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J. K. Rowling
" | If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped to change. We do not need magic to transform the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. | " |
–J.K. Rowling on her Harvard Commencement Speech in June 5, 2008[1] |
Joanne "Jo" Murray (née Rowling), OBE FRSL (born 31 July, 1965 in Yate), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: rolling) is an English fiction writer and film producer. Rowling is most famous for authoring the Harry Potter series, which have gained international attention and have won multiple awards. In February 2004, Forbes magazine estimated her fortune as £576 million, making her the first person to become a US dollar billionaire by writing books; Rowling is also the wealthiest woman in the United Kingdom, well ahead of even Queen Elizabeth II. She is also the second richest female entertainer in the world, behind Oprah Winfrey.
Early life[edit | edit source]
Rowling was born in Yate, United Kingdom in 1965, to Peter and Anne Rowling. Together with her mother, father, and younger sister Dianne, she moved to Winterbourne, Bristol and then to Tutshill near Chepstow. She attended secondary school at Wyedean Comprehensive, where she told stories to her fellow students. In 1990, her 45-year-old mother succumbed to a decade-long battle with multiple sclerosis. This affected her very much. Growing up, her relationship with her father was strained, and as a result she has not spoken to him in recent years. She has also said that because of her lack of a proper father there are many father figures for Harry in her books.
Rowling studied for a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter, which she says was a "bit of a shock" as she "was expecting to be amongst lots of similar people– thinking radical thoughts." Once she made friends with "some like-minded people" she says she began to enjoy herself.[2] She wrote a short essay titled "What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled" and published it in the university journal Pegasus, which recounts her time at Exeter studying for her BA in Classics.[3] After a year of study in Paris, Rowling moved to London to work as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International.[4] During this period, she had the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry while she was on a four-hour delayed train trip between Manchester and London. When she had reached her destination, she already had in her head the characters and a good part of the plot for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which she began working on during her lunch hours.
Rowling then moved to Porto, Portugal, to teach English as a foreign language. While there she married Portuguese TV journalist Jorge Arantes on 16 October, 1992. They had one child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (born 27 July, 1993), before their divorce in 1995.
In December of 1994, she and her daughter moved to be near her sister in Edinburgh. Unemployed and living on state benefits, she completed her first novel, doing some of the work in an Edinburgh café. (There is a widely circulated rumour that she wrote in a local café to escape from her unheated flat — but according to the author this is false).
Harry Potter and beyond[edit | edit source]
Rowling's publisher, Bloomsbury, wanted to use initials on the cover of the Harry Potter books, suggesting that if they used an obviously female name, the target group of young boys might be reluctant to buy them. Since Rowling didn't have a middle name she chose to adopt her paternal grandmother's name, Kathleen (full name: Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling), for the middle initial.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was a huge success, and she has thus far published six sequels. The sales made her a multi-millionaire, and in 2001, she purchased a luxurious 19th-century mansion, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland, where she married her second husband, Dr Neil Murray, on 26 December 2001.
The Harry Potter series runs seven volumes, one for each year Harry spends in school. The series is complete. The fifth book, titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was delayed by an unsuccessful plagiarism suit directed towards her by rival author Nancy Stouffer (see below). Rowling took some time off from writing at this point, because during the process of writing the fifth book she felt her workload was too heavy. She said that at one point she had considered breaking her arm to get out of writing, because the pressure on her was too much. After forcing her publishers to drop her deadline, she enjoyed three years of quiet writing, commenting that she spent some time working on something else that she might return to when she is finished with the Harry Potter series. The fifth book was released on 21 June 2003.
In late 2003, she was approached by television producer Russell T. Davies to contribute an episode to the British television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Although she was "amused by the suggestion", she turned the offer down, as she was busy working on the next novel in the Potter series. On 20 December 2004 she announced that the sixth Harry Potter book would be released on 16 July 2005.
Rowling has also made a guest appearance as herself on the American cartoon show The Simpsons, in a special British-themed episode entitled "The Regina Monologues".
In June 5, 2008, J.K. Rowling was the keynote speaker for Harvard University Commencement.[5]
The Harry Potter books[edit | edit source]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June, 1997)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July, 1998)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July, 1999)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July, 2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June, 2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July, 2005)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July, 2007)
[edit | edit source]
- Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001)
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)
- Harry Potter Prequel (2008)
The first two Harry Potter related books purport to be facsimiles of books mentioned in the novels. Fantastic Beasts is a textbook, while Quidditch is probably the most popular book in the Hogwarts Library. They are complete with handwritten annotations and scribblings in the margins, and include introductions by Albus Dumbledore. All proceeds from them go to the UK Comic Relief charity. She has contributed money and support to many other charitable causes, especially research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died in 1990. By Rowling's own account, this death greatly affected her writing.
Harry Potter films[edit | edit source]
A film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in late 2001 and the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002. Both were directed by American film director Chris Columbus.
A darker atmosphere was adopted in the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, attributed to the new director, Alfonso Cuarón. Rowling, who was a fan of Cuarón's work prior to the third film, has stated that the third film is her personal favourite.
Rowling resisted suggestions by the filmmakers that the movies should be filmed in the United States or cast with American actors (only two Americans appear in the first film).[6] She only reluctantly went along with changing Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone, and limited it to the U.S. only. Rowling's insistence on British actors for the main roles resulted in Steven Spielberg passing on the opportunity to direct the series.
Rowling assisted Steve Kloves in writing the scripts for the films, ensuring that his scripts do not contradict future books in the series. She says she had told him more about the later books than anybody else, but not everything. She has also said that she had told Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane certain secrets about their characters that had not yet been revealed, in order to inform their performances and avoid later inconsistencies.
Kloves took time off from Harry Potter in 2007 to work on his own film; Michael Goldenberg was hired to adapt Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, while Kloves returned for the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and parts 1 and 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In 2013, Rowling announced that she had begun to write a screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which would take place seventy years before the events of the Harry Potter novels.[7]
Lawsuits[edit | edit source]
Rowling has been involved in a lawsuit over the Harry Potter series, and other litigation has been suggested or rumoured.
Nancy Stouffer[edit | edit source]
In the late 1990s Nancy Stouffer, an author of children's books published in the 1980s, began to charge publicly that Rowling's books were based on her books, including The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly.
In 2001, Rowling, Scholastic Press (the American publisher of her books), and Warner Bros. (the producer of the film adaptations) sued Stouffer, asking the court to judge that there was no infringement of Stouffer's trademarks or copyright. Stouffer, who had not previously sued, then filed counterclaims alleging such infringement.
Rowling and her colitigants argued that much of the evidence that Stouffer presented was fraudulent, and asked for sanctions and attorneys' fees as punishment. In September 2002 the court found in Rowling's favour, stating that Stouffer had lied to the court and falsified and forged documents to support her case. Stouffer was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay part (but not all) of the plaintiffs' costs.
In January 2004 it was reported that Stouffer's appeal against the judgment had been rejected. The appeals court agreed that Stouffer's claims were properly dismissed because "no reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion as to the source of the two parties' works". The Court explained:
Stouffer's and Plaintiffs' marks are used in two very different ways. Rowling's use of the term "Muggles" describes ordinary humans with no magical powers while Stouffer's "Muggles" are tiny, hairless creatures with elongated heads. Further, the Harry Potter books are novel-length works and whose primary customers are older children and adults whereas Stouffer's booklets appeal to young children. Accordingly, the District Court correctly dismissed Stouffer's trademark claims.
Stouffer was also ordered to pay the costs of the appeal. A report of the judgment can be found at Entertainment Law Digest, available via Web Archive. The 2002 judgment can be found here: ROWLING v. STOUFFER
Some sources, such as the TV Tropes Wiki, have pointed out that the word "muggle" (sometimes in its present meaning of "naïve/incompetent person") dates back at least to the 1920s.
