Discovering the amateur press in 1914, Lovecraft immediately flooded the many small papers of his friends and colleagues with contributions discussing the nature, purpose, and future of amateur journalism. He also edited his own magazine, The Conservative (1915-23), filling it with additional essays. In these articles Lovecraft discusses the conflict between the United and the National Amateur Press Associations; the "halcyon days" of the amateur movement (1885-95); and the "needs and betterment" of the amateur cause. We read of Lovecraft's bitter feuds with his fellow amateurs; his exhaustive critiques of their writing; and, most poignant of all, his touching affirmation of "What Amateurdom and I Have Done for Each Other," in which he concludes simply: "What Amateur Journalism has given me is—life itself." All texts are exhaustively annotated, with critical and bibliographical notes, by S.T. Joshi.H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) has belatedly achieved universal recognition as the twentieth century’s premier author of supernatural fiction. Poet, essayist, philosopher, and man of letters, Lovecraft’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and is widely available in numerous annotated editions. S.T. Joshi is a leading authority on Lovecraft and the author of an exhaustive biography, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996). He has prepared many annotated editions of Lovecraft’s fiction, poetry, essays, and letters, along with such critical studies as H.P. Lovecraft: The Decline of the West (1990) and A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft (1996). He has also done critical and editorial work on Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, Ambrose Bierce, and H.L. Mencken.