Overview

In Reading Lovecraft in the Anthropocene: A New Dark Age, the intersection of environmental, philosophical, and literary discourses is explored through the lens of H.P. Lovecraft’s weird fiction. This study examines the convergence of three critical phenomena: the widespread recognition of the Anthropocene as a marker of human impact on the planet, the rise of speculative realism and Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) in contemporary philosophy, and the growing cultural and academic influence of Lovecraft’s work. Divided into three parts – “Seeds,” “Crops,” and “Excrescence” – the book traces Lovecraft’s gothic and decadent influences, examines materiality and its transcendence in weird fiction, and considers the posthuman and postsecular dimensions of his narratives. Through this, the study highlights Lovecraft’s role in navigating the challenges of a secular, disenchanted world, offering a “dark enchantment” that echoes current philosophical concerns. This work ultimately synthesizes discussions on weird fiction as a response to the existential and ecological crises of the Anthropocene, addressing issues like correlationism, anthropocentrism, and our fraught relationship with the natural world.

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9781032899480

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Reviews

""Wilken’s book encapsulates the best of Lovecraftian Studies and speculative criticism, encountering Lovecraft on his own terms, on the dark theodicean landscape of a cosmic horror that both captivates and exacerbates the unwary traveller."" --Marcello Ricciardi, Associate Professor, English Dept. St. Joseph’s University, Patchogue, NY

Author Information

Christian Wilken is a research associate at the University of Koblenz and a lecturer at the University of Düsseldorf.

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