New York Daily News[edit | edit source]
On 19 June 2003 Rowling and her American publisher Scholastic announced that they would sue the New York Daily News for $100 million because the newspaper had printed information on her work Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix before the book's official release date. The novel was due for release on Saturday 21 June, but the newspaper published a plot summary and short quotes on Wednesday 18 June. An accompanying image even revealed two pages from the book with legible text. However, the story was complicated further when it was revealed that the paper had purchased the book from a health store whose owner received the novels wholesale and decided to place them in the window. The man claimed he was unaware he was supposed to wait until that Saturday.
Awards[edit | edit source]
J.K. Rowling has received numerous honours and awards:
- Booksellers Association Author of the Year - 1998 and 1999[8]
- Author of the Year - 1999[8]
- Order of the British Empire (OBE) - 2001[8]
- Prince of Asturias Award for Concord - 2003[8]
- W.H. Smith Fiction Award - 2004[8]
- Blue Peter Gold Badge - 2007[8]
- James Joyce Award - University College Dublin, 2008[8]
- The Edinburgh Award - 2008[8]
- Outstanding Achievement Award - South Bank Show Awards, 2008[8]
- Lifetime Achievement Award - 2008[8]
- Commencement Speaker - Harvard University, U.S.A., 2008[8]
- The French Legion of Honour Award
On 3 February 2009, the French president awarded Rowling the insignia of Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honour, France's highest honour. Rowling believed until recent years that her great-grandfather Louis Volant had also received the award for bravery during the war when she dicovered the recipient was a different man with the same name in the programme Who Do You Think You Are?. The awarding ceremony was held at Palace Elysee in Paris, France.[8][9][10]
- H.C. Andersen Literature price - 19 October, 2010 in Odense, Denmark [11]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Dr Neil Murray in a private ceremony at her home in the Perthshire village of Aberfeldy. On 23 March 2003, Rowling gave birth to her second child, a boy named David Gordon Rowling Murray, at the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health at the New Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. On 23 January 2005, Rowling's third child, also by Dr Murray, was born, fulfilling Rowling's lifelong wish to have three children. The baby girl was named Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.
Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland, and has stated that she believes in God, although the Christian theme was not included in the books as it might have been easy to predict where the stories were going.[12]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
- J.K. Rowling wrote her first book at six. It was about a rabbit called Rabbit!
- In The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real), J.K. Rowling writes an in-universe introduction to the stories, which ostensibly have been translated by Hermione Granger. As such, she establishes that a J. K. Rowling exists in the Potter-universe.
- In 2010, J. K. Rowling said that she can't guarantee she wouldn't return to the world of Harry Potter in the next 10 years or so, therefore she didn't want to say she never would; but she also said it was unlikely. However, during an interview with Oprah, she has given signs of an 8th book yet no official plans have been made.[13]
- In June of 2011, Rowling announced Pottermore, an online interactive experience.
- When J.K. Rowling received the Legion of Honour Award from Nicolas Sarkozy, she gave a speech in French in which she talks about her grandfather, Louis Volant.
- In February 2012, Rowling announced the publication of an upcoming new book, targeted at adults, but no further information was given. The title was later revealed to be The Casual Vacancy. She also announced a complete revamp of her official website, slated to be launched sometime in the spring.
- In April 2012, she reopened her official website and announced that her new novel was to be titled The Casual Vacancy and would be published on September 27. The tone of the novel is described as being "blackly comic."[14]
- J. K. Rowling was sorted into Gryffindor on Pottermore.[15] However, before that, she once took an online Sorting Hat Quiz which sorted her into Hufflepuff.
- J. K. Rowling has stated that her Patronus would be a pine marten.[16]
- In Harry Potter: Beyond the Page, Rowling revealed that she cannot remember a time when she wanted to be anything other than a writer.
- In July 2013, the Sunday Times newspaper revealed that the "debut" novel, The Cuckoo's Calling by "Robert Galbraith" (published in April 2013), was actually written by Rowling under a pseudonym. She is planning to write a second novel about this book's protagonist, Cormoran Strike.[17]
- A second Cormoran Strike novel, Silkworm, was published on 19 June 2014.
- Rowling said the Harry Potter Series might not have happened if her mother hadn't died. "The books are what they are because she died ... because I loved her and she died."
See also[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ J.K. Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech June 5, 2008
- ↑ Fraser, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling, pg 34 Scholastic.
- ↑ Rowling, J. K. (1988). "What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled". Pegasus (41). University of Exeter Department of Classics and Ancient History. OCLC 179161486.
- ↑ Norman-Culp, Sheila. British author rides up the charts on a wizard's tale. Associated Press. 1998. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
- ↑ J.K. Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech
- ↑ While Zoë Wanamaker has made a name for herself as an English actress, she was born in New York.
- ↑ "JK Rowling to write new Harry Potter-inspired film series based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" at The Independent
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 jkrowling.com
- ↑ JKR receive the Legion of Honour award from French president
- ↑ Décoration de Mme J.K. ROWLING, romancière
- ↑ Azkaban.dk
- ↑ http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=fantasia_the_gospel_according_to_cs_lewis
- ↑ J.K. Rowling isn't done with 'Harry Potter' Universe, but where could it go?
- ↑ USA Today - J.K. Rowling's next book
- ↑ Harry Potter Reading Club live webchat, 11 October 2012 (source here)
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ JK Rowling writes secret crime novel under false name
External links[edit | edit source]
- J. K. Rowling's Official Facebook account
- J. K. Rowling's Official Twitter account
- Blog Harry Potter y las reliquias de la muerte Spanish Harry Potter
- English section of J.K. Rowling's official personal site
- Rowling biography
- An introduction to J.K. Rowling
- BBC news report on suit
- J.K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire
- "Potter creator buys Scots hideaway" - BBC News article, dated November 22, 2001 (reference)
- "Baby joy for JK Rowling" - BBC News article, dated March 24, 2003 (reference)
- "Potter author has baby boy" - BBC News article, dated March 25, 2003 (reference)
- JKR Fan- A J.K. Rowling Fan Site
- Scholastic interview with J.K. Rowling
- J.K. Rowling at Coolspotters.com
- J.K. Rowling at The Fashion Spot.com
- J.K. Rowling at Literature Wiki
- J.K. Rowling at Simpsons Wiki


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[KFA MARKETPLACE] Ducky one 3 w/ lubed and filmed silent Gateron Milky Yellow Switches
All the products listed on KFA Marketplace is 100% guaranteed by KFA and meant to be a highway for keyboards and related products. We will be offering this service for all keyboards and keyboard products to allow peace of mind for both the buyer and the seller as it is backed by a company that will guarantee the sale.
If you would like to sell your used or unused keyboards, keycaps or any keyboard products on KFA, please fill out this form.
NOTE: Starting January 1st, 2023, there will be no cancellations on Marketplace Products.
Sellers: Seller will receive the funds once the product arrives at the KFA warehouse and inspected.
Buyers: If the product doesn't arrive in a satisfactory condition as it is stated on the product page, KeebsForAll guarantees a refund upon verification to the buyer, and delivery back to our warehouse.
The 5% fee automatically added to your cart is required, if this is removed you will be sent an invoice. If the invoice is not paid within 3 days, your order will be canceled and subject to a 9% fee. By purchasing this item, you agree to these terms.


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Let's Do A March Madness 'Anti-Bracket': Pick The Upsets
Everybody's trying to pick the winners in this year's NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Even President Obama is in on the fun (though he hasn't been that good in recent years at figuring out who will be the champion at the end).
Let's go the other way. With the 64-team field now set and games beginning Thursday afternoon, let's look at which teams will be sent home sooner than they "should" be.
One ground rule: Let's not include games between No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in this exercise. In theory, they should be so closely matched that it wouldn't be much of an upset for a 9 to beat an 8.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Tom Pesca said that St. Mary's, a No. 11 seed in the tournament's Midwest region, has a good chance of beating No. 6 seed Memphis when they play at 2:45 p.m. ET in Auburn Hills, Mich. The only team St. Mary's lost to in West Coast league play was Gonzaga — the No. 1 seed in the West region.
