Out of Space - Out of Time
Academic Acceptance and Poe's Influence on Lovecraft

Introduction

In his own unique way, H. P. Lovecraft is a somewhat controversial figure.  After decades of obscurity, his work is only now beginning to be examined as serious literature.  By contrast, Edgar Allan Poe is well established as a serious author, and generally accepted in the literary canon.  When weighing their respective literary merits, some have concluded that Lovecraft has been unjustly overlooked by the academic community.

I will argue in this paper that there are a number of reasons that Lovecraft has been largely ignored by the academic community, but that it is valuable to study his writings nonetheless.  These reasons include inconsistent quality, uncertainty concerning the authorship of certain works, and Lovecraft's well-known racism.  Furthermore, much of Lovecraft's work is derivative.  I will maintain, nonetheless, that Lovecraft is a viable and valuable object for study.