OK, so previously I've linked to this pretty cool Youtube video alleging to be an H.P. Lovecraft interview by the WPA. It brings Lovecraft and the New Deal together, it's the only video I've ever seen of the guy, and it's also probably a fake to promote the movie. I simply jumped on it and assumed it was real - I've always thought it would be neat to check out WPA records for more info, but since I never did much besides link it in blog posts I never made that effort or thought much more about it.
Bah! Egg on my face now. Most serious of all problems, of course, is that there was no WPA until 1935!
Based on my reading of what Lovecraft had to say about the New Deal the sentiments expressed here, as well as the regional affinities, the Oswald Spengleresque views on civilization, the talk about religion, etc. are all pretty faithful to what he might have said. Unfortunately, that doesn't quite cut it.
Oh well. No harm done I suppose. I still feel pretty dumb.
This is a list of WPA interviews in Rhode Island, where Lovecraft was from. This is a list of WPA interviews in Massachusetts, which was usually the setting of Lovecraft's stories.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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A better question:
ReplyDeleteWill movies (and television, the online world, etc.) replace the written word as it existed in the 1930s? Yes. The same way prose defeated poetry in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Oh, and whenever it comes to something you might to be a primary source, always check its provenance.
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