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Nick Summers

Mr. Bash

English 11

29 September 2015

H.P. Lovecraft

Early Life:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August, 20, 1890.

During his childhood Lovecraft was an avid reader of classic literature and folk tales such as

Edgar Allan Poe. He also became interested in chemistry and astronomy and became an amateur

scientist. He went to school at Slater Avenue and Hope Street High School in Providence (H.P.

Lovecraft 1.)

Lovecraft had a very troubled childhood since his father,Winfield Scott Lovecraft, was

institutionalized five years before he died of paresis when Lovecraft was only eight years old.

Six years later Lovecrafts grandfather, Whipple van Buren Phillips, died and left the Lovecraft

family without any financial aid. Lovecraft and his mother, Sarah Susan Phillips, were forced to

share a house with another family in Providence. In 1908 Lovecraft suffered from a nervous

breakdown and could not complete high school and never achieved his goal of attending Brown

University (H.P. Lovecraft 1.)

Personal Life:

Though not much is known about Lovecrafts personal life we do know that he was

married. His wife was Sonia Haft Greene a russian Jew who owned a hat shop in New York City.

They were wed in 1924 during March. Lovecraft moved to New York City, to live with his wife,
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and later grew to hate the city (H.P. Lovecraft 2.) Sonia later became ill forcing her to live in

several sanitariums coercing Lovecraft to search for jobs without luck. He moved back to

Providence in April of 1926 and later divorced his wife in 1929, the two of them departed on

good terms (H.P. Lovecraft 1.)

Lovecraft removed religion from his life and developed the idea of Cosmicism which

emphasizes the spatial and temporal expanse of the universe and the miniscule significance of

human affairs. This idea of cosmicism is greatly expressed in the Cthulhu Mythos

(H(oward) P(hillips) Lovecraft.) Lovecraft also believed that everything could be explained

through science (Brattleboro Days, Yuggoth Nights ).

Professional Life:

Lovecraft began writing many of his short stories when he was still a child. He also

published scientific articles in several periodicals such as The Scientific Gazette, the

Providence Tribune and The Rhode Island Journal of Astronomy. In 1914 Lovecraft joined

the United Amateur Press Association(UAPA) (H.P. Lovecraft 1). He later became the

president of the UAPA in 1917 and lasted until 1918 (H.P. Lovecraft 2).

Lovecraft began writing fiction again in 1917 after encouragement given by amateur

authors interested in his work(H.P. Lovecraft 1). He submitted his works to the pulp magazine

Weird Tales. Lovecraft wrote two of his most important short stories during this time, Dagon

and The Tomb. Some other works published by the magazine were The Doom That Came to

Sarnath, The Silver Key and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath (H.P. Lovecraft 2).

During the last decade of his life Lovecraft wrote his most iconic stories known as the

Cthulhu Mythos(H.P. Lovecraft 1). The Cthulhu Mythos consisted of a unique universe

filled with legends and strange gods. One of Lovecrafts best works, At The Mountains of
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Madness, is part of this Mythos. Lovecraft also wrote several horror stories set primarily in a

New England town called Arkham. These stories were called the Arkham Cycle and included

The Festival, The Unnameable , and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (H.P. Lovecraft

(1890 - 1937)).

Though Lovecraft was not well known during the time he was alive he has grown in

popularity. He is now considered to be the father of modern horror. Several best selling authors

such as Stephen King and Neil Gaiman were inspired by Lovecraft's terrifying tales of the

unknown.

Works Cited

Belanger, Craig. H.P. Lovecraft. H.P. Lovecraft (2005): 1. MasterFILE Main Edition.Web. 21

Sept. 2015.

Lovecraft, H.P. Britannica Biographies (2012): 1. Middle Search Main Edition. Web. 21 Sept.

2015.

H(oward) P(hillips) Lovecraft. St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers. Gale,

1998. Biography in Context. Web. 22. Sept. 2015.

Brattleboro Days, Yuggoth Nights, Revelator Magazine. n.p. n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.

H.P. Lovecraft. Biography in Context. Authors and Artists for Young Adults, 1995. Web. 22

Sept. 2015.

H.P. Lovecraft ( 1890 - 1937). Contemporary Authors Online, Gale 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
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