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Fantasy Comentator, v. 1, issue 1, December 1943
Page 2
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2 FANTASY COMMENTATOR This-'n'-That This magazine being of the volume-one-number-one variety, perhaps some little explaining should be undertaken before I proceed to a more detailed discussion of the items included in this particular issue. First of all, policy: to begin with, I have always been under the impression that the Fantasy Amateur Press Association was intended to be devoted in the main to fantasy items; and, although a perusal of the last mailing shows conclusive evidence that many of its present members have somehow failed to arrive at such a conclusion, I still see no reason to undergo a change of mind. The Fantasy Commentator, therefore, will probably continue with its present conservative policy of 100% fantasy material until the reformation of its editor and publisher is more advance than at present. Conservatism, too, will be the watchword as far as diction is concerned. If you are looking for a magazine with phonetic spelling, Esperanto, or simply out-and-out misspelling (a la Ackerman) this is not the one for you; try another. I believe it is possible to obey the simple rules of grammar, and yet to maintain a conversational style of writing if the latter is desired. Stuffiness of context is not necessarily a corollary to obedience to forms of established correctness. As to the regularity of appearance, I can promise nothing definite--- as long as my spare time and 2A draft status hold out I shall continue with both this magazine and the bibliography. But since my work this Winter is certain to prevent the rapid issuance of either, I hope that those who have been kindly appreciative will bear with me patiently. More specifically as regards subject matter, I hope to be able to continue the policy as is shown by the contents of this issue: mainly books. While interests in the field of fantasy in Britain have centered largely on books (because books are easily and cheaply available there, and magazines aren't) trends in America appear to have kept the magazine in the forefront as exemplifying the field. Books have not been given the attention in this country that they richly deserve, and it is my hope to aid the efforts of Mssrs. Koenig and Liebscher in this respect. Considerable good fortune has attended the collecting efforts of your editor in book-accumulation during the past few years, which has enabled me to enlarge my collection to well over seven hundred volumes. With this fund to draw from, and with the information at hand gained in various quarters by bibliographical research, it is hoped that each future issue will be of approximately the same length as this, and contain at least one long article concerning an interesting phase of fantasy books. The scope of this issue's long article on certain writings of Edward Frederick Benson is narrow, and purposely so. I felt that to attempt an adequate treatment of both his short stories and novels would result in either a piece of work that was far too long to be interest-sustaining or else one which, by reason of its attempt to cover too much ground, would leave an impression of careless organization of the author's material. Therefore Benson's novels have been put aside for a possible later discussion, should comments received on this article indicate a favorable reception. Although many---in fact, most---American readers of fantasy seem to be unaware of the fact, they may get copies of current British-published books without depending on slow and not-always sure trans-Atlantic mails. This is accomplished by patronizing Canadian distributers, who have available many books of a fantastic nature at the present time. To check on the availability of a given title, simply consult the latest supplementary editions to the U.S. Catalog of Printed Books at your local library. Wherever a Canadian distributer handles a particular book his name is given, and by consulting the appendix on can easily determine his address. For example, I obtained a copy of Stapleton's latest novel Darkness and the Light soon after its British appearance through S. J. Regin- (continued on page 14)
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2 FANTASY COMMENTATOR This-'n'-That This magazine being of the volume-one-number-one variety, perhaps some little explaining should be undertaken before I proceed to a more detailed discussion of the items included in this particular issue. First of all, policy: to begin with, I have always been under the impression that the Fantasy Amateur Press Association was intended to be devoted in the main to fantasy items; and, although a perusal of the last mailing shows conclusive evidence that many of its present members have somehow failed to arrive at such a conclusion, I still see no reason to undergo a change of mind. The Fantasy Commentator, therefore, will probably continue with its present conservative policy of 100% fantasy material until the reformation of its editor and publisher is more advance than at present. Conservatism, too, will be the watchword as far as diction is concerned. If you are looking for a magazine with phonetic spelling, Esperanto, or simply out-and-out misspelling (a la Ackerman) this is not the one for you; try another. I believe it is possible to obey the simple rules of grammar, and yet to maintain a conversational style of writing if the latter is desired. Stuffiness of context is not necessarily a corollary to obedience to forms of established correctness. As to the regularity of appearance, I can promise nothing definite--- as long as my spare time and 2A draft status hold out I shall continue with both this magazine and the bibliography. But since my work this Winter is certain to prevent the rapid issuance of either, I hope that those who have been kindly appreciative will bear with me patiently. More specifically as regards subject matter, I hope to be able to continue the policy as is shown by the contents of this issue: mainly books. While interests in the field of fantasy in Britain have centered largely on books (because books are easily and cheaply available there, and magazines aren't) trends in America appear to have kept the magazine in the forefront as exemplifying the field. Books have not been given the attention in this country that they richly deserve, and it is my hope to aid the efforts of Mssrs. Koenig and Liebscher in this respect. Considerable good fortune has attended the collecting efforts of your editor in book-accumulation during the past few years, which has enabled me to enlarge my collection to well over seven hundred volumes. With this fund to draw from, and with the information at hand gained in various quarters by bibliographical research, it is hoped that each future issue will be of approximately the same length as this, and contain at least one long article concerning an interesting phase of fantasy books. The scope of this issue's long article on certain writings of Edward Frederick Benson is narrow, and purposely so. I felt that to attempt an adequate treatment of both his short stories and novels would result in either a piece of work that was far too long to be interest-sustaining or else one which, by reason of its attempt to cover too much ground, would leave an impression of careless organization of the author's material. Therefore Benson's novels have been put aside for a possible later discussion, should comments received on this article indicate a favorable reception. Although many---in fact, most---American readers of fantasy seem to be unaware of the fact, they may get copies of current British-published books without depending on slow and not-always sure trans-Atlantic mails. This is accomplished by patronizing Canadian distributers, who have available many books of a fantastic nature at the present time. To check on the availability of a given title, simply consult the latest supplementary editions to the U.S. Catalog of Printed Books at your local library. Wherever a Canadian distributer handles a particular book his name is given, and by consulting the appendix on can easily determine his address. For example, I obtained a copy of Stapleton's latest novel Darkness and the Light soon after its British appearance through S. J. Regin- (continued on page 14)
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