“Old Christmas“

   Poem (322 lines); written in late 1917. First published in the Tryout(December 1918); rpt. National Enquirer(December 25, 1919).

   HPL’s single longest poem, telling of the genial pleasures of an old English Christmas. HPL sent the poem through the Transatlantic Circulator, a group of Anglo-American amateur journalists; John Ravenor Bullen spoke highly of it: “…the ever-growing charm of eloquence (to which assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeic sound and rhythm, and tone colour contribute their entrancing effect) displayed in the poem under analysis, proclaims Mr. Lovecraft a genuine poet, and ‘Old Christmas’ an example of poetical architecture well-equipped to stand the test of time.”