C. S. Lewis, H. P. Lovecraft, and Aliens

Today the guys get into a little literary criticism as they discuss an article that Chris wrote for Touchstone Magazine years ago comparing C. S. Lewis and H. P Lovecraft. Most listeners to The Theology Pugcast are likely to be familiar with C. S. Lewis and his fiction–particularly the Chronicles of Narnia and the space trilogy. Fewer are likely to know about Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos, nevertheless it is hard to miss Lovecraft’s influence on popular culture which can be felt in everything from a film like Alien to the writing of Stephen King. It is Chris’s belief that Lewis may have even read Lovecraft for himself (they were near contemporaries and Lewis not only read for pulp magazines, he wrote for them.) This may seem like a far country from recent discussions on the podcast, but as Chris, Tom, and Glenn talk, you’ll see that it is not.   Just a couple of corrections, first, Chris erroneously refers to Ark House as the posthumous publisher of Lovecraft’s stories–the correct name is Arkham House. (Chris knew that, but you know it goes–aging and all.) And in response to Glenn’s question concerning the founders of Arkham House, the publishers were: August Derleth and Donald Wandrei.

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