There's also the 12:40 p.m. ET game in Lexington, Ky., between East region No. 11 seed Bucknell and No. 6 seed Butler. True, Butler made it to the championship game in 2010 and 2011. But the team finished third this season in the Atlantic 10. Maybe it's just not Butler's year.
Thursday's last game — an East region matchup between No. 4 seed Syracuse and No. 13 seed Montana set to tip off at 9:57 p.m. ET — might also be one to watch for its upset potential. Syracuse has not been playing well of late, and CBSSports.com is reporting that the Orange is under investigation for alleged transgressions "both major and wide-ranging in nature. The investigation includes scrutiny of player Fab Melo's academic eligibility and an alleged 2007 sexual assault involving three players, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard." Neither the university nor the NCAA are commenting on the record.
Should there be no upsets Thursday, NPR's Pesca has a hot tip about one of tomorrow's contests. Minnesota, a No. 11 seed in the South region, stands a good chance of knocking off No. 6 seed UCLA, he says, because one of UCLA's key players — Jordan Adams — is injured.
Update at 7:20 p.m. ET. One Upset So Far:
Since games have begun, we're closing the question (wouldn't want anyone to "vote" on a contest that's already happened!). And so far today, there's been one upset — one that many Two-Way folks predicted. Oregon beat Oklahoma State 68-55. Well done to those who called that!


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Owning your own home is a classic American dream and part of American culture. Right now, more Americans own homes than ever before. Purchasing a home is a considerable financial investment, and does not guarantee that you will save money in the short or long run. The main considerations when deciding between renting or buying a home include your lifestyle, your ability to secure a mortgage, and your financial situation.
As part of a lifestyle, rentals fit some people's time restraints. Renting an apartment or home requires fewer maintenance or upkeep requirements compared to owning a home. Renting apartments gives people the opportunity to live in trendy, fashionable neighborhoods that may not be affordable when purchasing a home. Renting also allows people flexibility when a job or lifestyle dictates a move.
Not everyone can secure a mortgage. Despite the many types of mortgages and federal programs, some people simply do not have the needed credit rating, or they have too much monthly debt to qualify for a mortgage or to obtain the loan necessary to afford the home they want.
Other considerations are how much you want to invest in a home and how willing you are to let that affect your lifestyle. Dallas real estate, like other great cities in Texas, can be expensive and like all property, may risk unseen expenses such as major repairs, property tax reassessments, or disasters.
Buying a home does not guarantee equity or profit on the sale. Like all investments, a home carries a level of risk. Because there are fees and costs with securing a mortgage, you will pay thousands of dollars upfront for your home. Depending on your mortgage and payments it may take years to build enough equity to compensate that expense. If you need to sell in a few years, you may never recover those initial costs. If you move around frequently or anticipate needing to shortly, you will want to seriously consider the expense of short-term ownership of a home.
Many factors affect the property value of homes, communities, and cities. Take the following questions into consideration:
- Does the community you live in have one primary company as an employer?
- Does your community have one major industry creating most of your community's jobs?
- Can a downturn in that company or industry shift the demand for housing where you live?
- Are the demographics in your community changing?
- Are fewer people moving into your community?
- Is the average income in your community declining?
- What is the likelihood of crime rising or of there being a lack of appropriate funding for schools or city services?
These factors among others affect the property values of entire communities or cities.
You should also consider what will happen to the entire housing market over time. If the economy is doing well homes tend to appreciate in value but in an economic downturn, home values tend to stagnate. When you rent, you have more flexibility in reacting to major trends in the economy. When you own, you gain tax benefits by deducting certain home costs from your taxes.
Whether it is best to buy or to rent depends on each situation. If you weigh the lifestyle and personal changes and risks you can make an educated choice and make the decision that is best for you.


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Cloud Growth: Strategy, Not Cost-Cutting
Cloud computing no longer can be considered an emerging technology or unproven platform. According to Gartner, this year the public cloud services market will grow 19.6 percent to total $109 billion worldwide. Business process services/business process as a service (BPaaS) are the largest segment, accounting for about 77 percent of the total market, while infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the fastest-growing segment of the public cloud services market and is expected to grow 45.4 percent in 2012, Gartner reports.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted recently by the Open Data Center Alliance found that its members are advancing cloud adoption much faster than previously forecast, with more than half of responding members expecting to run more than 40 percent of their IT operations in the private cloud by 2015 and a quarter of members saying they will run more than 40 percent of their operations in the public cloud by that date.
These numbers indicate that many of the concerns executives in banking and other industries have had about cloud security and the ability to run enterprise and core systems in the cloud are being overcome – not only by the maturing of the technology, but because of the undeniable economic advantages of virtualization and hosted solutions. Now, a growing number of companies, including financial services firms are identifying strategic and competitive advantages in moving to the cloud – the focus of this special digital issue of Bank Systems & Technology.
Fujitsu recently surveyed bank CIOs in the UK about their top business priorities for the coming year. Among those top priorities is cloud computing. Sixty percent of the survey respondents said they believe it will help them meet their business strategies, and 64 percent said they think cloud computing is a key enabler of change within their organizations. Additionally, many of the respondents plan to deploy cloud-based systems to drive efficiency with core functions, in areas such as loan processing (77 percent of respondents), credit card processing (70 percent) and mortgage processing (64 percent), according to Fujitsu.
[What Banks Need to Know About the Cloud ]
This transition from considering cloud/as-a-service adoption as mainly a cost-saving move to viewing the cloud as a driver of change, innovation and growth is reminiscent of how the approach to outsourcing has evolved over the years (as an aside, it could be said that cloud and hosted solutions are forms of outsourcing). At one time it was all about cost-savings, but banks and other users of outsourcing services recognized eventually that this is not enough. To be sustainable, outsourcing had to somehow become strategic – provide a competitive advantage, whether around excellent service, superior intellectual capital, speed to market or market insight.
So it is with cloud. The potential cost-savings not only are relatively "quick hit" – they actually can be hard to prove, not to mention sustain. The benefit comes in what cloud enables your organization to analyze, build and deliver.
Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio


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This is community wiki. In each answer, please list one word at the top and below that list as many different meanings of that word in mathematics as you can think of, preferably with links or definitions. ("Adjective" and "adjective noun" count as the same adjective.) People should edit previous answers as appropriate.
(This is mostly just for fun, but I'm also curious if there have been successful attempts to rename concepts that involve overused words.)
Edit: I may have been slightly unclear about the intent of this question.
- When I say "overused" I don't mean "used too often," I mean "used in too many different ways." So I'll change the title of the question to reflect this.
- Different concepts named after the same mathematician, while potentially confusing, are understandable.
- I mostly had in mind adjectives that get recycled in different disciplines of mathematics. Different uses of the same noun tend to be less confusing, e.g. the example of "space" below. I think it's good to be intentionally vague about what we consider a "space."


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Resource Alert! - Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers Facilitator's Guide
Description: For health-care providers, trafficking in persons is best understood as a serious health risk because as with other forms of violence, it is associated with physical and psychological harm. Health providers may come into contact with victims of trafficking at different stages of the trafficking process and at different stages of their recovery. The informed and attentive health-care provider can play an important role in assisting and treating individuals who may have suffered repeated abuse. For health practitioners, diagnosing and treating trafficked persons can pose a range of new challenges related to care provision. In 2012, the International Organization for Migration and the Gender Violence & Health Centre of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) developed a training package based on the handbook Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers. Published in 2009, the handbook combines research, field experience and good practice into a tool for those who provide health services to trafficked persons, whether identified victims or populations which may include unidentified victims or other exploited persons. The Caring for Trafficked Persons Facilitator's Guide and accompanying materials have been developed for individuals who wish to carry out training to help a concerned health provider understand the phenomenon of human trafficking, recognize some of the associated health problems and consider safe and appropriate approaches to providing health care for trafficked persons. The training is designed for all types and levels of health providers, particularly those actively providing services. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]
Table of Contents
Part 1: Preparing for the Training
Prepare Your Training Plan
Know the Local Context
Prepare Your Materials
Part 2: Core Training
Core Training Overview
Session Guide 1: What is Trafficking in Persons?
