H.P. Lovecraft
The Arkham Page

The Arkham Page: Philology of a Disappeared Site is a hefty volume of almost 600 pages that retraces the history of the first legendary Italian site dedicated to the Recluse of Providence (called The Arkham Page) which was active from 1997 to 2001. Unfortunately, I did not frequent it personally (I believe I gained internet access precisely in 2001). The first thought that comes to mind is how this is a demonstration of how information on the web (whose pervasiveness we cannot deny) is, unlike the paper format, transient. There is no certainty for the future that what is written online will remain. That all the material contained in The Arkham Page was lost is truly a shame, and fortunately, some nostalgic people from that era like Stefano Mazza had the idea to revive its contents in this book. As Mazza himself writes, “The purpose of this book is therefore to remember the site, its authors, its contents, and give those who did not have the chance to visit and know it between 1997 and 2001 the opportunity to see what it looked like. I confess there is also a second, more ambitious purpose: to attempt a reconstruction as philological and historical as possible, contextualized in the reality of the web of the '90s and early 2000s, in order to provide the reader the opportunity to remember and know, at least in part, the ‘telematic experience’ of the time.” The site was conceived by Simone Giudici and included among its contributors Michele Tetro, Pierluigi Della Minola, Davide Quartini, Marco Vallarino, Vincenzo Monteleone, and especially Pietro Guarriello (who was undoubtedly the most prominent with his interventions that could also be found in the Yorick Fantasy Magazine fanzine curated by Massimo Tassi).

Thus, it’s an opportunity (cloaked in a nostalgic spirit) to relive a piece of Italian fandom history. Many of those protagonists are still very active; think, for example, of Guarriello's Dagon Press and Michele Tetro's scholarly work in the field of horror cinema (notable is his contribution to the site concerning films inspired by HPL which, in its own way, set a standard). At the time (as Guarriello rightly emphasizes), the contents were undoubtedly more in-depth and less superficial compared to the current situation where even mailing lists have disappeared (I remember one created by the good Andrea Bonazzi which included some of the names mentioned as well as the late Elvezio Sciallis), and everything is entrusted to Facebook groups where critical contribution often boils down to a like. Reading the book, I can confirm the material is of excellent quality (such a site would truly be needed even now). I particularly point out the great erudition of Guarriello: I found the annotated bibliography of Lovecraft's works in Italian particularly interesting. There is also the translation of Lovecraft's poems that were unpublished in Italy at the time, further confirming that it was a highly qualitative portal. There were in-depth profiles on Lovecraft's correspondents as well as entertainments like themed quizzes on the "Lovecraftian" universe. The graphics were still very valid for the period and are faithfully reproduced here. There was also a section dedicated to the readers' contributions. This is a volume for fans and followers of Lovecraft, a testimony of a period filled with great excitement.

Now the times have changed: at the moment, the "weird" in Italy is in excellent health (save for the conversation on the superficiality of the web) thanks to publishing houses like (besides Dagon Press) Edizioni Hypnos and Providence Press. But the seeds of what we are reaping now were sown then, as confirmed by the reading of The Arkham Page. The hope is that Simone Giudici and other collaborators revive the site.

Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.it/ARKHAM-PAGE-Filologia-sito-scomparso/dp/1691851396. or on the Studi Lovecraftiani blog http://studilovecraftiani.blogspot.com/.

The Arkham Page: Philology of a Disappeared Site – 600 pages – Dagon Press – Euro 14,75 – 2020