H.P. Lovecraft Memorial
Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island
Marker Inscription
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) U.S. Author I never can be tied to raw, new things, For I first saw the light in an old town, Where from my window huddled roofs sloped down To a quaint harbour rich with visionings. Streets with carved doorways where the sunset beams Flooded old fanlights and small window-panes, And Georgian steeples topped with gilded vanes— These were the sights that shaped my childhood dreams. Such treasures, left from times of cautious leaven, Cannot but loose the hold of flimsier wraiths That flit with shifting ways and muddled faiths Across the changeless walls of earth and heaven. They cut the moment's thongs and leave me free To stand alone before eternity.
Erected by The City of Providence, Brown University, and The Friends of H. P. Lovecraft
The Story
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a Providence author whose weird and cosmic fiction quietly reshaped American horror and fantasy. This marker carries his own sonnet evoking the old harbor town, carved doorways, and Georgian steeples that shaped his imagination. Long overlooked in life, Lovecraft became one of the most influential genre writers of the twentieth century.
Why it matters
It honors a distinctly American literary voice whose vision of dread and wonder still shapes modern storytelling.
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Related people
- · H.P. Lovecraft
Themes & tags
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