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Acolyte, v. 2, issue 4, whole no. 8, Fall 1944

right up on top as far as I'm concerned. They were both finely told and dramatic, had excellent ideas behind them and were generally very satisfactory. But -- 
   I hope this indifference to the dramatic and literary elements can be changed because to my mind the future of scientifiction and fantasy generally depends upon its recognition. The only stories that last are the ones that depict some realistic characters in combat with their environment, or factors that have arisen therefrom, with real feeling. Such a story is Weinbaum's "The New Adam". That's why, to my mind, it should last in the minds of those who at present can appreciate such quality. 
                      ---ooOoo---
BURTON CRANE, puts in his oar. This discussion was brought on by a remark of FTL's that "The Horror at Red Hook" was marred by the way in which HPL bowdlerized the various rites: 
   I agree with you that a writer who keeps ranting about "unnameable horrors" and "secret rites", without ever giving a hint as to their nature, invites a chorus of "so whats?" But don't get the idea that Phallic worship is all "the old phallic worship". I have actually witnessed the rites in Japan. In most of the country villages they live on, little changed, with the boys and girls (and the staid married couples of the community, too) pairing up in the woods for their one night of sexual freedom in the year. Shinto has taken over a good many of the naturist beliefs of Taoism and many older religions (preserved because Buddhism absorbs rather than eliminates conflicting faiths, adopting any god anybody suggests as a Boddhisattva) and there is not too much official displeasure. Of course, back in the '90's, Japan decided to be a modern nation and officially frowned on mixed bathing in the cities, relieving oneself in public, and phallic symbols in all the shrines; but all persist away from the centers of population. In 1927 or thereabouts, a propaganda campaign for the return of the "good old days and good old ways" placed new emphasis on the ancient naturist beliefs.
   But, if you run the real stuff in a short, who the hell's going to buy it? It's safer commercially to talk about "the rites no man may look upon and go his way unscathed."

       "The nameless orgies of the damned"
             Have filled my belly full.
       So many writers sing their fame
       I say, let's name them with a name
       Like Sm-Thavol or Murgasaem
             Or even Bull.

       "The rites no man may look upon"
             Have sold full many a book,
        But what the hell, Bill, you and I 
       Or any guy with half an eye
       Would take that chance. So What? We die!
              We want to look!
                   ---ooOoo---
E. HOFFMAN PRICE comments on this and that:
   "The Fantasy Forum" is about as meaty, constructive, pointed, as any comparable column I can recollect. All too often, the gossip column becomes a bale of so what?--chit-chat, gagging, wisecracking, which has an appeal only to the Inner Circle, the editor and his buddies. The more mature outlook gives a mag much wider appeal. And the big difference between amateur journalism and professional is that the latter, of far wider circulation, has to have broad and general appeal; even the
             -- 28 --

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right up on top as far as I'm concerned. They were both finely told and dramatic, had excellent ideas behind them and were generally very satisfactory. But -- I hope this indifference to the dramatic and literary elements can be changed because to my mind the future of scientifiction and fantasy generally depends upon its recognition. The only stories that last are the ones that depict some realistic characters in combat with their environment, or factors that have arisen therefrom, with real feeling. Such a story is Weinbaum's "The New Adam". That's why, to my mind, it should last in the minds of those who at present can appreciate such quality. ---ooOoo--- BURTON CRANE, puts in his oar. This discussion was brought on by a remark of FTL's that "The Horror at Red Hook" was marred by the way in which HPL bowdlerized the various rites: I agree with you that a writer who keeps ranting about "unnameable horrors" and "secret rites", without ever giving a hint as to their nature, invites a chorus of "so whats?" But don't get the idea that Phallic worship is all "the old phallic worship". I have actually witnessed the rites in Japan. In most of the country villages they live on, little changed, with the boys and girls (and the staid married couples of the community, too) pairing up in the woods for their one night of sexual freedom in the year. Shinto has taken over a good many of the naturist beliefs of Taoism and many older religions (preserved because Buddhism absorbs rather than eliminates conflicting faiths, adopting any god anybody suggests as a Boddhisattva) and there is not too much official displeasure. Of course, back in the '90's, Japan decided to be a modern nation and officially frowned on mixed bathing in the cities, relieving oneself in public, and phallic symbols in all the shrines; but all persist away from the centers of population. In 1927 or thereabouts, a propaganda campaign for the return of the "good old days and good old ways" placed new emphasis on the ancient naturist beliefs. But, if you run the real stuff in a short, who the hell's going to buy it? It's safer commercially to talk about "the rites no man may look upon and go his way unscathed." "The nameless orgies of the damned" Have filled my belly full. So many writers sing their fame I say, let's name them with a name Like Sm-Thavol or Murgasaem Or even Bull. "The rites no man may look upon" Have sold full many a book, But what the hell, Bill, you and I Or any guy with half an eye Would take that chance. So What? We die! We want to look! ---ooOoo--- E. HOFFMAN PRICE comments on this and that: "The Fantasy Forum" is about as meaty, constructive, pointed, as any comparable column I can recollect. All too often, the gossip column becomes a bale of so what?--chit-chat, gagging, wisecracking, which has an appeal only to the Inner Circle, the editor and his buddies. The more mature outlook gives a mag much wider appeal. And the big difference between amateur journalism and professional is that the latter, of far wider circulation, has to have broad and general appeal; even the -- 28 --