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Rating: New release for Studi Lovecraftiani, the legendary magazine dedicated to the universe of H.P. Lovecraft and directed by the great Pietro Guarriello, undoubtedly one of Italy's leading experts on the Recluse of Providence. Pietro Guarriello is also a great enthusiast and scholar of fantastic literature, as he has demonstrated over the years with his small publishing house Dagon Press, which has published volumes in a "weird" and sumptuous graphic layout, unmissable for collectors, such as Lukundoo by Edward Lucas White. It is impossible not to mention the reissue of I racconti di Dracula, an essential work of unearthing Italian fantasy, thanks also to the work of an expert in the field like Sergio Bissoli. More recently, Guarriello has been curating for Hypnos publishing the edition of all maritime tales by William Hope Hodgson, from which Terrore dagli abissi, the first of three volumes, has been released.
I will say right away that issue 15 of Studi Lovecraftiani is a little gem that no serious Lovecraft enthusiast should miss. The cover by Matteo Bocci is, as usual, splendid and fully captures the "weird" atmosphere of Lovecraft's work. All the contributions are very interesting, starting with I Lovecraft in guerra: L’esperienza bellica nella biografia e nella storia familiare del Solitario di Providence” curated by Adriano Monti-Buzzetti. As is well known, Lovecraft was a staunch interventionist and tried to enlist without success, partly due to the decisive role of his mother. The entire story is recounted here, and the document attesting to his enrollment application is published. After an intriguing article by Luigi Cateli Arlini titled La follia della chimera: Lovecraft e l’estetica dell’Innominabile, we have the chance to read a study by Renzo Giorgetti that investigates the relationships between the works of Margaret Murray, a famous Egyptologist and anthropologist, and the cycle of Averoigne by Clark Ashton Smith. Renzo Giorgetti is a dedicated and meticulous enthusiast who has previously published highly interesting books such as Lovecraft e la sincronicità and Archetipi lovecraftiani: l'eterno femminile. Lovecraft was a great admirer of The Witch Cult In Western Europe (1921) by Murray, a text that spoke of the survival of a pagan and pre-Christian religion in Europe beyond Christianity. In reality, there are no direct references to Murray's themes in Averoigne, but the important aspect that emerges is how Lovecraft, strongly influenced by Murray, helped Clark Ashton Smith provide the “pseudo-historical” context to this important cycle.
The intervention by Bobby Derie is intriguing, telling us about Olsen, a sort of pre-literary “stalker,” whose letters to the circle of writers of “Weird Tales” and “Strange Tales” are euphemistically delirious. After Il potere di-Vino by Lovecraft, an unpublished satirical poem in Italy, follows the long and detailed study by Luca Cesare Foffano dedicated to the presence of “Lovecraftian themes” in the film Island Of Lost Souls based on The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Lovecraft was not a great lover of films, but in this case, his judgment was not negative: Foffano, with great competence and passion, explains why.
The issue concludes with a monumental analysis, curated by Pietro Guarriello, of all the “Lovecraftian” books released in 2015 and 2016. Highlighted is the new edition of All the Stories curated by Giuseppe Lippi, which gathers all of Lovecraft's production in a "mammoth" volume based on translations by S.T. Joshi. In the epigones section, there is mention, among others, of the collections The Lovecraft Universe curated by the Esescifi Cultural Circle, the novel Lovecraft’s Innsmouth by Claudio Vergnani of Dunwich Edizioni, the excellent reissue of Immortal Species by Colin Wilson by Urania and Necronomicon Stories by Massimiliano Gobbo. In the non-fiction space, there is the book by Angelo Cerchi, H.P. Lovecraft, il culto segreto, the new edition of the Necronomicon by Fanucci, and The Secrets of the Necronomicon. New Studies on the Lost Text of H.P. Lovecraft by Claudio Foti. Among the numerous comic proposals, there's also a thorough review of Providence by Alan Moore.
Highly recommended for all "Lovecraftians". The magazine can be ordered by writing to studilovecraft@yahoo.it or at the website http://www.lulu.com/shop/dagon-press/studi-lovecraftiani-15/paperback/product-22926745.html.
Studi Lovecraftiani - Edizioni Dagon Press - 167 pages - issue 15 - 2017
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