vishspal
Sophomore
@vishspal
Posts: 727
Likes: 208
 
|
Post by vishspal on Jan 27, 2018 2:17:02 GMT
Who's the better writer and why?
|
|
|
|
Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jan 27, 2018 2:27:15 GMT
Poe because he was pioneering stories about horror and human psychology.
Lovecraft deserves his own place but it is further down.
I once saw someone describe Richard Matheson as the greatest horror writer of all but that is such an absurd answer. Matheson was a very good writer but Poe is far greater in thematic exploration and literary significance.
A writer that Lovecraft mentions in an essay on horror fiction who I discovered thanks to him is Fitz James O'Brien. Worth checking out, especially for the short stories What Was It? and The Diamond Lens.
The latter is like Horton Hears A Who crossed with the Tell Tale Heart.
O'Brien died in the Civil War--if he had lived he may have become a much better known writer because he pioneered a few concepts like the invisible creature and miniature worlds.
|
|
|
|
Post by koskiewicz on Jan 27, 2018 18:45:14 GMT
Easily Poe. His work is more literate, though I have also enjoyed reading Lovecraft. Poe's poetry is his pinnacle career achievement and I love his stories as well as his letters and critiques.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
@Deleted
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2018 23:31:07 GMT
H.P. Lovecraft
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
@Deleted
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2018 2:31:38 GMT
I think Poe is more iconic, even though I don't care for his writing style. Lovecraft gets a bit samey after a while, and some of his stories are so drawn out that they really drag.
|
|
|
|
Post by dougb on Jan 28, 2018 18:15:04 GMT
Poe, although neither are much cop as "writers"
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
@Deleted
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2018 18:27:41 GMT
I have read all the works of Poe except, I think, a couple of essays. After I saw the title of this thread, I went to Youtube to check out Lovecraft and listened to an audio version of a story called The Lurking Fear. The first thing I noticed was that the grammar was awful. To compare him to Poe on that particular point would not be fair but it did not hold my interest. In fact, I found it unlistenable. Edgar Allan Poe had a greater command of the English language than most modern authors. For that reason, I would rate him high above most authors of the horror genre except, probably, M.R. James who was not nearly as prolific but was a master of English prose.
|
|
|
|
Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jan 28, 2018 20:01:04 GMT
Listen to Roddy McDowall's reading of Lovecraft stories. The Outsider is one and I forgot the other..the Hound.
I find Lovecraft's longer stuff to be a bit of a chore but the two stories narrated by McDowall are quite involving.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
@Deleted
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 5:47:50 GMT
I have to go with Poe. He was an exceptional writer.
Lovecraft has such devoted fans and their passion does from time to time inspire me to try and read his works but I have to say I have little enthusiasm for them.
|
|
