Call for papers for an edited volume: “Not Dead, But Dreaming: Reading Lovecraft in the 21st Century”.

Because interest in Lovecraft continues to grow, our intention is to explore some of the reasons why he has become so influential — and so indispensable — since the early 1990s. … his expanding popularity and the significance of his legacy as we entered the digital age. Consequently, we are interested in research that focuses on the significance of Lovecraft’s work from the 1990s to the present day.

An interesting topic but the list of suggested approaches is limited, and they appear to indicate that “the significance” to be considered is that of the influence exerted on university academics. This list further suggests that the editors only really want papers which use a narrow range of fashionable C.V.-ready PhD supervisor-pleasing approaches. Also, the end result seems likely to be yet another $120 ‘for academic libraries only’ dust-gatherer.

However, the call does mention “Lovecraft’s poetry” as a possible focus, surprisingly. Given the rarity of places in which to offer a close analysis of the man’s poetry in the context of its reception by modern readers, the call thus seems worth mentioning here.

The call, with a deadline for proposals of 30th November 2019.