Session 1 Handouts
Session Guide 2: Health Consequences
Session 2 Handouts
Session Guide 3: Trauma-informed Care
Session Guide 4: Role of the Health Care Provider
Session 4 Handouts
Session Guide 5: Guiding Principles
Session 5 Handouts
Session Guide 6: Local Context and Next Steps (optional)
Session 6 Handouts
Annex 1: General Training Preparations
Annex 2: Additional Suggested Topics
Download a free PDF of this book at:


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A little while back Rob of Line Change decided it would be a nice gesture to give away a pair of boots to some readers who helped him pick out his own pair for the holidays. The premise was simple: hit up Macy's, find him some options and out of everyone who helped out he would pick a winner at random (read his original post here). When I saw Rob's contest blast on Twitter I jumped at the chance to force my sartorial will on another hapless soul without thinking too much about grabbing my own pair of boots in the process. Fate just so happens to be one cruel mistress and saw fit that I should also somehow deserve to win this competition. When Rob contacted me about my winnings I was flattered and grateful, but at the same time a little hesitant. I have enough footwear as it is, not to mention winter boots aren't really necessary where I live. After a little back and forth Rob and I decided that it would be kind of funny to take my prize and offer it up to my readers as a kind of re-gifting stunt in the vein of all things "not so classy" that seem to pop up a lot during the holidays.
So here's the deal: A pair of size 10 (which should in theory cover everyone sizes 9.5-10.5) tan Polo ranger boots are currently up for grabs. For the uninitiated, read my thoughts on this classic here. This isn't going to be some lame re-tweet fest that is in the interest of gaining followers on Twitter, but instead something a little more creative and, yes, just as lame (that's how I do it baby). Taking a page out of Ivy-Style's book (what up Christian) the rules are as follows: simply complete this statement, "The First thing I'm going to do when I get my new Polo Ranger Boots is..." in the comments section or in an email (Subject: Contest) for a chance to win. I'd appreciate if everyone only entered one submission to keep things fair and if my brother is reading this, "No Doug, you can't enter. That's called nepotism." Once all the submissions are in, Rob and myself will judge the entries, announce the winner and ship you your new Polo ranger boots. The contest will stay open until Jan. 11 or when my inner Scrooge McDuck rears his ugly head...whichever comes first. Hopefully this will encourage some readers to come out of the woodwork and just get some general jackass-ery started. Have at it and happy re-gifting to all!
Lawrence & Rob
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Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.
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It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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The U.S. will not be acting alone if and when it launches military strikes against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. French President Francois Hollande spoke with President Obama today. France and the U.S. will act together after congressional discussions.
As NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, this Franco-American alliance is a complete turnabout from the lead up to the war in Iraq 10 years ago.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: The British parliament's rejection Friday of any involvement in military strikes against the Syrian regime stunned France, as scenes of the parliamentary debate played out on French television.
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DOMINIQUE MOISI: Ten years ago, Britain was with George W. Bush, and weapons of mass destruction were not to be found in Iraq. Because Blair was wrong in 2003, the British are mistrusting their government in 2013. Because France didn't go to war over Iraq, Francois Hollande is much freer to go against Syria.
BEARDSLEY: Ian Bond, foreign policy analyst at the Centre for European Reform, says for the superficial observer, Syria feels a bit like Iraq 10 years ago with Blair and his dodgy dossier from British intelligence.
IAN BOND: We have a dossier from the joint intelligence committee. It doesn't say 100 percent that we are certain that it was the Syrian regime that fired these weapons. And you've got a sort of rush to try and get something done even before the U.N. inspectors have finished their work and reported and so on.
BEARDSLEY: But, of course, says Bond, there are many differences with Iraq, and near certain proof that Assad knowingly killed more than 1,000 of his own citizens. But Bond says Britain is weary of being abroad.
France has been extremely active on the world stage of late. The French military was at the forefront of the NATO-led attacks on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, and France sent 4,000 troops to the African nation of Mali to help route Islamist radicals who had taken over the north of the country. Moisi says both interventions had French public support.
MOISI: There is, culturally, a French enthusiasm for intervention abroad. I intervened therefore I am.
BEARDSLEY: And it's a question of colonial era history, says Moisi.
MOISI: We have links with Syria and Lebanon which the British do not have. We were in Beirut and Damascus. So there is a legacy.
BEARDSLEY: Even though two thirds of the French oppose striking Syria, French president Hollande and his ally President Obama are alike in their determination to send the Syrian regime a strong message: that the world will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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"QUITE SIMPLY, THE BEST HORROR-THEMED BLOG ON THE NET." -- Joe Maddrey, Nightmares in Red White & Blue
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
A Plea to the Lovecraftians
And now that I have, I've got a real problem to deal with. And that problem is the fact that H.P. Lovecraft was a passionate racist, white supremacist and anti-Semite, and his work readily reflects it.
My recent foray into HPL comes as a result of the essay submitted to The Vault of Horror some months ago by RayRay, a devout fan of the author since our days in high school together. And while I can't deny the raw and attractive power of his horror writing, I'm having a hard time with the aforementioned issue.
I plan to write a more deeply considered piece on the subject when I've read more of his work and can feel comfortable fully commenting on it. For now, I merely ask those who enjoy his work to help me out. Am I over-reacting?
See, my problem is complex. Yes, racism was more acceptable and rampant in Lovecraft's day, but his level of virulent hatred goes above and beyond even the acceptability such opinions enjoyed in a pre-Nazi world. Not only that, but it's all over the place in his fiction--you can't escape it. Richard Wagner may have been one of history's most famous Jew-haters, yet I can enjoy his music because he never wrote operas about it. But one need only browse through a handful of Lovecraft's pieces to come across his deep-seated hate for blacks, Jews, Asians and immigrants of all kinds. Don't even get me started on his private writings. Saying, "Well, that's how people thought back then," doesn't quite cover it.
So what do I do with this? I invite anyone with an opinion on the subject to leave a comment. Is it possible to enjoy Lovecraft in spite of his racism? Is it right to?
30 comments:
- houseinrlyeh aka Denis said...
It's a little difficult to talk about without knowing exactly which stories you have read by now.
I don't think you are over-reacting anyway - Lovecraft's racism is the point that can make him impossible to read. I am really of two minds there myself. Lovecraft is one of my favorite writers, but I find his racism/xenophobia absolutely abhorrent. I would never buy a book by a living author who expresses ideas like that. Still, I have no problem reading Lovecraft. Somehow (and I can't say if that is a good thing) I learned to see it but to ignore it. - July 13, 2008 at 5:25 AM
- gord said...
Yikes, that is a tough one. Hmm, well I think writing a larger piece, and even this small post is definitely a step in the right direction. Complacency is clearly not the best option and I am 100% with you on the issue.
That being said, I think that as long as you aren't complacent or apologetic with his writings then reading his material shouldn't be a huge problem. It may be difficult or sad at times to see a favourite writer act in such an abhorrent fashion, but as long as your aware of it and always stick to your guns about the issue, then I wouldn't give him up completely.
Lovecraft is a historic figure and like it not, those sorts of views, although perhaps extreme in his case, were acceptable back then. However, he's still a master of horror literature and for good reason. I know that it's not like the Wagner issue, but if you think about it, they aren't THAT much different. If you can read the work from a historical perspective, enjoy the horror, and as I said earlier, not get sucked in by his views or become complacent, then that's what you should do.
In real life if he were violent towards such individuals, and wrote about it, then that I would definitely have a problem with.
