Rhode Island School of Design assigns Lovecraft as the first book in its first Common Reading Program. No, not as a dire warning about what might be lurking in the waters off Providence…

“And we thought it had many different entry points, many themes,” said Cavicchi, who suggested the book — which he had read in high school long before setting foot in Providence — to the rest of the committee that picked it. Themes like the role of place in the creative inspiration; the point of knowing one’s personal history; the ethics of manipulating nature; the limits of science and rationality … To me, the book is very layered. There is the horror story, but then there are all these other elements in and around the horror story.” On Sept. 12, right after RISD’s opening convocation, the freshmen will gather in groups for the first of many discussions on the book.”