I have to agree. His racism is critical to understanding both his work and also his editorial impact. Just as with Lovecraft, it's not some incidental factor, b

I have to agree. His racism is critical to understanding both his work and also his editorial impact. Just as with Lovecraft, it's not some incidental factor, but actually central to who they are and what they did. In Lovecraft I think the racism fuels something remarkable (an argument for another day I suspect). In Campbell I think it is a terrible influence. I can enjoy Who Goes There, or Twilight...but his emphasis on physiogonomy, ideals of male beauty and his extrapolation of a seemingly perfect now into forever always struck me as mildly ludicrous. I suspect he could have been a much better writer if he wasn't hung up on that rubbish.