In a modern context I for one, would dump an author in a minute if they shared similar views these days. It's just flat out embarrassing to be honest. - July 13, 2008 at 10:38 AM
You left out sexism. Or haven't you read The Thing on the Doorstep yet? (Ooh, you should. It's a good'un.)
It's a bit difficult to address your issues directly without knowing more about you, your background, and your experience of racism and anti-Semitism.
So I guess I'll just dance around it. :)
I'm a member in good standing of the horror-as-catharsis school of thought. That is, I think that the horror genre is a way for each generation to come to terms with and hopefully transcend the unspoken fears of that time and place. That's why, for example, you have atomic monsters in the 1950s; that's why post-Abu Ghraib America churns out torture porn, and post-growth Asian Tiger countries make techno-horror.
Lovecraft's peak as a writer corresponds with the peak in power of the KKK and other racist terrorist groups. Public lynchings were a weekly occurrence. Now, Lovecraft was undoubtedly a racist, but he was also a classist (see, e.g., Beyond the Wall of Sleep). And like most members of his class, he was appalled by naked racism. One simply doesn't say those things aloud -- the servants might hear.
So there was an inherent contradiction between his own extreme xenophobia and how he thought people ought to be and are not. And I think that he used his own unresolvable and irrational fears as fodder for his stories. Had Lovecraft lived in a different time and place, different types of fears would have served the same purpose. For example, had Lovecraft served in the trenches in WWI, we'd be looking at a very different horror writer.
I think that Lovecraft's willingness to confront his own racism (and by extension, the racism of his readers) was a risky and honest move for a writer working in a time when, for example, a country like Haiti could be depicted in fiction without showing a single black face.
And it has to be said, as well, that if you look at, say, the black-boxer-turned-white-baby-eating-zombie
in Herbert West: Re-animator, the real monster in the story is clearly the blond, blue-eyed psychopath with the syringe full of reagent.
So, on the one hand, I think that Lovecraft's use of racism in his stories is a reflection of his time, place, and class. But I think Lovecraft's work remains relevant, and is resurgent in recent years, precisely because of his willingness to address racist fears directly. We still live in a grossly racist society, but any acknowledgment of that has become taboo. Even the most pious white liberal (like me!) takes the time to lock his car doors when driving through a "bad neighborhood." We've all internalized generations of racist thought to the point where we're no longer conscious of it. And studies of unconscious racism show that members of minorities have internalized those biases as well.
But racist fears are generally taboo in contemporary horror, a genre that's supposed to be about breaking taboos. So instead we get Stephen King's endless parade of Magic Negroes, and nobody seems to mind, because Stephen King is such a positive racist.
One reason to read Lovecraft today is to give yourself an opportunity to challenge your own unexamined racist fears. And we (Americans, at any rate) all have them, because that's the defining pathology of our society. - July 13, 2008 at 10:42 AM
- B-Sol said...
One story I've read which I can mention in particular is The Horror at Red Hook. Being descended from immigrants myself, it really bothered me. Here I am, reading an author who, if he were to meet me, would be disgusted by me and my very presence in "his" country. It's just very disconcerting.
- July 13, 2008 at 10:44 AM
- B-Sol said...
Hmmm...I definitely see your points, Howard. And it's true what you say about Lovecraft, because apparently he was appalled by stories of what the Nazis were doing to the Jews, despite his own personal fantasies of exterminating them. Hard to reconcile, but it makes sense in a way. In the end, I don't think it will stop me from reading Lovecraft, I just don't think I'll be able to enjoy his work as thoroughly as I otherwise would have.
- July 13, 2008 at 10:49 AM
- deepfix said...
"despite his own personal fantasies of exterminating them"
i don't know what you've read where you get this idea. keep in mind that he married a jew and robert bloch, one of his acolytes, was jewish as well.
"One story I've read which I can mention in particular is The Horror at Red Hook. Being descended from immigrants myself, it really bothered me. Here I am, reading an author who, if he were to meet me, would be disgusted by me and my very presence in "his" country. It's just very disconcerting."
also keep in mind that he had an excessively "pampered" (for lack of a better term) upbringing and never really travelled until later in his life. he was, to a certain extent (some exaggerate it too much, some to little) mentally "unstable" (not what i really mean but am lacking a better word for it). so when he moved to new york, with his jewish wife, was unable to find a job, was living away from his overly fawning aunts, and was thrust face first into the hustle and bustle of the urban metropolis that is the early twentieth century new york, he suffered an emotional breakdown of sorts. "Horror At Red Hook" was one of the stories written during that time and reflects a bit of his fear and hatred of that place. he soon fled back to the waiting arms of his aunts and the smaller sleepier providence.
not to seem as if i'm apologizing for his rascism, but there is a context for everything and as he got older and met more people (post-New York) his views shifted considerably. - July 13, 2008 at 1:40 PM
I suppose I am demographically one of the few Lovecraft would approve of - so take that bias as you will, but I personally find no qualms with enjoying his professional life because of his private. That isn't to say that your objection is over reacting, but I think enough history has come and gone in the years betwixt that his work should stand as his work.
I only found out of his personal life after having devoured much of his catalog; however I am not entirely sure prior knowledge would have held me any less rapt. I think the fact that there is no contemporary threat to his hatred helps quite a bit. That thought path though, I realize, makes me look even more calloused to the issue. I suppose back in the day he could have acted upon his beliefs and made (or help make) someone else's life worse because of it, but I've never seen any evidence this was the case. Stories of 'ole HP are more concerned with his recluse and crippling social phobias, so I doubt he ever acted on anything.
Is that a justification? Hardly, but it helps ease it. I picture Lovecraft as a crotchety old man who lives alone in the house all the school kids dare each other to go inside. Hate filled, yes, but harmlessly alone. - July 13, 2008 at 4:15 PM
- B-Sol said...
Deepfix, this is the kind of thinking I'm referring to, from one of Lovecraft's personal letters:
"On our side there is a shuddering physical repugnance to most Semitic types, and when we try to be tolerant we are merely blind or hypocritical. Two elements so discordant can never build one society – no feeling of real linkage can exist where so vast a disparity of ancestral memories is concerned – so that wherever the Wandering Jew wanders, he will have to content himself with his own society till he disappears or is killed off in some sudden outburst of physical loathing on our part."
As for Lovecraft's marriage to the Jewish Sonia Greene:
"He married a woman of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry, Sonia Greene, who later said she had to repeatedly remind Lovecraft of her background when he made anti-Semitic remarks. "Whenever we found ourselves in the racially mixed crowds which characterize New York," Greene wrote after her divorce from Lovecraft, "Howard would become livid with rage. He seemed almost to lose his mind."[20]"--Wikipedia, citing Lin Carter's 1972 biography. - July 13, 2008 at 5:09 PM
- CRwM said...
I've always read Lovecraft's racism (or whatever other -ism on assigns him - he really disgusted penguins, for example, so we can add anti-Spheniscidaeist to the long list) as just a subset of his global hatred of humans and life in general.
His white, upper-class, New England stock characters are just as likely to find out they're half-ape creature or discover that they're distantly related to a race of fishmen or to degenerate into a subterranean bread of cannibal or turn out to be a nutso doctor who don't know when to quit with the re-animation experiments.
The only time Lovecraftian characters can even begin to conceive of happiness and satisfaction is when they are in the Dreamlands, fantastic realms where Lovecraft's imagination is the sole arbiter of what will be. That was Lovecraft's idea of a good place - a completely artificial world made of his own ego.
We've become so sensitive to real and perceived slights based on identity politics that we miss the big picture - Lovecraft doesn't really like anybody. He, along with Bierce, is that rarest of things: a genuine American misanthrope. The sentiment is so foreign to the liberal, democratic ideal central to American identity that we don't have very many genuine haters of humanity in the abstract.
