Miscellaneous Writings

Over a career that has now spanned nearly fifty years, S. T. Joshi has engaged in the critical study of a wide array of writers, mostly in the realm of supernatural fiction. Chief of these is H. P. Lovecraft, to whose life and work Joshi has returned over and over again. In this volume, Joshi gathers up uncollected work over the past five decades to highlight his major interests as a literary critic. A section on Lovecraft focuses on complex bibliographical and textual issues, as well as influences upon Lovecraft from classical antiquity to the weird fiction of his own day. Lovecraft’s disciples—from Jacques Bergier to Ramsey Campbell to the profound scholar Steven J. Mariconda—are addressed in another section. A third section treats weird writing from Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ambrose Bierce to Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., and other contemporary figures. A final section exhibits Joshi’s interests outside weird fiction, ranging from atheism to music to mystery and science fiction. All told, this volume exhibits the full range of S. T. Joshi’s critical and analytical skills.

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