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Fantascience Digest, v. 1, issue 1, November-December 1937
Page 10
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Page 10 FANTASCIENCE DIGEST Mars if he ever gets there, what his reactions and the reactions of the Martian phenomens[[?]] to man will be. Another quality in Weinbaum was his ready and keen sense of humour. He did not let his discoveries overawe[[?]] him; he never took himself too seriously. Because of that, he was able to dive deeper, stay there longer, and come up dryer than any of his contemporaries. He was acute, philosophical,and prying,almost to the point of mediaevalists, who were like young birds, opening their mouths wide and gulping down every bit of intellectual nourishment their gullets could hold. That they necessarily had to swallow a good deal of sand, debris, and refuse didn't discourage them a bit. It is still early to judge properly Weinbaum's effect upon science fiction. We can see a few results, and, with optimism as our guide, make a few prophecies;we can feel reasonably certain that science fiction has gained immensely from Weinbaum's influence and that it has, now, greater possibilities than ever before. But to be worthy of him,we must not ignore his example and fall into the errors he brough to light: we must not deceive ourselves into thinking, we who love and believe in science fiction, that science fiction is, in itself, a panacea for the world's literary illness, that it will succeed by itself and, by the magic of its own voice, because the superevolved creative literature that we desire it to become. Better to face facts and say science fiction will NOT rise to great heights, will NOT be the literature of tomorrow unless we make it so. FINIS
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Page 10 FANTASCIENCE DIGEST Mars if he ever gets there, what his reactions and the reactions of the Martian phenomens[[?]] to man will be. Another quality in Weinbaum was his ready and keen sense of humour. He did not let his discoveries overawe[[?]] him; he never took himself too seriously. Because of that, he was able to dive deeper, stay there longer, and come up dryer than any of his contemporaries. He was acute, philosophical,and prying,almost to the point of mediaevalists, who were like young birds, opening their mouths wide and gulping down every bit of intellectual nourishment their gullets could hold. That they necessarily had to swallow a good deal of sand, debris, and refuse didn't discourage them a bit. It is still early to judge properly Weinbaum's effect upon science fiction. We can see a few results, and, with optimism as our guide, make a few prophecies;we can feel reasonably certain that science fiction has gained immensely from Weinbaum's influence and that it has, now, greater possibilities than ever before. But to be worthy of him,we must not ignore his example and fall into the errors he brough to light: we must not deceive ourselves into thinking, we who love and believe in science fiction, that science fiction is, in itself, a panacea for the world's literary illness, that it will succeed by itself and, by the magic of its own voice, because the superevolved creative literature that we desire it to become. Better to face facts and say science fiction will NOT rise to great heights, will NOT be the literature of tomorrow unless we make it so. FINIS
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