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FMS Digest, v. 1, issues 1-5, February - July 1941

v.1:no.1: Page 6

Page 6     F M Z DIGEST

A WREATH FOR LOVECRAFT

By August Derleth

Condensed from FRONTIER
February, 1941

It seems incredible that H. P. Lovecraft will have been dead four years, because the impact of his personality still lingers, and in these troubled times, there are many who would give much for a breath of his refreshing philosophy. There is no promise on the horizon in letters to challenge Lovecraft's position as the foremost master of the macabre in our time.
I have been asked why Lovecraft was a great writer. I think the answer is patent in his work. If readers fail to discern Lovecraft's greatness in his work, the fault lies not in Lovecraft.
It is difficult to say what makes a man great; it is not a simple thing, a formula to be learned and sought for. Lovecraft was a gentleman, a keen thinker and a scholar, a man whose temperate broadmindedness and tolerance would, if nothing else, have by their quality alone have made him a great man, quite apart from his work. It is too often assumed quite wrongly that a great man must of necessity be someone all the world knows. But the fact is that many great men are not known at all.
The greatness of a man exists in direct proportion to his perspective and balance; for an invalid, H. P. Lovecraft had remarkable perspective and balance. He was always tolerant of the most radical opinion; he spent interminable hours setting forth is views and so helping others to a better perspective on life.
It is unquestionably true that if he had not given so much of his time, there might exist a larger body of Lovecraft work than there is. If he had been less generous, there might have been more work; if there had been more work, Lovecraft might not have been the great writer he undeniably was.
Those who knew Lovecraft and those who know his work have come through; it rests now with those people to help us make H. P. L. even more widely known.

WELLS OF

By
Forrest J Ackerman

One hundred years from now, a gigantic statue to H. G. Wells will be unveiled at the summit of Mt. Everest. This is a recorded prediction. The inscription will read, "Prophet and Seer, the founder of the modern state, first of civilized men."
Science may make such strides in the prologation of life that I may live to see that statue. And I think there may be tears in my eyes as I recall that grand old man, the fact that I met him in my youth.
I Have Recently Shaken Hands With H. G. Wells! The experience, if you will pardon the pun, has left me a shaken fan. I saw WELLS and heard him speak and he autographed "The Shape of Things To Come" for me and shook hands with me!
Mr. Wells' announced topic for lecture was "The Future of Mankind"; he defined his speech, which was read from manuscript, as "Two Hemispheres: One World."
The lecture was delivered in Los Angeles, attended in a party by the Robert Heinleins, Morojo and myself.
The lecture itself I approach with some trepidation, for I forsook my habit of taking notes, to concentrate on the speaker.
"I am going to towk to you for about an ow-uh," he began, and the first acquaintance with his voice was quite shock. It is high, falsetto, frequently cracks; but one suspects it to be quite natural, the nature of his voice rather than an attribute of age, for though wells is now 74, he appears much more the reverse, like 47.
He began by reminding how since the turn of the century, with the advent of speed, distance has radically diminished, been practically eliminated. From one country to another is but a neighborly distance. But we are not neighborly. East is Wes, and West is East, and they're coming together with a bang!

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Page 6 F M Z DIGEST A WREATH FOR LOVECRAFT By August Derleth Condensed from FRONTIER February, 1941 It seems incredible that H. P. Lovecraft will have been dead four years, because the impact of his personality still lingers, and in these troubled times, there are many who would give much for a breath of his refreshing philosophy. There is no promise on the horizon in letters to challenge Lovecraft's position as the foremost master of the macabre in our time. I have been asked why Lovecraft was a great writer. I think the answer is patent in his work. If readers fail to discern Lovecraft's greatness in his work, the fault lies not in Lovecraft. It is difficult to say what makes a man great; it is not a simple thing, a formula to be learned and sought for. Lovecraft was a gentleman, a keen thinker and a scholar, a man whose temperate broadmindedness and tolerance would, if nothing else, have by their quality alone have made him a great man, quite apart from his work. It is too often assumed quite wrongly that a great man must of necessity be someone all the world knows. But the fact is that many great men are not known at all. The greatness of a man exists in direct proportion to his perspective and balance; for an invalid, H. P. Lovecraft had remarkable perspective and balance. He was always tolerant of the most radical opinion; he spent interminable hours setting forth is views and so helping others to a better perspective on life. It is unquestionably true that if he had not given so much of his time, there might exist a larger body of Lovecraft work than there is. If he had been less generous, there might have been more work; if there had been more work, Lovecraft might not have been the great writer he undeniably was. Those who knew Lovecraft and those who know his work have come through; it rests now with those people to help us make H. P. L. even more widely known. WELLS OF By Forrest J Ackerman One hundred years from now, a gigantic statue to H. G. Wells will be unveiled at the summit of Mt. Everest. This is a recorded prediction. The inscription will read, "Prophet and Seer, the founder of the modern state, first of civilized men." Science may make such strides in the prologation of life that I may live to see that statue. And I think there may be tears in my eyes as I recall that grand old man, the fact that I met him in my youth. I Have Recently Shaken Hands With H. G. Wells! The experience, if you will pardon the pun, has left me a shaken fan. I saw WELLS and heard him speak and he autographed "The Shape of Things To Come" for me and shook hands with me! Mr. Wells' announced topic for lecture was "The Future of Mankind"; he defined his speech, which was read from manuscript, as "Two Hemispheres: One World." The lecture was delivered in Los Angeles, attended in a party by the Robert Heinleins, Morojo and myself. The lecture itself I approach with some trepidation, for I forsook my habit of taking notes, to concentrate on the speaker. "I am going to towk to you for about an ow-uh," he began, and the first acquaintance with his voice was quite shock. It is high, falsetto, frequently cracks; but one suspects it to be quite natural, the nature of his voice rather than an attribute of age, for though wells is now 74, he appears much more the reverse, like 47. He began by reminding how since the turn of the century, with the advent of speed, distance has radically diminished, been practically eliminated. From one country to another is but a neighborly distance. But we are not neighborly. East is Wes, and West is East, and they're coming together with a bang!