frank Belknap Long everything he fails to understand about art, hi...
Spanking Sonny Part 3 - About Religion
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
HPL assaults Catholicism and other intellectual outrages. This one may ruffle some feathers as Lovecraft lays it on thick in part three of his lengthy...
Spanking Sonny Part 2 - About Science
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of HPL's lengthy letter to his friend Frank Belknap Long, Lovecraft speaks his mind about the merits of pure science. Listen as he disdain...
Spanking Sonny Part 1 - About Literature
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL upbraids, chides and spanks his poor young friend Frank Belknap Long about weird literature (and several other topics to boot!). The firs...
My Breakfast with Howard
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft describes both his diet and his thrift as he documents his shopping and dining habits in alarming detail. For added fun he walks th...
Bimbos Bozos and James F Morton
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the suggestion of S.T. Joshi, we read a letter to James F. Morton. Brimming with snappy 1920s slang, HPL's letter grapples with his ideas on writin...
Politics, Poetry and Other Outrages
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Howard unfurls his most vigorous inner-cynic as he attacks political ideals and modern poetry in this letter to Washington DC poet Elizabeth Toldridge...
Tidings of Comfort and Joy? Part 2
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Just before Christmas, Lovecraft meets Vrest Orton for the first time. Howard is smitten by his young visitor. Is it a blossoming bromance or somethin...
Tidings of Comfort and Joy? Part 1
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
HPL sends his aunt a very telling Christmas letter. Written while he was living in Brooklyn, the letter is revealing about both HPL and those closest ...
Those Meddling Kids
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
High school admirers Robert Bloch and Willis Conover both wrote fan letters to Lovecraft. Here we see HPL writing back to these two young writers who ...
Grief and Other Lugubrious Demonstrations
09 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft delivers some unexpected bad news. Intellect collides with emotion in this letter to poet Ann Tillery Renshaw. Thanks to Hippocampu...
Howard Swears a Blue Streak
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL deploys shocking language in a feisty letter to his friend, Wisconsin schoolteacher Maurice Moe. Thanks to Arkham House. You can read a m...
The Clark Ashton Smythos
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which Lovecraft writes his friend and fellow author of fantastic tales, Clark Ashton Smith. As wildfire threatens Smith's California home we're rem...
My Dearest Mother
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which HPL writes to his mother about his delightful visit to a gathering of amateur press friends for St. Patrick's day. Sent a few weeks before he...
Dipping Our Toes in August Derleth
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which we read a letter from HPL to August Derleth from November 7, 1926. We discuss unique qualities of HPL's correspondence with Derleth, and his ...
Sex, Drugs and Marketing
04 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A set of three shorter letters written one hundred years ago, in which 29-year-old HPL dispenses relationship and life advice to one of his earliest c...
Dear Mr. Barlow
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his first letter to Robert H. Barlow, written on June 25, 1931, HPL very kindly answers a few important questions of a young fan, and begins what w...