The tutor fondly returns to a topic he explored a lifetime ago.

I graduated from UVic in ’95; my first son was born in July ’02. During the intervening years I had lots of time. Pursuing computer programming and reading came naturally; I’m a born academic.

This is a much smaller town than Victoria. The local library, seemingly not so appointed as UVic’s, turned out to be a valuable resource. I simply learned to look a little more closely.

One section I discovered, wandering amongst the stacks, was horror fiction. I hadn’t read any since I was a kid; fresh from university, I scanned the shelves with trained instinct. I settled on a couple of anthologies of short horror stories….

Truly, it’s a pity that I can’t recall the titles I signed out. Their introductions proved very revealing. Often, the editor would point to H.P. Lovecraft’s work as the inspiration for nearly all modern horror short fiction – if not all modern horror fiction, period.

A few weeks back, we were in Costco. My oldest son, now 13, brought a thick volume from a table: could he have it? I examined the book; close to 1000 pages, it’s an anthology of short fiction. Glancing the list of authors, I added the book to our cart.

Perhaps, subconsciously, I bought that book for myself. Yesterday I picked it up to scan the authors more closely. I already knew they include Poe, Dickens, Henry James, and other greats. I wondered: is Lovecraft among them? Yes, indeed; four of the stories are his. I’m impressed. After all, Lovecraft, though well loved by readers of short fiction, is not so well known as Dickens or Poe.

I’ll be following up many facets of this post:)

Source:

wikipedia

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.