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Memoirs of a Superfluous Fan, 1944

Page 18

in deliberately being destroyed, thus postponing the finale of Things to Come for perhaps the rest of our life times. 

ASIDE FROM A few pictures taken out at Hodgkins' house, there is little to record these days in official LASFL archives. Squires and Fox, who were the Secretaries until May 1938, never included these extra-meeting activities in the minutes for the simple reason that they were never present. It will be seen from this account, however, that a very subtle change was taking place in the structure of the chapter. Whereas, prior to IMAGINATION! all discussions and activities were centered at Clifton's on alternate Thursdays, the scene of real activities began to move out to 84th Place. It is true that official motions and disbursements of monies occured Thursdays, but most of the spontaneous discussions started up at Russ's place. This is more or less natural, since they evolved around the publishing activities of the club, and the problems which  arose were considered there on the spot. Therefore, when Thursday nights in Los Angeles came around, members had less to talk about and subjects ranged far afield from scientifiction. The business meetings often became out-and-dried affaires, all the details having been worked out in advance. While this trend did not come into full force until late 1941 when the members were seeing one another three and four times a week, the incipient motive began way back in 1938. I shall elaborate on this long-term trend as the account of the group progresses into the 1940's. Actually, there was still plenty of good, interesting, scientifiction talk and personages in '38, and no immediate cause of worry was even remotely imagined. 

George Tulllis, who later made a splurry in Chicago scientifiction circles, had been to LASFL meetings as early as mid 1937 . He made another brief appearance at the SFL during February 1938. I rather liked him, as he was genial and down-and-out along with a lot of use at that time. He spent the meeting night of February 3 deluging the club with accounts of Sun Valley, Idaho. At a subsequent meeting Tullis and I amused the gathering with a concert played on two 10c fifes. We were amazed with each other's dexterity on the instrument, each having previously assumed himself to be the only person extant to play the fife (10c variety) according to classic musical precepts. 

A few meetings featured talks by Shroyer, Kuttner, and Hodgkins, and finally, in the middle-spring of 1938, the Michelist Movement broke upon fandom. My journalistic endeavour in IMAGINATION! "A Reply to Michelism" caused me to be hailed by the opposition (ref. IMAGINATION! Letter pages) as "The first to take the Michelist bull by the horns." My information at the time comprised the Jan issue of NOVA TERRAE, the monthly of the British Science Fiction Association, which I joined along with most of the other members of the chapter in 1938. What I was actually trying to do then was not to take political sides in Fandom over the question, but to question the advisability of attaching to fandom any pseudo-political importance, a stand which I have maintained to the present day. 

Time dims my familiarity with the Michelist movement at the time. SInce this involves by analogy the NEW FANDOM movement, it is no desire of mine to drag up this ancient and bitter feud for a personal review. My article at the time started the ball rolling, but in subsequent correspondence with Wollheim we both reached an agreement of aims, and the entire affair was settled without enmity on either part. I maintained a casual correspondence for some time with Doc Lowdnes and with Wollheim himself. The important point about this issue in my own personal memoirs is that it again launched me into active fan writing and especially political writing. And at the same time it was the first venture on

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in deliberately being destroyed, thus postponing the finale of Things to Come for perhaps the rest of our life times. ASIDE FROM A few pictures taken out at Hodgkins' house, there is little to record these days in official LASFL archives. Squires and Fox, who were the Secretaries until May 1938, never included these extra-meeting activities in the minutes for the simple reason that they were never present. It will be seen from this account, however, that a very subtle change was taking place in the structure of the chapter. Whereas, prior to IMAGINATION! all discussions and activities were centered at Clifton's on alternate Thursdays, the scene of real activities began to move out to 84th Place. It is true that official motions and disbursements of monies occured Thursdays, but most of the spontaneous discussions started up at Russ's place. This is more or less natural, since they evolved around the publishing activities of the club, and the problems which arose were considered there on the spot. Therefore, when Thursday nights in Los Angeles came around, members had less to talk about and subjects ranged far afield from scientifiction. The business meetings often became out-and-dried affaires, all the details having been worked out in advance. While this trend did not come into full force until late 1941 when the members were seeing one another three and four times a week, the incipient motive began way back in 1938. I shall elaborate on this long-term trend as the account of the group progresses into the 1940's. Actually, there was still plenty of good, interesting, scientifiction talk and personages in '38, and no immediate cause of worry was even remotely imagined. George Tulllis, who later made a splurry in Chicago scientifiction circles, had been to LASFL meetings as early as mid 1937 . He made another brief appearance at the SFL during February 1938. I rather liked him, as he was genial and down-and-out along with a lot of use at that time. He spent the meeting night of February 3 deluging the club with accounts of Sun Valley, Idaho. At a subsequent meeting Tullis and I amused the gathering with a concert played on two 10c fifes. We were amazed with each other's dexterity on the instrument, each having previously assumed himself to be the only person extant to play the fife (10c variety) according to classic musical precepts. A few meetings featured talks by Shroyer, Kuttner, and Hodgkins, and finally, in the middle-spring of 1938, the Michelist Movement broke upon fandom. My journalistic endeavour in IMAGINATION! "A Reply to Michelism" caused me to be hailed by the opposition (ref. IMAGINATION! Letter pages) as "The first to take the Michelist bull by the horns." My information at the time comprised the Jan issue of NOVA TERRAE, the monthly of the British Science Fiction Association, which I joined along with most of the other members of the chapter in 1938. What I was actually trying to do then was not to take political sides in Fandom over the question, but to question the advisability of attaching to fandom any pseudo-political importance, a stand which I have maintained to the present day. Time dims my familiarity with the Michelist movement at the time. SInce this involves by analogy the NEW FANDOM movement, it is no desire of mine to drag up this ancient and bitter feud for a personal review. My article at the time started the ball rolling, but in subsequent correspondence with Wollheim we both reached an agreement of aims, and the entire affair was settled without enmity on either part. I maintained a casual correspondence for some time with Doc Lowdnes and with Wollheim himself. The important point about this issue in my own personal memoirs is that it again launched me into active fan writing and especially political writing. And at the same time it was the first venture on