I don't think you're overreacting, but I think anybody who dismisses this hatred as an unfortunate blemish on Lovecraft's body of work isn't being honest. He doesn't like blacks, women, Jews, white ethnics, the poor, the rich, the intellectual, the uneducated, the military, artists, or any other group of people you care to mention because he doesn't like people. It's central to the uniqueness of his vision, it is why his perceived racism seems so strangely virulent even for his day, and it is part of the power of the dread he evokes. Without it, you don't have a Lovecraft. - July 14, 2008 at 2:10 PM
- B-Sol said...
He really was quite the misanthrope, wasn't he? Hye, I can respect that, I'm a pretty staunch one myself. But he does seem to also idealize the Aryan ideal at the same time, so it's not pure misanthropy.
- July 14, 2008 at 2:14 PM
I also think you have to focus on one of the things we are scared of most as an entire group of people, regardless of sex, race, religion etc -=- we are afraid of strange things, different things, things that seem alien to us and our way of life. Hell just look at the Food network and their show about strange dishes from around the world - we sit and watch and squeal with horror as they eat bugs and rotten eggs. Lovecraft uses that to the T with his stories. Also I just re-read the Red Hook story to verify but in it he is throwing everyone under the bus from black, Asian, to white European. And the character that is the central evil genius so to speak is the white upper class researcher. So I don't view him as really a racist but more like crwm said - he hates all people and the evil they create, spawn and keep alive.
- July 14, 2008 at 4:12 PM
- CRwM said...
There's something vapid and bloodless about Lovecraft's white superiority. Mainly, we just never see it. He made claims for the just nature of Aryan conquests of various cultures and he so on, but his "white" cultures are always depicted as thin layers of civilization decaying from forces internal and external. His most "Aryan" creation is Herbert West, and West is a mad failure.
Compare Lovecraft's aesthetic to, say, Nazi authors (or Soviet Era authors, with their class purity concerns rather than race purity concerns) and you'll see what I mean. Lovecraft never produces this absurdly heroic image of his race or class. Instead, white Westerners (where they aren't already nuts) are always doomed to destruction, madness, and failure.
He reminds me of John Ruskin, famed Victorian art critic, who fainted the first time he saw his wife naked because he hadn't suspected body hair. Lovecraft has abstract notions about this or that but, on the daily level of life as it is actually lived, everything disgusts and horrifies him.
I'm not trying to excuse him. He truly felt things about women and blacks and whatnot that we find repugnant. But I believe that the horror of the other (all "other" - we could make an truly exhausting list of people Lovecraft found disgusting) was sincere and it is at the root of his vision of horror. - July 14, 2008 at 6:13 PM
- hombrezoo said...
Well, I'm mexican, and when I found out about Lovecraft racist side, was very dissapointed, specially cause I've devoted quite a few years doing a shortfilm based on one of his short stories, but anyway, that made me want to know more about him.
So I began reading more...
And his problem was pretty much the fact that he was a very ignorant man, he never left his mom and his aunts laps, who though him in that kind of thinking, he never made a life for himself, it wasn't until his last years that he realized how dumb he was, and he actually changed his mind, began to have friends from the races that he previously hated so bad, even some of his friends were very upset at times for his ignorance and his racism.
Read L. Sprage de Camp bio, i'ts a very good one, has tons of info, specially a lot of HPs correspondence with his friends and family.
Think the coolest think is that in the end he was very, very human, I'm really glad I read that, cause I was about to rip appart my short. - July 14, 2008 at 7:35 PM
While HPL was a racist, I do not think his work reflects that at all. In fact I loved HPL stories (and the horror movies made from them) for years before I got more interested in who he was as a person and it wasm't until then when I read some about his life and his letters etc that I discovered that about him. I also found out he was a prohibitionist which is a huge turn-off to me as well.
Anyway, I don't think unless someone knows he is a racist and they read purely his horror short stories that they would ever know. I don't think it detracts from his stories and you don't have to "like" an artist to like their work.
-twostellas - July 14, 2008 at 9:33 PM
- B-Sol said...
Good grief, you mean he was against booze, too?? Man, this just keeps getting worse...
Seriously, though, I'm glad I posted this because it's encouraged me to read further and delve deeper into HPL, whereas I might have otherwise hesitated. I guess "disappointed" as hombrezoo put it earlier, is the best way to describe my feeling. It's just a letdown that a writer of such important and brilliant fiction would be so upsettingly flawed. Sad too, but I guess we all are to one extent or another. - July 14, 2008 at 10:02 PM
I tend to see Lovecraft as more of an "Elitist" than a straight-up racist. That is, like modern Republicans (and many Democrats), HPL felt a sneering contempt (and fear-based revulsion) toward "the lower types" (which, in various stories, also included Irishmen, Scots, and even the Dutch - "small hands, you know" - oh, wait, that was Austin Powers) but could easily ignore these feelings when someone from an outsider race gave evidence of being "one of us" - refined tastes, education, erudition, etc. Hence, Bloch, the Jewish wife, a handful of minority characters who behave somewhat admirably, etc.
This strain of thought is still clearly with us, just cloaked in safer language. If you listen to Pat Buchanan or Lou Dobbs or Barbara Bush or Fox News, you hear much the same sort of thought. Shows like "Cops" (and the six-o'clock news) permeate culture with the sordid exploits of "The Other", and the fearmongering of the newsmedia is always focused on the efforts of "lesser races" to drag "us" down.
My point, I guess, is that HPL wrote Modern Fiction. His language might make liberal readers (and, for other reasons, English majors) cringe at times, but it was his mindset then and it's a majority mindset now. We can reject his work and feel good about it, but the same attitudes permeate most modern popular fiction and literary fiction as well. For example, "24" may feature black heroes but they are "us"... the show's premise is that a degenerate "them" is out to destroy "us". Xenophobia. As other posters have mentioned, HPL was a xenophobe, and to his cloistered life, just about everything was "xeno". Including the cold.
HPL should be read and appreciated for his wild ideas, for his concepts, for the sheer fun of his overwrought prose, and for his ability to build tension. It should not be bawdlerized; he was a product of his time but in so many ways his time is our time.
And, to spoil more reading fun, a reminder that L. Frank Baum wrote horrible newspaper editorials where he called for genocide against Native Americans. Literally. - July 15, 2008 at 9:11 AM
- AndyDecker said...
I don´t see the problem here. Lovecraft´s racism is so obviously divorced from the real world and expresses itself mainly in the fear of the other - and here regardless in what form or gender -that you can´t take it serious.
Especially in his case I think it also wasn´t in the first place the sign of the times, but his upbringing which has a lot in common with cult-like upbringings, when you think about it. I always marvel about his marriage - how difficult it must have been for him to marry in the first place. And it still didn´t work.
I have more problems with the content of some of his stories, where even my suspense of disbelief often cannot stomach how utterly idiotic his heroes act, how naive his idea of the real world sometimes is - and surely must have even been back then when he wrote the stories.
But still his achievements outweigh the bad. For all his shortcomings (as I personally perceive them; other readers will have other things to object) his work is truly unique. And you can´t say that about a lot of writers. - July 16, 2008 at 5:13 AM
- deepfix said...
"his "white" cultures are always depicted as thin layers of civilization decaying from forces internal and external." - crwm
i'm glad i didn't respond immediately cause others have seen the forest beyond the trees though they might not have realized it. lovecraft's racism was a tree. one of many. modern readers get lost amongst all these trees not seeing the forest. his great-grandfather was wealthy, his grandfather less so. his mother was married to a salesman who died in an asylum. his mother to die years later in the same asylum. he was poor with the ideas and mores of someone with his great-grandfather's wealth. his whole lifespan was an example of degeneration with insanity as the end result. the racism is there to be dug up, exhumed and shown to the world but there were deeper hangups that the racism was more a symptom of.
anyway, in this year of the fruitbat, we don't have the language to adequately deal with his neuroses; you're either racist or you're not and it seems as if none of his readers today are.
l. sprague de camp had a certain axe to grind and his biography is truly pitiful. lin carter, whom i love (as well as de camp) based most of his conclusions on de camp's poor work. read joshi's biography for a more honest take on lovecraft (which is not to say he's without his own biases as well.)
p.s. too, too many years digging in these trenches can make a man overly sensitive. forgive and forgive alike. even the ancient athenians who gave us democracy gave us slavery as well. - July 17, 2008 at 12:27 AM
- deepfix said...
by the way, if you think wagner never wrote about his jew hatred then you really don't understand the dwarves in the ring cycle.
