Unknown Gulf of Night


Above is one of my favourite illustrations by Pete Von Sholly for ye forthcoming LOVECRAFT ILLUSTRATED edition of THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK from PS Publishing.  www.pspublishing.co.uk/  I glanced over the tale before I wrote my essay for this particular volume, and was once again transported by the power of Lovecraft's imagination and the beauty of his perfect prose. One of my great loves in life is to see Lovecraft's weird fiction illustrated, and Pete Von Sholly's work continues to amaze me. There is an almoft simple perfection to ye piece above, and the tone of colour enhances ye foreboding mood of the art for me. 

 Returning as I do to Lovecraft's text, continually, it helps to have a variety of editions in which to dip. Every edition has something different that helps to enhance ye Lovecraftian experience. The Penguin Classics editions has those amazing Introductions and Notes; The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft has that solid hardcover feel as one holds it, and the staggering number of illustrations, photos, &c; and these new editions from PS Publishing have Pete's magnificent artwork plus a variety of bonus material following Lovecraft's texts. As far as I know, Chaosium plans on publishing editions of Lovecraft's tales edited by Robert M. Price, and these may be critical editions as well, with commentary (no date for the Price project has been announced). 

 This year we can look forward to a 4th Variorum edition of Lovecraft's Revisions & Collaborations. A second volume of The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft is being edited by Leslie S. Klinger. Hippocampus Press will be publishing The Annotated Fungi from Yuggoth in May, in which each of Lovecraft's sonnets will have an illustration. And Peter Crowther has express'd interest in bringing out many more volumes of LOVECRAFT ILLUSTRATED, some featuring single stories and all ye bonus stuff, and others probably combining a number of Lovecraft's shorter things into one illustrated volume.

 We Lovecraftians are living in ye best of eras, methinks.

 Today is Robert Bloch's birthday. I'll be reading two or three of his fine stories as an act of remembrance. 

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