H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and their correspondence.

A thread.

H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard corresponded from 1930 until 1936, when Howard committed suicide. Lovecraft would die the next year. Two of the most renowned authors at WEIRD TALES, their correspondence shaped both men's lives and legacies.

First, before they got acquainted:

Howard was 16 years younger that Lovecraft; he had first read HPL in the early issues of WEIRD TALES in 1923-1925, and aspired to write for the pulp magazine himself - which he did. Lovecraft later claimed to have noticed REH's initial efforts

but did not comment them on his letters. The start of their correspondence in 1930 came after the reprint of Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls," which involved a line lifted from a certain Scottish genderqueer author. Details

Lovecraft's letters were often frequent and lengthy; 10 or 20 handwritten pages wasn't uncommon, and 70 and 100 page letters are known. To new correspondents, this could be incredibly intimidating. Robert E. Howard appears to have taken it as a challenge, and sought to match him.