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World Fantasy Award in "Racist" controversy...
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Criticism has been levelled at the World Fantasy Award, which is
in the shape of writer H. P. Lovecraft - an acclaimed writer of
supernatural horror, but also the subject of controversy over
strong racist views he expressed in both his fiction and non-fiction.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/17/world-fantasy-awards-hp-lovecraft-racism-row-statuette
Personally, I think it might be better to change the award to a symbol- much as
I admire Lovecraft's fiction I don't think a statue of the guy is a fitting
symbol for the either fantasy genre (remember, when the WFAs began in
the 1970s, they were awarded to both supernatural horror AND fantasy,
which isn't the case anymore).
But what do you think?
in the shape of writer H. P. Lovecraft - an acclaimed writer of
supernatural horror, but also the subject of controversy over
strong racist views he expressed in both his fiction and non-fiction.
The board of the World Fantasy awards has said that it is “in discussion” about its winners’ statuette, modelled on the late HP Lovecraft, after calls for the trophy to be changed due to Lovecraft’s “fundamental racism”.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/17/world-fantasy-awards-hp-lovecraft-racism-row-statuette
Personally, I think it might be better to change the award to a symbol- much as
I admire Lovecraft's fiction I don't think a statue of the guy is a fitting
symbol for the either fantasy genre (remember, when the WFAs began in
the 1970s, they were awarded to both supernatural horror AND fantasy,
which isn't the case anymore).
But what do you think?
0
Comments
True. Most writers are flawed in some way- I was shocked to learn from a
biography that the kindly Walter De La Mare apparently held strong
anti-Semitic views.
most repugnant racial statements people are complaining over
are from Lovecraft's letters and unpublished poems
like "On the Creation of (N-Words)".
Lovecraft's letters were never, to the best of my
knowledge, intended for publication. Lovecraft's
devotees, while they did sterling work preserving his
ideas in his letters, also left the problematic side of the man
far more visible.
De La Mare seems not to have written down his anti-semitic views,
only speaking them to friends; but
Lovecraft's racist views were written down thousands of times.
Lovecraft's image from the WFA :
http://www.stjoshi.org/news.html
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/s-t-joshi-cant-stop-ranting-about-lovecraft-and-race
efforts to change the award's image:
http://www.nyrsf.com/2014/09/issue-312-august-2014-editorial-chance-of-face-change-of-heart.html
But it's generally believed Nobel was dismayed at seeing his inventions used
for military purposes, and set up the Peace Prize in response:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/health/26docs.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=919b88628e82140e&ex=1160884800
When the current bunch can produce a story as fine as "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", they can be as judgemental as they wish.
Replace him with Cthulhu. That'll keep most people happy.
How about a dragon, or a unicorn? Those are the general symbols of
fantasy. Countries as diverse as Wales, Russia, Denmark, Israel and China
have myths of dragons. A dragon would be great!
There MUST be a dragon and unicorn fantasy award already, surely?
No, I mean Cthulhu would keep both sides happy- it would remove Lovecraft himself, but acknowledge the importance of his work. And ALSO neatly sidestep any accusations of "PC GONE MAD" from Joshi et al.
Bram Stoker was another horror writer I found terribly racist but at the time of writing I can imagine that this was very much the norm.
Thing with Lovecraft was that he was very racist even by the standards of the day.
The majority of horror writers raised prior to WWII would have held some
degree of racist views, but not all. Look at Lafcadio Hearn- his first
wife was half-black, and his second wife was Japanese.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was against racism and prejudice towards black people, Jewish people and Indian people. Some of his fictional works portray them in a sympathetic light. He also frequently took an interest in legal cases involving a marginalised person. I think the best known is the George Edalji case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edalji
Unfortunately, Doyle was rather racist about Chinese people, who he often demonised in his fictional works and non-fiction writings.
Some win, some lose.