- July 17, 2008 at 12:30 AM
- deepfix said...
"because apparently he was appalled by stories of what the Nazis were doing to the Jews, despite his own personal fantasies of exterminating them"
(i really should find somrthing better to do tonight, seriously. i truly am this bored.)
if we're going to discuss lovecraft's racism this may be the most important sentence that's been written. h.p. lovecraft WAS appalled by the actions of the nazis. but this is an easy statement to make because outside of a few psychos, everyone was appalled by the holocaust. but what your sentence leaves out is that lovecraft died in 1937. 1937 was one year before "Kristallnacht" which is considered when the true pgrom against the jews began. so that means when he was appalled (your word) by the actions of the nazis, he was appalled by the earliest actions that they had taken. before kristallnacht, no country in the world had cesured germany for their anti-semitic actions. by being appalled by the actions of the nazis in his lifetime he was well ahead of the governments of both america and britain, the supposed leading lights of freedom.
quite the actions of a racist who wanted all the jews exterminated. - July 17, 2008 at 12:43 AM
- B-Sol said...
All good points, deepfix. Thanks for your well-though-out comments. I'll have to take another at the ring cycle, that's for sure. Also, I'm curious, what was L. Sprague de Camp's beef with Lovecraft?
- July 17, 2008 at 9:25 AM
I like all kinds of music by all kinds of different bands... including a few who have political ideas that are RADICALLY different than my own. Does this mean that I'm now obligated to hate their music? ONLY to the extent that their music reflects their ideology, and sometimes not even then. Hell, MOST of the time, not even then. I've sang along and rocked out lots of times to lyrics that are diametrically opposed to my own viewpoint. Sometimes I may not tell people that I like a specific band, and I may not want to financially support them as much (or at all), but a good song is a good song.
The same applies to fiction.
There were a few instances of Lovecraft's racism creeping into his text, (a cat named "niggerman" for instance) and it was obvious enough to make me stop and think about whether I should keep reading. But there were two things to think about:
A) Is the story ABOUT racism or BASED on racism in some way? In Lovecraft's case, the answer is no.
B) Is the story good IN SPITE of the presence of racist descriptions/names/etc.? For Lovecraft, the answer was yes.
These two factors earn Lovecraft a pass in my book. Not a 100% pass, but enough of one to allow me to enjoy his stories without feeling guilty for doing so.
If he were a modern writer, I would tend NOT to go to any of his of his book signings and I may be tempted to acquire his books in ways that don't put money in his pocket, but would still read and enjoy his work. - July 17, 2008 at 10:12 AM
RayRay - checking in a little late - I have been away on family business. But I felt that, since I started this, I should make a point. Not to belabor all the fine points already made, but firstly, history doesn't exist in a vacuum. Though we find racism, and all ethnocentrism, abhorrent, it was the norm in HP's day. It does nothing to excuse it, but it is the fact. Woodrow Wilson, a contemporary, was an extraordinary racist. Also, as has been said, HP really hated everyone, including himself. He found humans abhorrent, though some were more abhorrent on the surface. He found decay everywhere, and the word decadence is everywhere in his writings, even when speaking of alien races. He also seemed to hate God, which was not fashionable. Further, regardless of all else, he is a principal of the genre. He must be read in order to fully understand and appreciate that which came later, notwithstanding his personal failings. Finally, while it may be easier to see in HPL's works and his private writings, if we, the consumers of the arts, were to delve into the private thoughts of all the artists over the centuries and compare them to the mores and norms of the present, our political correctness would only serve to rob of their work, and for what gain? So we can say we only read/watch/consume those that we agree with? I am not trying to be a moral relativist, but rather to say people are more despicable than we think, and it would not serve our pursuits to always sit in judgment.
- July 21, 2008 at 11:21 AM
- B-Sol said...
Thanks for checking in Ray. All good points. I sometimes wonder if future generations will look back on our own social mores and be shocked for reasons we would even have difficulty conceiving.
- July 21, 2008 at 11:52 AM
- deepfix said...
"what was L. Sprague de Camp's beef with Lovecraft?"
it wasn't beef per se. it's like you couldn't find two men more diametrically opposed to each other, especially in the time frame when de camp's bio was written. it's like a member of the alpha beta fraternity writing a bio for louis skolnik from revenge of the nerds only with piss poor knowledge of frued as your guideline.
de camp was a man's man and as we know lovecraft was far, too far, from that ideal. - July 24, 2008 at 10:12 PM
- B-Sol said...
Hmmm...sounds like de Camp was more like his other idol, Robert E. Howard. Incidentally, I tried to track down a copy of the Lovecraft biography at my local library, and it was missing. I suspect Cthulhu worshipers.
- July 25, 2008 at 12:02 AM
- Phil Fasso said...
I'll quote Robert Bloch in answer to your plea. Bloch was a protege of Lovecraft's, and a far better judge than i can be. Here's what he says of Lovecraft and racism in The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre:
"If Lovecraft was a racist we must recognize that the term was not generally considered pejorative during his own time. In the twenties and thirties, Anglo-Saxon superiority was virtually taken for granted not only in literature but in daily life... To Lovecraft these changes were anathema, and he expressed his attitudes both privately and in print. But his views were not inflexible... the racist elements of earlier efforts is muted or absent in later tales. And what sort of anti-Semitic author marries a Jewess, associates with Jews as friends and correspondents, and retains one as his literary agent?"
I agree that racism is unacceptable in any form. But Bloch is right: it was a lot more acceptable in Lovecraft's time. Not that this makes it forgivable, but I think to avoid reading Lovecraft, the preeminent horror author of the 20th century, is a disservice. Yes, tales such as "Herbert West, Re-Animator" and "The Rats in the Walls" clearly display his racism. But to look only at an author's particular biases and judge his whole body of work on them, especially someone as talented as Lovecraft, is an injustice.
Lovecraft's works are all about fear of the Outsider; it's a primal fear that all people have to some degree, and so I'd rather focus on his fear of Cthulhu than his fear of minorities. - August 3, 2008 at 7:24 PM
- B-Sol said...
Thanks for this thoughtful reply, Phil. I agree, it would be a shame to avoid reading Lovecraft, and so I don't plan to. And while it does seem that HPL's racism waned in later years, I do think it is possible for someone to espouse his views and still associate with Jews in everyday life. I've seen this type of hypocrisy in action before--people will espouse broad racist beliefs, but when it comes to personal one-to-one relationships, it's a different story.
- August 3, 2008 at 10:52 PM
- Phil Fasso said...
I have to thank you, actually. At first I thought you were jumping at Lovecraft's latent racism just to be controversial. But as I read not only your comments, but others, it really provoked me to think deeper on the subject. This is a great topic, one worthy of discussion.
I got to thinking after my initial response that Lovecraft's entire mythos fits in with his view of "lesser" races: he fears the Outsider in every way. Jews are strange creatures just as is Yog Sothoth, because neither is White Teutonic soldier. Lovecraft certainly took his fear of that which is different, and built his whole career on it. One must remember that White Man's America was starting to crumble during Lovecraft's day, giving way to the "melting pot," and he was clearly afraid of that.
Add to this that Lovecraft was more than a bit of a snob, and it's easy to understand his sensibilities, or lack thereof, when it came to races other than his own. Lovecraft was a man born in the wrong epoch, striving for glories that were dead long before his birth. Perhaps this is why Herbert West was a failure, as a reflection of Lovecraft's view of himself. Look at his story "The Outsider" and it's easy to understand that Lovecraft's view of himself might not have been so high after all. Thus, he may have bolstered himself at the expense of others, to boost his self-esteem.
