Uncle Rake sits down with Steve Erickson. They talk about everything from typocgraphy to the Arcade Fire.

Salon: H.P. Lovecraft is “a hack,” “literature’s greatest bad writer,” “not very scary” (has she even read “The Rats in the Walls” or the Cthulu stories?), Cthulu as “an unpronounceable name,” “Cthulu isn’t scary,” “camp,” “purple prose,” relying desperately on Joyce Carol Oates’ asseessment of “The Colour Out of Space” when she obviously despises Howard’s groove, “hasn’t the psychological acuity,” and not “wholesome at all.”

Reason #246 Why Germany is Pretty Darn Cool: A few enterprising folks have placed books into vending machines (which are even available at Zoo Station!). The idea behind this is to get literature out into the streets. But the efforts go far beyond mere consumer consideration. A literary group known as the “door speakers” has been reciting poetry through apartment intercoms. All this has been designed to counteract declining book sales and spread the word that lit is good. One would hope that the Wenclas crowd was capable of thinking along these lines. But that would involve thinking outside the solipsistic box.

Never mind a shitstorm in Iran. The big question these days is whether Salman Rushdie is safe.

The Gray Lady has outdone itself in the cruel lede department.