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Fantasite, v. 2, issue 3, whole no. 9, August-September 1942

Page 8

8....................................................THE FANTASITE

   The war may temporarily hamstring pulp fantasy, especially if victory does not come for four or five years. But no catastrophe has yet killed fantasy, which is undoubtedly the oldest branch of literature in the world, and one that is destined to continue long after many other forms of fiction have disappeared. 
   Fantasy began ages earlier than the time of the Arabian Nights and the classical myths. Go to the source of the fairy tale, legend, and saga, and you will discover, too, the source of fantasy.
   The birth of fantasy antedates the invention of writing, and even the art of story-telling. It was born with man's capacity of imagination. When the first prehistoric savage paid crude homage to the imagined spirit of a giant tree, fantasy came to life. When the caveman imaginatively peopled the forest night with hostile alien beings, fantasy was already a sprightly adolescent.
   During its early lifetime, fantasy was inseparably linked with pagan religion. It grew from the ignorant savage's attempt to explain the strange forces and wonders of this world--the Unknown World whose frontiers began in the very fire which flamed at the mouth of his cave. Today that barrier of the supernatural has been forced back, but the onslaught of science has yet to conquer fully that last frontier.
   That is why fantasy cannot be counted out, whatever the tragic event. Mankind, like its personification, Tennyson's restless Ulysses, is the constant adventurer. Yet we have quite thoroughly exhausted every physical frontier on the planet. All that is left for us are the frontiers of the Unknown--whether those of medicine, science, or the firgin frontier of the starways.
   Speculation regarding these strange barriers is certain to increase steadily as life on this staid world becomes more and more secure. When war is successfully abolished--after this current conflict, Heaven assenting!--there will be scarcely any place for a young man to risk his foolish life.
   Until one practical--and undoubtedly foolhardy--rocket-flyer reaches the Moon, the impractical dreamers will feed their pioneering instinct by picturing such an event through the medium of science-fiction. Our favorite literature should therefore not only survive, but should have an unprecedented boom.
   Of course, after the celestial frontier is finally opened, literature will have a heavy trend of gory, romantic tales of extraterrestrial adventure.
   Future man, like modern man, will read fantasy concerning the supernatural--not necessarily because he believes in ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc., but because he is interested in the fight science is waging to explain the Unknown. 
   But why won't Western fiction, for example, similarly increase in popularity? It would seem that these stories, dealing with the frontier of mountains, plains, and revers, would be popular in a frontierless age.
   However, despite the heavy stacks of Westerns on the newsstands, I believe these magazines are due for a huge drop in circulation. Glorified accounts of a vanished frontier are scant solace for the youth of today who is so fully intrigued by whirring machinery and roaring airplanes.
   Perhaps some day science-fiction will supplant Westerns in popularity. There are several cowboy magazines which come out weekly, and even more appear monthly. Fantasy boasts of only four monthly magazines; the rest are bi-monthly or quarterly. It has a long way to go before it wins enough followers to support a weekly publication.
   In the book field, too, fantasy is possessed of relatively slight support. Among the popular, cheaper books, mysteries and Westerns vie for leadership, with not even a faint challenge by science-fiction. Few drugstore libraries own more than one or two fantasies of any sort--even by such well-known authors as Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells.
   Returning to a more pertinent subject; I believe fantasy in the future will continue to be essentially "escape" literature. People hungering for adventure will have small use for sociological theses masquerading as stories. Thoroughly logical speculation on the many aspects of space-travel may, however,

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8....................................................THE FANTASITE The war may temporarily hamstring pulp fantasy, especially if victory does not come for four or five years. But no catastrophe has yet killed fantasy, which is undoubtedly the oldest branch of literature in the world, and one that is destined to continue long after many other forms of fiction have disappeared. Fantasy began ages earlier than the time of the Arabian Nights and the classical myths. Go to the source of the fairy tale, legend, and saga, and you will discover, too, the source of fantasy. The birth of fantasy antedates the invention of writing, and even the art of story-telling. It was born with man's capacity of imagination. When the first prehistoric savage paid crude homage to the imagined spirit of a giant tree, fantasy came to life. When the caveman imaginatively peopled the forest night with hostile alien beings, fantasy was already a sprightly adolescent. During its early lifetime, fantasy was inseparably linked with pagan religion. It grew from the ignorant savage's attempt to explain the strange forces and wonders of this world--the Unknown World whose frontiers began in the very fire which flamed at the mouth of his cave. Today that barrier of the supernatural has been forced back, but the onslaught of science has yet to conquer fully that last frontier. That is why fantasy cannot be counted out, whatever the tragic event. Mankind, like its personification, Tennyson's restless Ulysses, is the constant adventurer. Yet we have quite thoroughly exhausted every physical frontier on the planet. All that is left for us are the frontiers of the Unknown--whether those of medicine, science, or the firgin frontier of the starways. Speculation regarding these strange barriers is certain to increase steadily as life on this staid world becomes more and more secure. When war is successfully abolished--after this current conflict, Heaven assenting!--there will be scarcely any place for a young man to risk his foolish life. Until one practical--and undoubtedly foolhardy--rocket-flyer reaches the Moon, the impractical dreamers will feed their pioneering instinct by picturing such an event through the medium of science-fiction. Our favorite literature should therefore not only survive, but should have an unprecedented boom. Of course, after the celestial frontier is finally opened, literature will have a heavy trend of gory, romantic tales of extraterrestrial adventure. Future man, like modern man, will read fantasy concerning the supernatural--not necessarily because he believes in ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc., but because he is interested in the fight science is waging to explain the Unknown. But why won't Western fiction, for example, similarly increase in popularity? It would seem that these stories, dealing with the frontier of mountains, plains, and revers, would be popular in a frontierless age. However, despite the heavy stacks of Westerns on the newsstands, I believe these magazines are due for a huge drop in circulation. Glorified accounts of a vanished frontier are scant solace for the youth of today who is so fully intrigued by whirring machinery and roaring airplanes. Perhaps some day science-fiction will supplant Westerns in popularity. There are several cowboy magazines which come out weekly, and even more appear monthly. Fantasy boasts of only four monthly magazines; the rest are bi-monthly or quarterly. It has a long way to go before it wins enough followers to support a weekly publication. In the book field, too, fantasy is possessed of relatively slight support. Among the popular, cheaper books, mysteries and Westerns vie for leadership, with not even a faint challenge by science-fiction. Few drugstore libraries own more than one or two fantasies of any sort--even by such well-known authors as Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells. Returning to a more pertinent subject; I believe fantasy in the future will continue to be essentially "escape" literature. People hungering for adventure will have small use for sociological theses masquerading as stories. Thoroughly logical speculation on the many aspects of space-travel may, however,