A review by arthurbdd
The Ancient Track: The Complete Poetical Works of H. P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft
1.0
Let's stop pretending the Emperor is clothed: Lovecraft, whatever his qualities as an author of prose stories may be, was by and large a terrible poet. It is an outright tragedy that he wasted so much of his working life attempting to make a career in poetry, when so much of what his produced was disposable doggerel, cast in clunky heroic couplets due to his adamant clinging to outmoded theories of literary propriety.
Eventually, he would loosen up a little - the Fungi From Yuggoth sonnets are not anything approaching good, but they at least seem to have a touch more substance than most of this dreck. Nonetheless, Lovecraft never approaches the standards of, say, Clark Ashton Smith - his peer, and a far better supernatural poet than Lovecraft ever was.
The Ancient Track attempts to collect all of Lovecraft's poetry - including horrible racist jokes, and meaningless little throwaway poems written as greetings for friends. In doing so, it burdens the future. This poetry is bad, and those responsible for its preservation should feel bad.
Eventually, he would loosen up a little - the Fungi From Yuggoth sonnets are not anything approaching good, but they at least seem to have a touch more substance than most of this dreck. Nonetheless, Lovecraft never approaches the standards of, say, Clark Ashton Smith - his peer, and a far better supernatural poet than Lovecraft ever was.
The Ancient Track attempts to collect all of Lovecraft's poetry - including horrible racist jokes, and meaningless little throwaway poems written as greetings for friends. In doing so, it burdens the future. This poetry is bad, and those responsible for its preservation should feel bad.