H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft, whose full name is Howard Phillips Lovecraft, was an American horror and science fiction writer. He is considered one of the masters of cosmic horror, a subgenre that features horrors beyond human comprehension and usually beyond the physical laws of time and space.

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He is best known for creating the universe known as "The Cthulhu Mythos." It is a collection of interconnected stories set in a fantastic universe where there are cosmic beings, primordial gods, and other monstrous entities. The most famous of these beings, and the one that gives the universe its name, is Cthulhu, an ancient and enormously powerful deity that lies in lethargy, waiting to rise again and end the world.

His literary style was very characteristic, with an ornate and archaic language, and in which the first-person narration is usually present to give more immersion to the reader. In many stories he presents an anonymous narrator who is completely devastated by the events that have happened to him.

Some of the themes present in his work are fear of the unknown, madness, or the insignificance of man in relation to the universe.

Lovecraft was also a prolific letter writer, writing about 100,000 letters during his lifetime. In them, he discussed his worldview and daily life, and taught younger writers such as August Derleth, Donald Wandrei, and Robert Bloch.

Throughout his adult life, Lovecraft was never able to live on his income as an author and publisher. Virtually unknown during his lifetime and published almost exclusively in pulp magazines, he died in poverty at the age of 46, but is now considered one of the most important writers of supernatural horror fiction of the 20th century.