K52


K52,an APAzine for Pieces of Eight April '95, from A. Vincent Clarke, 16 Wendover Way, Welling, Kent, DA16 2BN.


UPDATE

HELP!

Somewhere, somewhen, fairly recently, I read of someone who'd been helping the SF Foundation by reviewing a large list of SF titles. I mentioned this to a character who's writing his own list – and he's wondering if it's worth while going on. He'd like to know more. But, as you may have gathered, the relevant details of the 'someone' haven't registered. Can anyone help? I thought it was in recent PoE but I've looked (hence this dizzy expression) without success.

BOOK REVIEW

I recently borrowed Science Fiction Fandom, a book from Greenwood Press, 1994, edited Joe Sanders. Not many copies in this country, I'd think, as it's priced for Librarians – something like $55.

Greenwood have already published a number of volumes about the genre – this is No.62. Others include The Aesthetics of Ambivalence: Rethinking Science Fiction Film in the Age of (Re)Production, and Ultimate Island: On the Nature of British Science Fiction. The latter is by Nicholas Ruddick. No, I don't know him either. But SFF is approachable. I won't say it gets down into the gutter with the rest of us, but it's certainly readable.

SFF gathers together a number of acknowledged fans such as Sam Moskowitz, Harry Warner Jnr., 'Buck' Coulson, Rich Brown, and Terry Jeeves to fill in 26 chapters on our history, inclinations (there's a chapter on book collecting), deviations (another on APAs), etc. Terry's contribution is on British fandom, all 4½ pages of it, and is necessarily fairly cursory. There's also pieces on French fandom, Japanese fandom, Chinese (!) fandom etc. For some reason (someone's essay edited out before publication?) Australian fandom is hardly mentioned. Obviously, the major emphasis is on American fandom but, overall, it attempts to cover all things fannish in a limited space (293 pages).

It includes a quite good 20-page bibliography and a small Glossary of Fanspeak. There's nothing which could be singled out as a surprise to anyone who knows the field, and to see in print Coulson's Primarily, the rewards of belonging to science fiction fandom are friendships brings an emphatic nod. But $55? If I had that sort of cash to spare I'd probably put out a genzine.

As a footnote: I'm told a library can get it in specially as the British Library has a copy. No further details.

COMMENTS ON MARCH MAILING

TRICHINOPOLY – Barry Traish

I hereby certify that Barry Traish is a perfect overnight guest, clean, quiet, and handy with the internals of duplicators.

But I must confess I don't like script being used in chunks as in 'T'. It may be just me, but it confuses the eye.

Don't think we should worry about maximum memberships until we get half-a-dozen new crewmen in one mailing. In any case, wonder why it matters? The American FAPA has a nominal 75; the original OMPA rose from 25 to, I think, 45. What's the objection to having 30, 40 or more on board? One has to make too many copies? When we were discussing this a couple of years ago I suggested putting out a sort of 'Best of PoE', to advertise us, and other folk had other ideas. We're in much the same position now with the number of crew.

And, incidentally, is this to be all personal approaches to possible crew, or does one advertise at Cons, in CRITICAL WAVE, etc.?

Very interesting on lottery prizes. As I've said elsewhere, 16 WWW really needs a new roof (approx. £2,500) but I wouldn't bet on a 250000 to 1 chance to get it. I suppose it would be possible to keep a substantial win secret if you ignored the wants of family and friends – and of course didn't buy anything for yourself which would strike visitors as more luxurious than your usual life-style.

I wrote a story many years ago on this type of thing – a neofan, hovering in the background of fan meetings, who won a fortune (for those days) on the football pools. He decided to put out the perfect fanzine......

And anyway, what's the position re. income-tax?

Re Illuminatus, sorry to spoil any possible spoof, but a quick dekko at the new SF Encyclopedia gives the answer to your query on the third Historical Chronicle. It was called Nature's God, published '91.

Sorry to hear of Tara's ill-luck in cars. Trust insurance paid up?


STRANGE DEBRIS – Chris Carne

Horrified to see that although you list all sorts of new local places from the sublime (the spiritualist place) to the ridiculous (Kentucky Fried place), you don't mention local bookshops or even charity shops having books for sale. Not even mention of a library. What sort of philistine have we been lumbered with south of the Thames?


THE MOON-DRENCHED SHORES – Darroll Pardoe

RYCT Ros: Interesting remark you make in passing re. the 'extraordinary reason' that a substantial part of the US population looks up to the Royal Family.

Is this really so? A certain chauvinism – and the amount of US tourists clustered around Buckingham Palace – made me pass over this at first reading, but second time around, remembering Middle West values, Harlem, etc. has set me wondering.

