Scott Connors Wrote:
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> I thought that the introduction to the new Oxford
> edition also concentrated a bit too much on the
> issue of James' attitudes toward class. However,
> let's face it: a lot of what passes for "literary
> criticism" nowadays, at least in academic
> settings, is centered around attitudes on class,
> gender, and race. Don't get me wrong, these are
> all legitimate arenas for discussion (in fact I
> expect to discuss CAS' attitudes toward race at
> some point), but to the almost total exclusion of
> anything else?!?!?! (Okay, that's a little bit
> hyperbolic, but not all that hyperbolic, sad to
> say.)
I couldn't agree more. There are all, of course legitimate areas, but surely the texts themselves should come first.
> I've long considered the most interesting thing
> about James' fiction to be the tension between the
> traditional, comforting view of the world that
> James the Don wanted to embrace, and the somewhat
> different worldview that suggested that the
> universe was a much colder and more hostile place
> than a respectable gentleman should.
Indeed, I think it is this conflict or paradox that fuels much of the best of supernatural fiction. It is this tension between the mundane world, be it secular or benignly spiritual, and what lies beyond the veil of reality, be it a greater-uncomprehending reality that reduces all to meaninglessness or a spiritual evil, that lies at the heart of the paradox. I'd argue that they are just a modern and traditional perspective of the same thing. I think Ligotti's Conspiracy Against the human Race raises some interesting thoughts on this paradox found in horror fiction, although I'm not sure how the rest of his polemic will play with some of the fine scholars found on this forum. Still, its an interesting polemic and a superb piece of horror writing in itself, I'd argue.
> If anyone has access to a DVD player that can
> convert PAL, I recommend highly the performances
> of Robert Lloyd Parry:
> [
www.nunkie.co.uk]. I have both of
> these, and have also been fortunate enough to see
> Robert perform his one man show twice.
Those look very interesting, I shall have to check them out. Interestingly, a few months back, I saw a one-man stage adaptation of 'Call of Cthulhu,' which was brilliant. I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to someone fucking around with Lovecraft's work (see my scepticism about del Toro for proof) and I went with much trepidation, yet I left believing that there was no other way to adapt Lovecraft's work away from the page. I spoke to him briefly after the show and he was shaking from the performance and it was obvious that he had great love for Lovecraft's work... I'll provide a link to his site, although it's long since passed and was only a UK mini-tour, I noticed on his facebook page that he has just finished recording an audio version, which might capture some of the magic he conjured on the stage. I'm sure I'd be buying a copy. Also he has several other Lovecraft shaped irons in the fire that might be of interest to UK based CASophiles in the future. I'm not sure the chances of a USA tour are very high, but you never know...
[
www.michaelsabbaton.com]