H. P. Lovecraft

The Street | H. P. Lovecraft | Literary Roadhouse Ep 88

Discussion Notes: The Street

Find this week’s story here: The Street by H. P. Lovecraft.

Next week’s story: The Last Question by Isaac Asimov.

Rated: Clean.

This week our hosts discuss H. P. Lovecraft’s The Street, a departure from Lovecraft’s infamous alien horrors. The Street’s a supernatural story dripping with a xenophobic political message. Unable to accept the politics, all four hosts struggled with how to criticize the story. Maya focused on the language and did her best to separate the art from the artist. Rammy and Anais rejected that approach on the premise that the art itself is the vehicle for politics they couldn’t support. Meanwhile, Gerald tried to follow in Maya’s footsteps, but couldn’t quite look past the story’s racism. Despite these difficulties, the hosts manage to analyze the language and craft and enjoy a fun alien personality quiz at the end.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below!

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

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