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Fantasy News Annual, v. 7, issue 1, whole no. 150, July 27, 1941

31858063099257_007

FANTASY NEWS     SPECIAL FEATURE SECTION    Page Seven

ABOUT SPACEWAYS
by Harry Warner, Jr.

[text in two columns] 
[first column] When Jack Speer said in "Up To Now", his history of stfandom that Spaceways helped usher in some sort of "new era" is fanazines, I was quite pleased. Since the whole story of just how all this happened has not been told, it might of interest to the readers of FANTASY NEWS to know the details of the association of Spaceways with the beginnings of the "new era". 
Of course, this does not mean that without Spaceways, the fan field would be radically different from what it is today. That change was bound to come. It was the reaction to the reaction--after the collaspe of Fantasy Magazine, fandom became so small and closely knit it resembled a Wednesday Afternoon Sewing Circle. The fanazines for a year or so reflected it. When new blood started to seep into the field and older fans began quitting, then (those who had not been dragged down with FM, that is) the newer fans were not interested in the "personals" so much. After the intimate nature of fanazines that came as a reaction to the near professional attitude of Fantasy Magazine, the Science Fiction Critic, and others, the change back to a wider view of things was inevitable.
Anyway, when James S. Avery and the writer thought of putting out a fanazine, we were unknown in fandom. We had written letters to the pros, had some published, read some fanazines, corresponded, and all that. But we had not the slightest interest in the full details of, for instance, what kind of beer Madle *and Baltadonis* drank while reading ASTOUNDING, and we did not give a hoot in hades when a fanazine reported that so-and-so had hit the jackpot with a slot machine. Feuds interested us even less. All we knew of them was the little we had garnered (next C.) 
*prominent stfans of Philadelphia.

[second column] from fanazine and the letter sections of the pros. The one thing we did notice was that when fans started arguing bitterly, they pretty regularly dropped out of the field. If they happened to be publishers of fanazines, the fanazines went with them. We noticed such feuds usually resulted from science fiction, religion, and politics. We did not want our projected fanazine to collapse. It would not be a fanazine if there were nothing in it about stf. But But we thought - and it was a revolutionary idea at the time! - that it was a thoroughly possible to fill a magazine without letting politics, religion, and similar controversial subjects get mixed up with it. Maybe that would keep said fanazine going, we hoped.
Well, a few other ginks like us happened to be in much the same state of affairs at the time. I believe Spaceways was the first fanazine to come out with a definite announcement of refusal to publish "controversial" stuff. But that change was just simply bound to come. And any time fandom becomes too absorbed in itself in the future this writer is not going to worry. As long as new blood continues to come in from the outsiders, a balance will be assured.
One thing might be mentioned to clear up any possible misunderstanding. I am very positively not opposed to controversial material. That would be rediculous; a very large proportion of a normal person's time is occupied with "controversial" things, aand you can not ignore them and lead a sane life. Whether we like it or not, we have to have definite ideas about politics and where there is something beyond death. What is objectionable is tossing them into publications designed to talk about science fiction and sold as (Con. P. 11)

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FANTASY NEWS SPECIAL FEATURE SECTION Page Seven ABOUT SPACEWAYS by Harry Warner, Jr. [text in two columns] [first column] When Jack Speer said in "Up To Now", his history of stfandom that Spaceways helped usher in some sort of "new era" is fanazines, I was quite pleased. Since the whole story of just how all this happened has not been told, it might of interest to the readers of FANTASY NEWS to know the details of the association of Spaceways with the beginnings of the "new era". Of course, this does not mean that without Spaceways, the fan field would be radically different from what it is today. That change was bound to come. It was the reaction to the reaction--after the collaspe of Fantasy Magazine, fandom became so small and closely knit it resembled a Wednesday Afternoon Sewing Circle. The fanazines for a year or so reflected it. When new blood started to seep into the field and older fans began quitting, then (those who had not been dragged down with FM, that is) the newer fans were not interested in the "personals" so much. After the intimate nature of fanazines that came as a reaction to the near professional attitude of Fantasy Magazine, the Science Fiction Critic, and others, the change back to a wider view of things was inevitable. Anyway, when James S. Avery and the writer thought of putting out a fanazine, we were unknown in fandom. We had written letters to the pros, had some published, read some fanazines, corresponded, and all that. But we had not the slightest interest in the full details of, for instance, what kind of beer Madle *and Baltadonis* drank while reading ASTOUNDING, and we did not give a hoot in hades when a fanazine reported that so-and-so had hit the jackpot with a slot machine. Feuds interested us even less. All we knew of them was the little we had garnered (next C.) *prominent stfans of Philadelphia. [second column] from fanazine and the letter sections of the pros. The one thing we did notice was that when fans started arguing bitterly, they pretty regularly dropped out of the field. If they happened to be publishers of fanazines, the fanazines went with them. We noticed such feuds usually resulted from science fiction, religion, and politics. We did not want our projected fanazine to collapse. It would not be a fanazine if there were nothing in it about stf. But But we thought - and it was a revolutionary idea at the time! - that it was a thoroughly possible to fill a magazine without letting politics, religion, and similar controversial subjects get mixed up with it. Maybe that would keep said fanazine going, we hoped. Well, a few other ginks like us happened to be in much the same state of affairs at the time. I believe Spaceways was the first fanazine to come out with a definite announcement of refusal to publish "controversial" stuff. But that change was just simply bound to come. And any time fandom becomes too absorbed in itself in the future this writer is not going to worry. As long as new blood continues to come in from the outsiders, a balance will be assured. One thing might be mentioned to clear up any possible misunderstanding. I am very positively not opposed to controversial material. That would be rediculous; a very large proportion of a normal person's time is occupied with "controversial" things, aand you can not ignore them and lead a sane life. Whether we like it or not, we have to have definite ideas about politics and where there is something beyond death. What is objectionable is tossing them into publications designed to talk about science fiction and sold as (Con. P. 11)