I'd say to anyone who loves horror to read Lovecraft. Warts and all, he still writes some of the most imaginative fiction ever. - August 4, 2008 at 6:25 PM
- beedubelhue said...
Doesn't change my opinion of HPL one iota.Love him,love his work,period.
- February 10, 2009 at 7:29 PM


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The email arrived with the kind of snarky tone reserved for a moment when the author is sure he — and it's usually a he — thinks he's hoisted you with your own petard.
A bit of back story: Last week, I tweeted a question wondering why CBS This Morning used a clip of Toto's hit song "Africa" under a montage of photos from Nelson Mandela's funeral. The tweet went viral, sparking stories on several websites and agreement from a co-founder of the band.
Responding to that outpouring, a reader emailed, in part: "Isn't it wrong to put a black/white label on choice of song, especially when its [sic] linked to Mandela? I thought he was fighting exactly against this stereotypical behavior. Your pathetic observation really cheapens the spirit of the day."
But I never mentioned race. Instead, I had written: "couldn't you end a segment on Mandela's funeral with real African music instead of Toto's Africa?"
My emphasis was on the idea of Americans' de-emphasizing African culture (which includes white Africans). But the email writer apparently saw the phrase "real African music" — perhaps realizing the writer was a black man who often writes on race and media — and assumed the argument was about race. And then blamed me for bringing up the subject.
This issue comes up all the time when you write about race and culture in America. One of the reasons white culture has remained so dominant here is that by pretending it doesn't exist as a racial culture, racial issues can then be presented as concerns for nonwhite races almost exclusively.
Defining when an issue is about race and when it isn't can be a tricky dance. And too many people see slapping a racial category on an issue as a way of dismissing it from general consideration — placing the conversation in the realm of unjustified grousing about a marginal idea.
The invisibility of white racial culture for white people came up in a different way last week when Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly decided to talk about a Slate article in which Aisha Harris, a black female blogger, suggested — somewhat tongue-in-cheek — that Santa Claus be re-imagined as a penguin to end the way he is always presented as a white man to the world. Kelly began by telling any children watching her show (perhaps to forestall any complaints from adult viewers, too), that Santa Claus is white. "Santa just is white. ... Santa is what he is and just so you know, we're just debating this because someone wrote about it."
The anchor also insisted Jesus was white, despite evidence that the real man might not have been. The panel of pundits discussing this with Kelly seemed to be all white people and did not include the author of the Slate story.
In a later broadcast, Kelly said she was joking, even though she appeared deadly serious when making the statements about Santa's race. The anchor also said she was victimized by "race baiting" critics, lamenting that "Fox News and yours truly are big targets for some people." (She did acknowledge learning in the past two days that there's still debate over the race of Jesus.)
But Kelly ignored an important point that Harris tried to make in her original piece: It's not just that Santa Claus is a fictional character loosely based on a religious figure; it's that making him white is a specific cultural choice.
In today's increasingly diverse society, white should not be the de facto ethnicity for figures of note in American/European pop culture. That's not a choice that happens by accident. And, as Harris noted in her Slate piece, those choices often affect people of color, who see their identity and heritage constantly pushed to the side.
The invisibility of white culture means that for Kelly, it's just a fact that a beloved fictional character is white (or, as she said in her later commentary, "We continually see St. Nick as a white man in modern-day America."). She never really asks why this character is depicted as white, because she still doesn't seem to see Santa Claus' race as a deliberate choice.
This is a point that those of us who write about race and pop culture are constantly trying to drive home. For people of color, there are thousands of instances where white culture asserts itself invisibly, without acknowledgment and without understanding.
Choices are made because they "feel right" and "everybody knows it" and "that's just the way it is" — all euphemisms for selections made without thinking and without accountability.
Kelly said she learned two things from the dust-up over her Santa comments: that race is still a hot-button issue and that critics are gunning for her and her employer.
I wish she had learned more: that talking about race without doing some real thinking and research is a fool's errand.
And trying to talk about race in America without acknowledging the power of whiteness is like trying to talk about fire without acknowledging that it burns.
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Review: 'Zero Dark Thirty' is massive, meticulous
Until the very end, she is described as "The Girl."
Even after a relentless, decade-long pursuit that leads to the daring midnight raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, even as she unzips the body bag to verify that the bloody corpse inside is indeed that of the slain al-Qaida leader, Jessica Chastain's CIA officer character is defined primarily by her femininity in this male-dominated world.
It's probably a phenomenon Kathryn Bigelow unfortunately is acquainted with herself, being the rare woman in Hollywood making muscular action movies — including 2009's "The Hurt Locker," winner of six Academy Awards including best picture and director, the latter being a first for a woman. And so even as "Zero Dark Thirty" takes an aesthetically stripped-down look at a hugely dramatic event, it shines with the integrity and decency of its central figure: a fierce young woman who's both dedicated and brainy, demanding and brazen.
Of course it took billions of dollars over 10 years and a multitude of people — many who gave their lives — to make this mission a success. Bigelow and "Hurt Locker" screenwriter-producer Mark Boal have accomplished the difficult feat of taking all that time, travel, investigation and frustration and depicting it thoroughly but also efficiently. The attention to detail, to getting it right each step of the way, is evident in everything from the dialogue to the production design to the lighting.
This is pure, unadorned storytelling, an effort to recreate what happened with absolute authenticity and zero excess. Methodical and detached as it is, "Zero Dark Thirty" may actually leave some viewers a bit cold; there are plenty of moments of danger in crowded streets and claustrophobic questioning rooms, but some of the legwork is tedious and it doesn't always pay off.
But the drama is inherent from the very beginning and the emotion sneaks up on you by the end. We know what happened, and we know why it matters.
Chastain's powerfully controlled performance — a spectacular showcase for this versatile actress' many talents and a long-overdue leading role — is emblematic of the film as a whole. Her character, Maya (based on a real person with some tweaks to protect the woman's identity), is described by colleagues as "a killer" upon arrival at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, two years after the 9/11 attacks. Quietly reserved at first as she watches a colleague (the commanding Jason Clarke) rough up a suspect during an interrogation — and Bigelow doesn't shy away from the brutality of such torture, let's call it by its name — Maya soon asserts herself with her exhaustive research and inner drive.
We don't learn much about her since she has practically no personal life; what she does speaks for who she is. At a rare dinner out one night, a fellow female colleague (Jennifer Ehle, excellent as always) conspiratorially asks Maya whether she's messed around with a good-looking co-worker of theirs. Maya is appalled by the very suggestion. She's a professional. Besides, there's no time.
She's gotten a hold of a lead she can't shake: the notion that following one of bin Laden's couriers will lead to the elusive al-Qaida chief. Trails grow cold, years pass, friends die in the line of duty and more attacks occur all over the globe. Pressures run high and time is against her; she finally cracks and lets some raw feelings burst forth in a confrontation with her arrogant superior, played with perfect slickness by Kyle Chandler. Also among the strong supporting cast are some actors in unexpected roles: Mark Duplass as a CIA officer! James Gandolfini as the agency's director!
But the discovery of a sprawling, heavily protected compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, makes her suspicious and gives her hope. Bigelow's extensive staging of the May 1, 2011, raid is a prime example of virtuoso action filmmaking. Set in the dead of a moonless night — hence the title, inspired by military jargon — the Navy SEALs' mission is both massive and intimate, a mix of ominous aerial shots of stealthy Black Hawk helicopters and infrared vision in dark bedrooms and corridors. Every bit of effort and emotion has led to this lengthy sequence, and we're invested, too.
There's no riding off into the sunset once the mission is complete, no swell of inspirational music; Alexandre Desplat's score is suitably understated, too. Just a few heartfelt hugs and some tears, all of them hard-earned.
"Zero Dark Thirty," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language. Running time: 157 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
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