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Fantasy Fan, v. 1, issue 2, October 1933

Page 27

October, 1933     THE FANTASY FAN     27

THE BOILING POINT

You will remember the terrific outburst Forrest J. Ackerman made upon Clark Ashton Smith's stories and weird tales in general in last month's column, Shortly after the issue went to press, we received the following postscript to his article which he requested to have printed at the beginning of this month's column.
"I could as well pick on John Taine --a favorite author, mind you--for 'The Time Stream' in Wonder Stories, another story considered doubtful science fiction. My only interest is to keep stf. in the stf. publications, and let fantasies and weird tales appear in the magazines featuring that type.
"It is to be hoped that Mr. Smith will discover many of his admirers thru the writings of readers caring to present arguments.."
It is only fair that Mr. Smith himself should have the first blow against Mr. Ackerman's argument, in defense of his own stories. He calls his defense "Horror, Fantasy and Science."
"Mr. Ackerman's fervent and ebullient denunciation of my stories, followed by Editor Hornig's invitation to join the melee, is not to be resisted.
"I infer that Forrest J. Ackerman considers horror, weirdness and uuearthliness beyond the bounds of science or science or science fiction. Since horror and weirdness are integral elements of life (as is well known to those who have delved beneath the surface)and since, in all likelihood, the major portion of the universe is quite unearthly, I fail to understand the process of logic or syllogism by which he has arrived at this truly amazing proscription.
"Let me recommend to Mr. Ackerman, and to others like him, a more scientifically open and receptive attitude of imagination. If Mr. Ackerman were transported to some alien world, I fear that he would find the reality far more incredible, bizarre, grotesque, fantastic, horrific, and impossible than any of my stories.
"In regard to 'The Light From Beyond,' I cannot see that this tale is any more fantastic and unreal than others dealing with unknown dimensions or planes of hyper-space. Physical entry into such planes is improbable, but form, an alluring theme for fictional speculation.
"It is curious that Mr. Ackerman should profess to like 'Flight Into Super-Time,' a story which is wilder, if anything, than, than the ones he has denounced. I might also add that it was written as a satire on time-travelling, and should not have been read too seriously.
"Of course, it is Forrest Ackerman's privilege to dislike my stories, and to express his dislike whenever he chooses. I have merely tried to point out that he is in error when he condemns them as being inherently unsuitable for a scienti-fiction magazine."
H.P. Lovecraft also defends the weird tale:
"As for Ackerman's ebullition, I fear he can hardly be taken seriously in matters involving the criticism of imaginative fiction. Smith's story was really splendid, except for the cheap ending on which the Editor Wonder Stories insisted. Ackerman once wrote me a letter with a very childish attack on my work--he evidently enjoys verbal pyrotechnics for their own sake and seems so callous to

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October, 1933 THE FANTASY FAN 27 THE BOILING POINT You will remember the terrific outburst Forrest J. Ackerman made upon Clark Ashton Smith's stories and weird tales in general in last month's column, Shortly after the issue went to press, we received the following postscript to his article which he requested to have printed at the beginning of this month's column. "I could as well pick on John Taine --a favorite author, mind you--for 'The Time Stream' in Wonder Stories, another story considered doubtful science fiction. My only interest is to keep stf. in the stf. publications, and let fantasies and weird tales appear in the magazines featuring that type. "It is to be hoped that Mr. Smith will discover many of his admirers thru the writings of readers caring to present arguments.." It is only fair that Mr. Smith himself should have the first blow against Mr. Ackerman's argument, in defense of his own stories. He calls his defense "Horror, Fantasy and Science." "Mr. Ackerman's fervent and ebullient denunciation of my stories, followed by Editor Hornig's invitation to join the melee, is not to be resisted. "I infer that Forrest J. Ackerman considers horror, weirdness and uuearthliness beyond the bounds of science or science or science fiction. Since horror and weirdness are integral elements of life (as is well known to those who have delved beneath the surface)and since, in all likelihood, the major portion of the universe is quite unearthly, I fail to understand the process of logic or syllogism by which he has arrived at this truly amazing proscription. "Let me recommend to Mr. Ackerman, and to others like him, a more scientifically open and receptive attitude of imagination. If Mr. Ackerman were transported to some alien world, I fear that he would find the reality far more incredible, bizarre, grotesque, fantastic, horrific, and impossible than any of my stories. "In regard to 'The Light From Beyond,' I cannot see that this tale is any more fantastic and unreal than others dealing with unknown dimensions or planes of hyper-space. Physical entry into such planes is improbable, but form, an alluring theme for fictional speculation. "It is curious that Mr. Ackerman should profess to like 'Flight Into Super-Time,' a story which is wilder, if anything, than, than the ones he has denounced. I might also add that it was written as a satire on time-travelling, and should not have been read too seriously. "Of course, it is Forrest Ackerman's privilege to dislike my stories, and to express his dislike whenever he chooses. I have merely tried to point out that he is in error when he condemns them as being inherently unsuitable for a scienti-fiction magazine." H.P. Lovecraft also defends the weird tale: "As for Ackerman's ebullition, I fear he can hardly be taken seriously in matters involving the criticism of imaginative fiction. Smith's story was really splendid, except for the cheap ending on which the Editor Wonder Stories insisted. Ackerman once wrote me a letter with a very childish attack on my work--he evidently enjoys verbal pyrotechnics for their own sake and seems so callous to