DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Variant, v. 1, issue 3, September 1947

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Variant, v. 1, issue 3, September 1947

Page 41

teacher and during the summer is running his studio and giving lessons to private students, and working on the book on wee, -ends. In the fall he will have the job as band instructor at the largest high school in Pasadena, a hundred piece band, at that. Paul has an enviable collection of books.
At last Argus has published J.O. Bailey's Pilgrims Through Time and Space. The book is quite good, too. I had been expecting to see something on the order of a list of books with a few words about each one--and I had visions of a very incomplete list. So I was rather pleasantly surprised when I saw what it actually was. Instead of telling about all of the books of an author, he picks out one that fits with the topic of the chapter. By the way, George O. Smith received quite a bit of space for his short story Identity. This story was actually one of the Venus Equilateral series, but it does not appear in the forthcoming books because it does not concern any of the principle characters.
I was a visitor at the last two meetings of the Eastern Science Fiction Association at Newark. Two speakers in a row from the PSFS, which is a record of some sort. They were Lex Phillips and George O. Smith. The meetings were very interesting and we all had a good time. The ESFA is an enthusiastic and growing group, and among the members are such well known people as Thomas E. Gardner, A. Langley Searles, Sam Moskowitz, Jimmy Taurasi, Alvin Brown, Alex Osheroff, and a lot of other familiar names. A large group of them will be attending the Philcon.
As I write this the Philcon is only two weeks off. Everything that has to be done is now done. Anything I write here concerning it is decidedly out of place. So, all I can say here is that I am glad to be here and I am glad to see you all. Spme of you are old friends of mine; some of you I have yer to meet. But at any rate, hello.
Recently I was laid up for a couple of weeks and I did a lot of reading. First the Grey Lensman series. I must confess that I had only read the first one before, but I certainly did miss something by letting them go till I had the time. Then I read The Moon Pool and Ship of Ishtar and I still say Merritt was terrific. They are just as good as when they were first written so many years ago.
A recent gathering at my home (while I was under orders to stay in bed) was quite a significant one. Lloyde Eshbach came down from Reading with the news that they hoped to have two books ready for Philcon, The Forbidden Garden and another the title of which he would not reveal, a surprise. George O. Smith, Jim Williams, Milt Rothman, and my brother, Sid, of the merchant marine. Quite a gabfest that hot Sunday afternoon. We discussed everything. Authors, publishers, (guess which two were most popular) stories, people, the Philcon, and whatnot. Even a few shady stories got by.
L. Sprague De Camp recently donated to the club several original drawings, manuscripts and books. His new book is at last completed and is now in the hands of the publishers. This tremendous work is on the superstitions of mankind and a number of chapters were presented to the club in talks in the past. There are approximately 190,000 words in it, which is a lot of writing. Now that work is out of the way, he will be back to work again writing more fiction.
George O. Smith has the unusual and unexpected distinction of being the first author to get away with a shady joke in one of his stories. He heard it, andpassed it on to the editor in that manner, expecting it to be blue penciled. It wasn't. Some readers didn't get it at all when they read the story--others caught on immediately and roared. Are congratulations due you, George?
Well, as so many columnists say, " See you next issue."
(41)

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teacher and during the summer is running his studio and giving lessons to private students, and working on the book on wee, -ends. In the fall he will have the job as band instructor at the largest high school in Pasadena, a hundred piece band, at that. Paul has an enviable collection of books. At last Argus has published J.O. Bailey's Pilgrims Through Time and Space. The book is quite good, too. I had been expecting to see something on the order of a list of books with a few words about each one--and I had visions of a very incomplete list. So I was rather pleasantly surprised when I saw what it actually was. Instead of telling about all of the books of an author, he picks out one that fits with the topic of the chapter. By the way, George O. Smith received quite a bit of space for his short story Identity. This story was actually one of the Venus Equilateral series, but it does not appear in the forthcoming books because it does not concern any of the principle characters. I was a visitor at the last two meetings of the Eastern Science Fiction Association at Newark. Two speakers in a row from the PSFS, which is a record of some sort. They were Lex Phillips and George O. Smith. The meetings were very interesting and we all had a good time. The ESFA is an enthusiastic and growing group, and among the members are such well known people as Thomas E. Gardner, A. Langley Searles, Sam Moskowitz, Jimmy Taurasi, Alvin Brown, Alex Osheroff, and a lot of other familiar names. A large group of them will be attending the Philcon. As I write this the Philcon is only two weeks off. Everything that has to be done is now done. Anything I write here concerning it is decidedly out of place. So, all I can say here is that I am glad to be here and I am glad to see you all. Spme of you are old friends of mine; some of you I have yer to meet. But at any rate, hello. Recently I was laid up for a couple of weeks and I did a lot of reading. First the Grey Lensman series. I must confess that I had only read the first one before, but I certainly did miss something by letting them go till I had the time. Then I read The Moon Pool and Ship of Ishtar and I still say Merritt was terrific. They are just as good as when they were first written so many years ago. A recent gathering at my home (while I was under orders to stay in bed) was quite a significant one. Lloyde Eshbach came down from Reading with the news that they hoped to have two books ready for Philcon, The Forbidden Garden and another the title of which he would not reveal, a surprise. George O. Smith, Jim Williams, Milt Rothman, and my brother, Sid, of the merchant marine. Quite a gabfest that hot Sunday afternoon. We discussed everything. Authors, publishers, (guess which two were most popular) stories, people, the Philcon, and whatnot. Even a few shady stories got by. L. Sprague De Camp recently donated to the club several original drawings, manuscripts and books. His new book is at last completed and is now in the hands of the publishers. This tremendous work is on the superstitions of mankind and a number of chapters were presented to the club in talks in the past. There are approximately 190,000 words in it, which is a lot of writing. Now that work is out of the way, he will be back to work again writing more fiction. George O. Smith has the unusual and unexpected distinction of being the first author to get away with a shady joke in one of his stories. He heard it, andpassed it on to the editor in that manner, expecting it to be blue penciled. It wasn't. Some readers didn't get it at all when they read the story--others caught on immediately and roared. Are congratulations due you, George? Well, as so many columnists say, " See you next issue." (41)