Speaking of whitewashing Lovecraft

[james_davis_nicoll]

We'll talk about his racism this *one time* and then never speak of it again.

Comments

[tandw.livejournal.com]

To my mind, there's a qualitative difference between a general reference (e.g., Wikipedia, ISFDB, and the like) and discussion of a specific work. It seems to me that in a discussion *of the author* it's always necessary to bring up or point to their problematic aspect(s), but you're right that it may not always be germane in a discussion *of a single story*. That said, no online discussion of a story by a particular author would be complete without a link to more about that author.

[sean o'hara (from livejournal.com)]

That said, no online discussion of a story by a particular author would be complete without a link to more about that author.

Happens all the time. Unless the author is prominent, most readers don't know anything about the person who wrote the book they're reading, and even then they probably only know the author's other works and maybe the things mentioned in the bio at the end of the book.