Talk:H. P. Lovecraft

Latest comment: 9 years ago by 152.160.38.203 in topic trying to confirm a quote - source and date if possible

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I remembered reading, somewhere, this quote from Lovecraft: "Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane".

A Google search reveals a similar quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero: "Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit", which translates to "Almost nobody dances sober, unless he happens to be insane". Lovecraft's quotation is suspiciously similar.

Most likely, since Lovecraft was well versed in classical literature, he dropped a paraphrase of Cicero's statement in a letter somewhere, knowingly or not. Trouble is, I don't recall where Lovecraft's quote was transcribed—whether it was quoted from a letter of his, for example, and whether its exact source was cited. Does anyone know? Chris Roy 21:26, 11 Dec 2003 (UTC)

When he was seven, his mother tried to get him interested in dancing lessons; that is what he replied. 70.186.172.214 10:50, 15 March 2009 (UTC)Reply

Where are all the quotes where he calls black people less than human? He wrote more than just fiction, you know.

I added one from p. 102 of L. Sprague De Camp's biography of him Lovecraft: A Biography . . . he was quoting from The Conservative, Volume I, Number 2, published in July of 1915. 70.186.172.214 15:12, 13 March 2009 (UTC)Reply

"I remembered reading, somewhere, this quote from Lovecraft: "Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane"."

I searched through the collected works of Lovecraft, and this quote never appears.

trying to confirm a quote - source and date if possible edit

Does anyone know if H.P. Lovecraft really said, "At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own, there come inspirations and capabilities impossible at any less magical and quiet hour. No one knows whether or not he is a writer unless he has tried writing at night"?

I see this on general quote pages, but would like to know if Lovecraft really said it and if so, when and in what source.

Thank you. 152.160.38.203 21:31, 20 July 2014 (UTC)Crystal Hayduk, July 20, 2014Reply

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