DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Voice of the Imagination (VOM), whole no. 9, October 1940

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Voice of the Imagination (VOM), whole no. 9, October 1940

Page 4

a fantasy fan among the pro-eds takes time out to rite us co-eds: "Dear Voice; Although i am only 24 years old, i have read your magazine since the first issue. This is the first time i have ever written to an all-letter science-fiction fan magazine. i think your material is good. your cover is good. the table of contents is good. but your so-called 'Ackermanese' stinks. i don't like to see this happen to the English language. i am in favor of the english language. i have spoken the english language in its popular, Webster-like manner for a good many years. now i will tell you what i think of science-fiction fans: i like them. they are nice people, especially when they write nice letters to the science-fiction editors. however, they must be seen to be appreciated (the fans, as well as the letters). why don't you get Paul for your covers? i think they should be done in eight colors, and a few miscellaneous pastel shades. i don't see why you can't have pictures of at least four colors on every other page of Voice. i don't think it would cost much. how about a few letters from H. G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs? i am sure that they would be only too glad to write for you. i am planning to introduce Voice into all the elementary schools in my home town. so please send along a few sample copies that i can give to my teachers to show them what a wonderful thing a science-fiction fan magazine is, and how it can educate in every school-room in the country. (Thanx for changing that "p" to "sch"; but why just the country- wouldnt u like to see Voice in every school-room in the city, too?) - I am planning to start a science-fiction club. i read a lot of scince-fiction, so the idea came to me in a flash one night - 'Why not start a club for people who read science-fiction?' Don't you think this is a good idea? (Sorry, chum, this was tryd in LA; & on their 152d meeting they were able to get together only 39 persons over a period of 5 hrs, so it looks like the club idea just won't work out.) please send me a list of your readers, by special delivery air mail, so that i can get busy and let everybody know that i am starting a club. as soon as things are organized, i plan to give every member a two-foot lapel button with neon sign attachment. Then my members can be easily identified in dark alleys. ~ Keep up the good work! Sincerely, Charles D. Hornig." ( Tell us, Charlie, just what are your members doing in dark alleys?! The neon sign arrangement sounds nice enuf for the average well-to-do American; but what about the poor Mexican, does he wear (u gassed it!) a peon sign?)
Flighty fan (top-flighty!) Harry Warner JR of 303 Bryan Pl, Hagerstown Md, voices his August (21st, 1940) opinion; "Co-eds: The august Voice has been received. It has been read, and now my typewriter takes me in hand and i write what might pass for a letter. ('My typewriter takes me in hand' is inspired by Bill Temple's remark - 'The English language's command of Alan Roberts,' which is hereby nominated the best fan crack of 1940.) ~~ Suggestion: why don't you date the letters that appear in the Voice? ( We'd rather date some their senders, after meeting them at the Chicon!) If you'd append to them the date on which they were written, it would help clear up the time element in which in some cases is a bit confusing. for instance, was Rothman's letter on p. 16 written before or after Hitler started through France? i don't know whether he's merely being amusing or very subtly satirical; it all depends. (Seriously, we consider your suggestion a worthy one, & henceforward we'll include date of such letters- provided date was given- as we deem necessary for clear understanding.) - incidentally, if Bill Temple's letter was handwritten, as things seem to indicate, how come the eccentric spacing? do you use a ruler to determine whether he'd have skipped a space n typing if it had been typed because he put the comma in some cases an extra space after the previous work, like that, or what? ( we were doing it by eye but since have decided it was praps a bitoomuch of a good thing & henceforward in handwritten letters will give their authors the benefit of the dout that had they been typt out they woud have spaced in the standard manner, unless we hapn to noe the fan in question habitually single-spaces after periods, or triple spaces, or spaces not at all.) - The ad for Astonishing says; 'Science Fiction's Only Dime Magazine. inside back coveradvertises Famous Fantastic Mysteries at a dime, huh? Maybe FFM is comsidered fantasy, though. ~~ Paul Freehafer's troubles are as naught compared with mine. I have my fan magazines in two different places, science fiction magazines in three cupboards and a closet, books in an entirely different place, and I'm not sure just where ,y excerpts and miscellaneous stuff are at the moment. Further, my files of letters are beginning to pile up. I now have three good-sized boxes full of the things ( each box holds about six hundred or more, i supposed) and another one's practically full- or will be in another six or eight weeks. Then the

