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Sparx, v. 1, issue 5, October 1947
Page 3
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SPARX THE PROS ARE THE CONVENTION by Paul Carter We have had a period of emphasis on fans at conventions, to the detriment of the pros. It seems to this writer, however, that the Philcon has shown us the error of our ways. The professionals are the element that make a success of a convention. Some actifans are doubtlessly filled with the desire to kneel- have the author of such an heretical statement. Sober analysis will, in my opinion, show the truth of it. For example, it has been the concensus of fandom that the Pacificon was a disappointment, and further those with whom I have talked all expressed the feeling that the Philconwas the best yet. Is it a coincidence, then, that the "disappointing Pacificon featured only one "name," A.E. Van Vogt, while the Philcon paraded one fantasy great after another across the stage? Part of the difference was of course, the subject matter of the keynote addresses, Mr. van Vogt is an able speaker, and touched---rather lightly, it is true--- upon many worthwhile points in his speech at the Pacificon. However, his remarks did not make much sense to those of his hearers who had not had at least a smattering of Korzybaski. Van V. is a fairly regular attendant at the LASPS meetings, and the boys and girls out there were fairly hep to what he was talking about, because they had heard some of it before at the clubhouse. But the outsider from New York, or Boston, or Chicago afterward confessed to a feeling of irritated bafflement. Campbell, on the other hand, was dealing with the grosser aspect of atomic energy---a subject with which every science-fiction fan present had at least a nodding acquaintance. He is, more-over, an excellent popularizer, having proved in The Atomic Story that nuclear physics can be made intelligible to the PhD-less layman. Korzybski is rather more difficult to popularize, although van Vogt did about as much as could be done in the time allotted to him. Put, beynd the keynote speech, the thing that I found memorable about the Philcon was the unusual amount of real red meat that was thrown at us from the speaker's platform. The Pacificon had a lot of "dead spots" in it; some of them unaviodable. The only real "dead spot" at the Philcon, I thought, was the embarrassed lull at the Fa [[the end of the word faded beyond readability]] quet. And the reason that the little grey cells kept chewing so vigorously was, I repeat, the succession of pros on the witness stand. Take Doc Smith for example, Now you're either a Doc Smith fan or you're not. He's one of those institutions that you either swear by or at. But, at any rate, he certainly poured it on in his prepared statement read on Satuday. Whether you agree with him or not, you must confess that the Doc gave the most intelligent rebuttal we've yet hear to the "Campbell Trend." And the Chan Davis seminar /." Is science catching up with science fiction?: Ed ./, for those who really listened in, instead of playing poker with 1923 Weird Tales as chips in the back of the hall, was quite top flight story plots were hatched in that session ((TURN PAGE, IF IT PLEASES YOU.))
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SPARX THE PROS ARE THE CONVENTION by Paul Carter We have had a period of emphasis on fans at conventions, to the detriment of the pros. It seems to this writer, however, that the Philcon has shown us the error of our ways. The professionals are the element that make a success of a convention. Some actifans are doubtlessly filled with the desire to kneel- have the author of such an heretical statement. Sober analysis will, in my opinion, show the truth of it. For example, it has been the concensus of fandom that the Pacificon was a disappointment, and further those with whom I have talked all expressed the feeling that the Philconwas the best yet. Is it a coincidence, then, that the "disappointing Pacificon featured only one "name," A.E. Van Vogt, while the Philcon paraded one fantasy great after another across the stage? Part of the difference was of course, the subject matter of the keynote addresses, Mr. van Vogt is an able speaker, and touched---rather lightly, it is true--- upon many worthwhile points in his speech at the Pacificon. However, his remarks did not make much sense to those of his hearers who had not had at least a smattering of Korzybaski. Van V. is a fairly regular attendant at the LASPS meetings, and the boys and girls out there were fairly hep to what he was talking about, because they had heard some of it before at the clubhouse. But the outsider from New York, or Boston, or Chicago afterward confessed to a feeling of irritated bafflement. Campbell, on the other hand, was dealing with the grosser aspect of atomic energy---a subject with which every science-fiction fan present had at least a nodding acquaintance. He is, more-over, an excellent popularizer, having proved in The Atomic Story that nuclear physics can be made intelligible to the PhD-less layman. Korzybski is rather more difficult to popularize, although van Vogt did about as much as could be done in the time allotted to him. Put, beynd the keynote speech, the thing that I found memorable about the Philcon was the unusual amount of real red meat that was thrown at us from the speaker's platform. The Pacificon had a lot of "dead spots" in it; some of them unaviodable. The only real "dead spot" at the Philcon, I thought, was the embarrassed lull at the Fa [[the end of the word faded beyond readability]] quet. And the reason that the little grey cells kept chewing so vigorously was, I repeat, the succession of pros on the witness stand. Take Doc Smith for example, Now you're either a Doc Smith fan or you're not. He's one of those institutions that you either swear by or at. But, at any rate, he certainly poured it on in his prepared statement read on Satuday. Whether you agree with him or not, you must confess that the Doc gave the most intelligent rebuttal we've yet hear to the "Campbell Trend." And the Chan Davis seminar /." Is science catching up with science fiction?: Ed ./, for those who really listened in, instead of playing poker with 1923 Weird Tales as chips in the back of the hall, was quite top flight story plots were hatched in that session ((TURN PAGE, IF IT PLEASES YOU.))
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