>I'm not keen on mincing words on this one. H.P Lovecraft was a racist  Yes, yes he was.  >and before you go making an argument for separating the art from the artist, let's be clear on another point: so are his stories.  Great job on outing yourself as never having read any of them, other than possibly The Horror at Red Hook.  Lovecraft was racist, that's a given. He was also a brilliant writer, and his lasting influence on horror and pop culture in general is no more than a reflection of that. People will still be reading and enjoying his stuff long after wannabe arbiters of what is and what isn't "acceptable" fiction, like your own lovely self, are dead, buried and deservingly forgotten.