Gallomo

Gallomo was the name of a circle of literary correspondence between Alfred Galpin, H. P. Lovecraft, and Maurice W. Moe in the first few decades of the 20th century. The name is derived from the first syllable of each author's last name. It is mostly notable for Lovecraft's involvement, as he often used it to workshop stories on which he was working (for example, "The Statement of Randolph Carter")^[1] or discuss strange dreams he had recently had. The other two members went on to publish stories in magazines such as The Vagrant, The Californian, or All-Story Magazine, but are generally not as well known as Lovecraft.

Literary correspondence circle

The literary correspondence consisted of round-robin cycles, in which the members would sequentially write letters discussing one or more issues. As the collection of letters circulated to each member, the member would remove their previous letter and write a new letter which commented on the letters of the others.^[2]

Members of the Gallomo

Alfred Galpin

Alfred Galpin (1901–1983) was an American literary academic and musical composer of classical works. Part of his career was in Paris and Italy, but he was a professor at Wisconsin University for many decades. He is most notable for being a close friend and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft.

H. P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips "H. P." Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. He is regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors in his genre.

Maurice W. Moe

Maurice Winter Moe (1882–1940) was an American amateur journalist and English teacher.^[3] He attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1904,^[4] and was an English teacher at Appleton High School in Appleton, Wisconsin^[5] and also at West Division High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[6] Maurice knew H. P. Lovecraft starting in 1914, and notified him of his outstanding student Alfred Galpin. Because Maurice was fervently pious, the truth and efficacy of religion were frequent topics of discussion in the correspondence circle. Maurice was also a member of the other correspondence circle Kleicomolo (Rheinhart Kleiner, Ira A. Cole, Maurice W. Moe, and H. P. Lovecraft).^[2][7]

References

1. ↑ Lovecraft, Howard P. [1920] (1999). "The Statement of Randolph Carter". In S. T. Joshi (ed.). The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1st printing ed.). Penguin Books. p. 363. ISBN 0-14-118234-2. Explanatory Notes by S. T. Joshi. 
2. 1 2 S. T. Joshi, David E. Schultz (2001). An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 145. ISBN 0-31331578-7. 
3. ↑ Donovan K. Loucks (2012). "Lovecraft's Friends and Acquaintances". 
4. ↑ "The alumni register". The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine. The University of Wisconsin Collection. 15 (10): 464. July 1914. 
5. ↑ "The Elimination of the Commencement Oration". The English Journal. National Council of Teachers of English. 5 (6): 401. June 1916. doi:10.2307/801317. JSTOR 801317. 
6. ↑ H. P. Lovecraft, edited with an Introduction and Notes by S. T. Joshi (2004) [1925]. The Dreams in the Witch House: And Other Weird Stories. Penguin Books. p. 367. ISBN 978-014243795-7. 
7. ↑ S. T. Joshi (1996). H. P. Lovecraft: A Life. Necronomicon Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-094088488-5.