Thursday, May 23, 2019

Thomas Ligotti; more links

I have encountered several resources that I would like to share. The first is an essay on Ligotti and Lovecraft by Matt Cardin. Cardin provides a very concise discussion of the lives and works of both authors and then takes a detailed look at similarities and differences in both author's worldview and how this influences their writing. I found this quite informative. I have always found the connection between the works of Ligotti and Lovecraft when considered in their entirety overstated. Some works like Ligotti's "The Last Feast of the Harlequin" and "The Sect of the Idiot" have an obvious connection but as Cardin rightly points out the differences between the two authors works or personal philosophies are far more important in understanding their works than any similarities. This point is also reinforced in the Weird Studies podcast below.

The Masters' Eyes Shining with Secrets:
H.P. Lovecraft and His Influence on Thomas Ligotti by Matt Cardin

from the introduction
"Jonathan Padgett, the originator of Thomas Ligotti Online, relates the following anecdote in his Ligotti FAQ: "In a phone conversation I had with Mr. Ligotti in the Spring of 1998, he explained that Lovecraft's fiction had had the most profound influence on his life rather than his fiction, as reading HPL's work was the impetus for Ligotti's writing career. Aside from this fact, Lovecraft really has had very littles to do with the subject or style of Ligotti's writing"

http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=218

Thomas Ligotti's Angel (a discussion at Weird Studies)

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In his short story "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel," contemporary horror author Thomas Ligotti contrasts the chaotic monstrosity of dreams with the cold, indifferent, and no less monstrous purity of angels. It is the story of a boy whose vivid dream life is sapping his vital force, and who resorts to esoteric measures to rectify the situation. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the beauty and horror of dreams, the metaphysical signifiance of angels and demons, and the potential dangers of seeking the peace of absolute "purity" in the wondrous flux of lived experience

https://www.weirdstudies.com/46

"Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel" by Thomas Ligotti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm1iH6EIMAA

The Mystics of Muelenburg - Thomas Ligotti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zt01ZuSUXQ

Image; detail from The Nightmare Factory; Carroll & Graf, 1996, cover illustration not attributed.

Hopefully none of the links above are violations of copyright; if you have any concerns please leave a comment.

Monday, May 20, 2019

Vastarien: A Literary Journal (Thomas Ligotti)

I have made no secret of my admiration for the works of Thomas Ligotti so when I noticed a journal called Vastarien, (available at the Kindle store) which I recognized as the title of one of his stories, with a wonderfully evocative cover by Dave Felton I had to check it out. I have read stories from two issues so far, "The Gods in Their Seats, Unblinking" by Kurt Fawver and "Commencement" by Joanna Parypinski, both were brilliant. I have included a quote and link below to the announcement on The Teeming Brain website that Vastarien has won an award as Magazine of the Year from the annual This is Horror Awards.

"Vastarien: A Literary Journal was conceived five years ago by a handful of people who wanted to see more writing about and in response to the work of writer/thinker Thomas Ligotti. Since then, our publication has been bombarded with stellar, but unusual, work by authors and artists — many of whom are underrepresented and/or newer voices. Without them and the incredible support Vastarien continues to receive from its devoted readers, this singular journal never would have come to fruition. Thanks so much to all of you and the staff of This Is Horror for this wonderful award."

—Jon Padgett, Editor-in-Chief of Vastarien: A Literary Journal
THIS IS HORROR FICTION MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR

http://www.teemingbrain.com/2019/05/16/vastarien-wins-magazine-of-the-year-in-2019-this-is-horror-awards/?unapproved=1161727&moderation-hash=8dd7044b3e923a9ce15e50817f61393b#comment-1161727

Also, The Teeming Brain offers an interview with Thomas Ligotti (see link below).

"Certain writers are more prone to eliciting this experience than others, simply because of the way they write. For example, many millions of people have read and loved The Da Vinci Code, but it’s unlikely that any of them have found the voice of their soul reflected in Dan Brown’s prose. The same holds true for virtually all genre writers and mass market writers. When was the last time somebody felt profoundly confirmed and transformed by reading a Robert Ludlum novel? Or a Dean Koontz novel? Or a Conan story? Or a Harlequin romance? It seems the transformative power of literature is almost always found in the explicitly “literary” branch of the family tree, and with a few rare exceptions in the work of authors who write in a specific genre but do so with a distinctive voice and sophisticated style, and under the power of a driving personal vision. In such cases the term “literary” is often appended to the generic category label, so that for instance we today have the subgenre known as “literary horror.”"

from Interview with Thomas Ligotti
It’s All a Matter of Personal Pathology

http://www.teemingbrain.com/interview-with-thomas-ligotti/

Photo; detail of Chris Mars illustration for the cover of the Penguin edition of Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe by Thomas ligotti