Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

There are no critics today who can make or break a writer's career. Not even mainstream critics, unless we're talking of pretentious 'literary' fiction. Poor sales and lack of interest by the dwindling public that still reads for pleasure are the killers. Good writers can die of neglect--not from critical attacks--while trash can sometimes rise to the top like cream.
The days of Edmund Wilson and H. L. Mencken are long gone.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

Eh, I would say Joshi has incalculably more power than mainstream critics do within the field of small press horror fiction entirely because he is the sole dominant critic within this field, so instead of a diffuse aggregate of many reviewers, as would be the case with mainstream fiction, people will look at what S. T. Joshi says, and I absolutely believe that if he declared an unknown writer better than Lovecraft or declared an unknown writer an utterly talentless derivative hack that his review would likely influence sales and the chances of said writer's success within the field of small press horror fiction --James


Few readers even read critics, let alone take their judgments to heart. The influence of literary critics has dried up proportionately to the growing apathy of the general public. Would I even be influenced by a critic insisting so-and-so is a greater writer than Lovecraft? Not in this world of constant hype. When literature was regarded as a precious thing, the words of critics could have significant influence. Now, like everything else, that power has diminished greatly; and readers--those of us left--are more likely to check out a writer based on feedback from friends or comments on Facebook or in a forum. The power, the authority of a critic to make or break, just isn't that strong anymore.
I suppose the good thing is we're not as easily swayed by one man's opinion as previous generations were.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

I think that is true for general audiences, but in this particular specialist area Joshi has had a large and prominent role in shaping the tastes of a community. Mostly for the positive, too.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

James, I wholeheartedly agree. Joshi is a fine critic and a gentleman. And I owe him a debt.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

Give me a day or two and I'll put something up.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

I love S.T. Joshi. His acerbic opinions and reviews too.

His cameo in Providence was such an unexpected and delightful surprise.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

Mosig was the guy who first started ranting about the importance of Lovecraft's philosophy. Joshi followed him and carried on the philosophical aspects of Yog-Sothery.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

Found this through Des' site

https://m.facebook.com/williemeikle/...33?pnref=story

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

As far as I'm concerned, the only Lovecraft criticism that was essential was by Fritz Leiber. It was the most insightful and the least pretentious. Joshi is good, sometimes spot on, but I have a special affinity for Leiber's handful of essays.

Re: S.T. Joshi says....
 

What books are they in?