Events

Lovecraft's Legacy

Friday, March 9, 5:00 pm (Providence Athenaeum)
Join Brown University English Professor Deak Nabers and festival creators for readings and a conversation about H.P. Lovecraft's towering influence on all things pulp. A selection from the Athenaeum's collection of Lovecraftiana will be on display. For Athenaeum members and their guests. Visit The Providence Athenaeum for membership information.

Pulp Uncovered Opening Night Gala

Thursday, March 15, 7:00 pm (John Nicholas Brown Center)
Kick off the festival weekend! Refreshments and conversation following the keynote lecture by pulp writer Will Murray (see below). Free and open to the public.

H.P. Lovecraft Life and Works Walking Tour

Saturday, March 17, 11:00 am (Van Wickle Gates)
Explore Providence through H.P. Lovecraft's books and short stories. See the site of his former home, as well as the sights mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Haunter of the Dark, The Shunned House, and The Call of Cthulhu. Offered by the Rhode Island Historical Society. The tour begins at the Van Wickle Gates (at the intersection College and Prospect Streets, across from the Brown University Rockefeller Library). Tickets are $10, and are available the day of/at the start of the tour (cash only), but the Historical Society encourages reservations: call Barbara Barnes at 401-273-7507 x62 or email bbarnes@rihs.org.

Pulp Plays

Saturday, March 17, 7:00 pm (John Nicholas Brown Center)
Brown MFA in Literary Arts-affiliated playwrights present their interpretations of classic pulp fiction cover art, in readings of new plays commissioned for the Pulp Uncovered festival. Free and open to the public.

H.P. Lovecraft as Preservationist: A Walking Tour of Providence's East Side

Sunday, March 18, 1:00 pm (21 Meeting Street)
Local Providence writer H.P. Lovecraft, whose short stories and books gained fame in the 1920s and 1930s, is considered the godfather of the modern horror genre. Less known are his other writings: his letters. During his short life, he wrote nearly 100,000 letters to fans and writers, speaking about ProvidenceÕs rich architectural heritage, its Òfountain of deeply genuine beautyÉand picturesqueness which most metropolitan districts must envy in vain.Ó Come along as we explore Providence through the eyes of Lovecraft the early preservationist. Offered by the Providence Preservation Society. Tickets are $10 general, $8 for PPS members, and are available at the start of the tour (cash only), or in advance by calling the Providence Preservation Society, 401-831-7440.

Refreshments at the John Nicholas Brown Center

Sunday, March 18, 4:30 pm (John Nicholas Brown Center)
After learning about the influence of pulp cover art on the work of artists today in The Art of Pulp Fiction (see below), go back to the source by visiting the Pulp Uncovered exhibition and enjoying afternoon refreshments at the John Nicholas Brown Center. Free and open to the public.

Talks

Pulp Fiction: Uncovered - Keynote Speaker Will Murray

Thursday, March 15, 6:00 pm (Smith-Buonanno Hall, Room 106)
Will Murray is a journalist and the author of over 50 novels, including seven posthumous Doc Savage collaborations with series originator Lester Dent, under the name Kenneth Robeson, as well as an adaptation of the 1934 Doc novel The Thousand-Headed Man for National Public Radio. For more than 30 years, he has written about the pulp magazine era, its writers, and its heroes. In 1990, Murray co-founded the Friends of H. P. Lovecraft, which placed the Lovecraft memorial plaque on the grounds of Brown University's John Hay Library in commemoration of the centennial of Lovecraft's birth. He co-edits Nostalgia Ventures' successful reprints of The Shadow and Doc Savage. Free and open to the public.

A Life with Lovecraft: S.T. Joshi and the Horror Master

Friday, March 16, noon (John Nicholas Brown Center)
H.P. Lovecraft historian and Brown alumnus S.T. Joshi speaks about the cult author and his influence on pulp fiction. Joshi is a leading authority on H. P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, and other writers, mostly in the realms of supernatural and fantasy fiction. He has edited corrected editions of the works of Lovecraft, several annotated editions of Bierce and Mencken, and has written such critical studies as The Weird Tale (1990) and The Modern Weird Tale (2001). His biography of H.P. Lovecraft is considered by many critics to be the definitive study. He is also the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. Free and open to the public.

Lovecraft at the Ladd

Friday, March 16, 7:00 pm (Ladd Observatory)
Lovecraft experts discuss the writer's fascination with outer space and the fantastic.

The Femme Fatale and the Gumshoe: Gender in the Pulps

Saturday, March 17, 4:00 pm (John Nicholas Brown Center)
A panel discussion aboutsexuality, gender, and representations of women and men in the pulps. As Publisher of the Feminist Press at CUNY, Jean Casella was responsible for Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp, a collection of classic pulp fiction by women from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Ralph Rodriguez is Associate Professor in Brown University's Department of American Civilization and Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, and is the author of Brown Gumshoes: Detective Fiction and the Search for Chicana/o Identity. Maureen T. Reddy is a professor of English and works with the Women's Studies Program at Rhode Island College. Some of her books include Sisters in Crime: Feminism and the Crime Novel and Traces, Codes, and Clues: Reading Race in Crime Fiction. Free and open to the public.

The Art of Pulp Fiction

Sunday, March 18, 3:00 pm (RISD Museum)
Join local artists as they explore pulp cover art and its influence on their own work. Hosted by the RISD Museum. Admission is free with tickets available at the Pulp Uncovered exhibit, events, and screenings.