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a fantasy fan among the pro-eds takes time out to rite us co-eds: "Dear Voice; Although i am only 24 years old, i have read your magazine since the first issue. This is the first time i have ever written to an all-letter science-fiction fan magazine. i think your material is good. your cover is good. the table of contents is good. but your so-called 'Ackermanese' stinks. i don't like to see this happen to the English language. i am in favor of the english language. i have spoken the english language in its popular, Webster-like manner for a good many years. now i will tell you what i think of science-fiction fans: i like them. they are nice people, especially when they write nice letters to the science-fiction editors. however, they must be seen to be appreciated (the fans, as well as the letters). why don't you get Paul for your covers? i think they should be done in eight colors, and a few miscellaneous pastel shades. i don't see why you can't have pictures of at least four colors on every other page of Voice. i don't think it would cost much. how about a few letters from H. G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs? i am sure that they would be only too glad to write for you. i am planning to introduce Voice into all the elementary schools in my home town. so please send along a few sample copies that i can give to my teachers to show them what a wonderful thing a science-fiction fan magazine is, and how it can educate in every school-room in the country. (Thanx for changing that "p" to "sch"; but why just the country- wouldnt u like to see Voice in every school-room in the city, too?) - I am planning to start a science-fiction club. i read a lot of scince-fiction, so the idea came to me in a flash one night - 'Why not start a club for people who read science-fiction?' Don't you think this is a good idea? (Sorry, chum, this was tryd in LA; & on their 152d meeting they were able to get together only 39 persons over a period of 5 hrs, so it looks like the club idea just won't work out.) please send me a list of your readers, by special delivery air mail, so that i can get busy and let everybody know that i am starting a club. as soon as things are organized, i plan to give every member a two-foot lapel button with neon sign attachment. Then my members can be easily identified in dark alleys. ~ Keep up the good work! Sincerely, Charles D. Hornig." ( Tell us, Charlie, just what are your members doing in dark alleys?! The neon sign arrangement sounds nice enuf for the average well-to-do American; but what about the poor Mexican, does he wear (u gassed it!) a peon sign?) Flighty fan (top-flighty!) Harry Warner JR of 303 Bryan Pl, Hagerstown Md, voices his August (21st, 1940) opinion; "Co-eds: The august Voice has been received. It has been read, and now my typewriter takes me in hand and i write what might pass for a letter. ('My typewriter takes me in hand' is inspired by Bill Temple's remark - 'The English language's command of Alan Roberts,' which is hereby nominated the best fan crack of 1940.) ~~ Suggestion: why don't you date the letters that appear in the Voice? ( We'd rather date some their senders, after meeting them at the Chicon!) If you'd append to them the date on which they were written, it would help clear up the time element in which in some cases is a bit confusing. for instance, was Rothman's letter on p. 16 written before or after Hitler started through France? i don't know whether he's merely being amusing or very subtly satirical; it all depends. (Seriously, we consider your suggestion a worthy one, & henceforward we'll include date of such letters- provided date was given- as we deem necessary for clear understanding.) - incidentally, if Bill Temple's letter was handwritten, as things seem to indicate, how come the eccentric spacing? do you use a ruler to determine whether he'd have skipped a space n typing if it had been typed because he put the comma in some cases an extra space after the previous work, like that, or what? ( we were doing it by eye but since have decided it was praps a bitoomuch of a good thing & henceforward in handwritten letters will give their authors the benefit of the dout that had they been typt out they woud have spaced in the standard manner, unless we hapn to noe the fan in question habitually single-spaces after periods, or triple spaces, or spaces not at all.) - The ad for Astonishing says; 'Science Fiction's Only Dime Magazine. inside back coveradvertises Famous Fantastic Mysteries at a dime, huh? Maybe FFM is comsidered fantasy, though. ~~ Paul Freehafer's troubles are as naught compared with mine. I have my fan magazines in two different places, science fiction magazines in three cupboards and a closet, books in an entirely different place, and I'm not sure just where ,y excerpts and miscellaneous stuff are at the moment. Further, my files of letters are beginning to pile up. I now have three good-sized boxes full of the things ( each box holds about six hundred or more, i supposed) and another one's practically full- or will be in another six or eight weeks. Then the