Interesting article. As someone he would have likely considered a "beast of semi-human nature" myself, I'm admittedly biased against Lovecraft.
At any rate I found it interesting that the New Yorker didn't squeeze in a throwaway mention of this awful aspect of Lovecraft's personality, given the sympathy it evokes for the member of another oppressed class (homosexuals): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft#Race.2C_ethnic...
Although actually now having read through it more carefully, it's really an article about Barlow, and I can see how delving into Lovecraft's despicable attitudes would just be a distraction.
EDIT: Actually, they did squeeze in exactly said throwaway mention I would have expected, so my original observation was just plain wrong. Thanks ffm for the correction.
At any rate I found it interesting that the New Yorker didn't squeeze in a throwaway mention of this awful aspect of Lovecraft's personality, given the sympathy it evokes for the member of another oppressed class (homosexuals): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft#Race.2C_ethnic...
Although actually now having read through it more carefully, it's really an article about Barlow, and I can see how delving into Lovecraft's despicable attitudes would just be a distraction.
EDIT: Actually, they did squeeze in exactly said throwaway mention I would have expected, so my original observation was just plain wrong. Thanks ffm for the correction.