The RF are obviously distinct from most of us by reason of (a) class & (b) wealth, but this shouldn't make any difference to the (apparent) democratic Americans. I don't think I've ever read a survey of such people – is there any material available? I have a book called Class: Image & Reality in Britain, France & the USA since 1930 by Professor Arthur Marwick, but the Professor is English, and apparently takes the Royals for granted. In his 400 + pages there's hardly a word about how they fit in. Same for other sociological books to hand. Trouble is, one can't ask US fans, as they'll be in the position of English fans – not caring a faint damn about the RF.

RYCT Keith: Good comment.


FAILURE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS – Jenny Glover

Interesting review of Elidor, but you've lost me on Vurt. Wait until I visit the Library again.


PM ROUTINE AVOCADOES – Andy Butler

Cyberbodies? Interesting to be on the cutting edge of new technology/philosophy, even if I don't know what it is.


TALES FROM THE G7UNKNOWN – Brian Jordan

No doubt someone has told you ANSIBLE and THEN's E-Mail nomenclatures (or old fashioned PO mail would help) but you may or may not know that there's an SF fan E-Mail directory: John Lorentz, 74007.3342@compuserve.com (according to Bridget Wilkinson's FANS ACROSS THE WORLD).

Copies of this and of ANSIBLE can be obtained on a regular basis by sending stamped/addressed envelopes to Dave Langford, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks., RG1 5AU.

RYCT Theo: Gulf Stream featured in an SF story in Amazing Stories c. 1938 (you get all sorts of up-to-date info. here). The Stream was diverted – can't remember how – and the whole country froze. This has stayed in the memory, mainly I suppose because since then I've been uneasily aware that, according to the story, living in England, and indeed in the South of it, is due more to a geographical freak than anything else.

Haven't seen any snow this winter – yet.

RYCT Keith. Can't believe that a test of homoeopathy works, but would like to see a full-scale test of acupuncture.

RYCT Ros: Interesting remark on possibility of author's own personality/thinking being totally suppressed for the sake of his/her fiction. I don't know enough about mundane fiction to pontificate (Oscar Wilde?) and inside our genre authors usually roll their egos (hearts?) into their printers along with the paper. I suppose 'James Tiptree Jnr.' might be a good candidate for the suppressed side. I once knew an SF author who left a wife and two kids in the middle of his career, but seemed to carry on without any difference, so difficult to say the amount of suppression there.

Reproduction on TFTG as good as anything I've ever seen on a fanzine.

ALL AT SEA – Pauline Plant

Extremely interesting, and glad to see you've retained a sense of humour amongst the worries (man in a brown suit). This situation takes on added dimensions when you're a teacher as well as a concerned parent. There's no doubt that the country's education system is in a complete mess. There's a (fairly) local schoolmaster down here who does the organising and the editing of their fanzine for a (fairly) local pub SF group, and he's just as bitter. Hard to see what improvement there can be, even with a change of Government, in less than 5 years or so. This is worrying for someone whose grandchild is approaching school age.

Incidentally, at the moment I have a very interesting book from the Library, so interesting that I may try to buy a copy. It's Young Children Learning; Talking and Thinking at Home and at School (Fontana '84) by Tizard & Hughes, both educationalists. Their concern is mainly with the nursery child. They find that the nursery's main concern is to further the child's social development, secondly to try and develop basic skills, and only third to assist in language development. The trend is to leave it to the parents to be information givers, with a side line in teaching rudimentary drawing, writing, etc. This sounds eminently sensible – if the parents play their parts.


THE STRUTHIAN PERSPECTIVE – Theo Ross

RYCT Ros: Just had SENSOR 1 in – review & news of Irish SF – and snickered when someone wrote that PK Dick's The Man In the High Castle was the first story about a Nazi victory in WW2. Couldn't resist citing (Sound of His Horn) Sarban to them – ten years earlier then Dick. And of course there were earlier yarns during and even before the War. As usual, SP full of interest, thoroughly enjoyed. VINCE

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Vince Clarke's APAzines
Contents

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Notes and Queries
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6
K7
K8
K9
K10
K11
K12
K13
K14
K15
K16
K17
K18
K19
K20
K21
K22
K23
K24
K25
K26
K27
K28
K29
K30
K31
K32
K33
K34
K35
K36
K37
K38
K39
K40
K41
K42
K43
K44
K45
K46
K47
K48
K49
K50
K51
K52
K53
K54
K55
K56
K57
K58 to K69
K70
Books About SF Continued
From K??
Vincentian 1
Vincentian 2
Vincentian 3