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In Defense of the Phantagraph, 1945
Page 3
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their pages with (a) reviews of the past mailing, (b) arguments about some one else's arguments in a past mailing, (c) self-study in a psycho-analytic fashion, (d) endless quibbling about the ins and outs of club politics, as so much wasted space. They bore me. While they may often have interest for the moment, how many of them will have any value one year after publication? Nothing in categories a, b, c, or d, will mean a thing to anyone. Those magazines having any interest at all will be only those containing material not dated, material of a nature complete and standing upon its own feet, readable at any time without reference to some ancient mailing or obsolete issue. Out of some thirty or more magazines in the January 1945 mailing, I could only eleven that can meet the above demand. Of those, three are mine. And the literary merit of many of the rest is deplorable. Now there may be, for the sake or argument, some place for the a, b, c, d types -- but it certainly should not take the percentage it does -- about two-thirds. In publishing The Phantagraph I use material of certain categories. Usually poetry of fantasy, free verse, nonsense, or "transition" styles. Or reprint items or short articles on subjects I consider curious, quaint, fortean, or otherwise novel. I do not believe that I publish worthless material. I have received ample evidence from persons of proven literary talent that The Phantagraph maintains a high level and manages to be worth the reading. That corroboration is is good enough for me.
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their pages with (a) reviews of the past mailing, (b) arguments about some one else's arguments in a past mailing, (c) self-study in a psycho-analytic fashion, (d) endless quibbling about the ins and outs of club politics, as so much wasted space. They bore me. While they may often have interest for the moment, how many of them will have any value one year after publication? Nothing in categories a, b, c, or d, will mean a thing to anyone. Those magazines having any interest at all will be only those containing material not dated, material of a nature complete and standing upon its own feet, readable at any time without reference to some ancient mailing or obsolete issue. Out of some thirty or more magazines in the January 1945 mailing, I could only eleven that can meet the above demand. Of those, three are mine. And the literary merit of many of the rest is deplorable. Now there may be, for the sake or argument, some place for the a, b, c, d types -- but it certainly should not take the percentage it does -- about two-thirds. In publishing The Phantagraph I use material of certain categories. Usually poetry of fantasy, free verse, nonsense, or "transition" styles. Or reprint items or short articles on subjects I consider curious, quaint, fortean, or otherwise novel. I do not believe that I publish worthless material. I have received ample evidence from persons of proven literary talent that The Phantagraph maintains a high level and manages to be worth the reading. That corroboration is is good enough for me.
Hevelin Fanzines
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