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Fantasy Fan, v. 1, issue 4, December 1933
Page 62
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62 THE FANTASY FAN December, 1933 THE BOILING POINT The Smith-Ackerman debate is still going strong, with Smith in the lead. However, the Ackerman side is taking a big leap with the following defenses. The first comes from Allen Glasser, who says: "I am surprised at the vicious remarks being made about Forrest Ackerman. He really doesn't deserve any such abuse. Perhaps his writings are a bit flamboyant and over-enthusiastic; but surely that's no great fault. To those who know him well, Forrest is a fine fellow; and his zeal for science-fiction merits praise rather than censure." Donald Alexander is all for Ackerman and wishes to make no secret of it: "I've been watching the controversy in 'The Boiling Point.' It seems to me that young Forrest J. Ackerman is by far the most sensible of the lot. Instead of intelligently answering his arguments, Messrs. Smith, Lovecraft, Barlow, etc., have made fools of themselves descending to personalities. Ackerman is a most interesting type of 'crank.' (Everyone who writes in to a magazine is a 'crank.' So'm I). At least, F. J. A. shows signs of a rudimentary intelligence, which most cranks don't. I agree with him. 'The Light from Beyond' and several other Smith yarns, had no place in Wonder Stories. WS calls itself a science fiction magazine. Smith's story under discussion isn't science fiction, so, it had no place in such a magazine. F. J. A. is right there. I see no reason why Lovecraft should condemn Ackerman for not liking Smith. After all, we each have our own tastes. Smith, in my own opinion, is a poor writer. His stories are all like the ravings of some fearfully diseased mind. Lovecraft, on the other hand, is a fairly good writer. But I'm wasting good typewriter ink; your readers haven't enough intelligence to grasp such a common sense argument as one presented by Ackerman, so they call him a nitwit, while he actually has more sense than the lot of them thrown together. If there were a hundred-million Forrest J. Ackermans in the world, it'd be a better place to live in, at least we'd have a little common sense used occasionally." Now, while we are very glad to find defenses on the Ackerman side, we must disagree with Mr. Alexander when he calls our readers too ignorant to grasp an argument put forth by Mr. Ackerman. Their eager disapproval with logical objections contradicts this theory. And then again, the mere fact that they are science fiction and weird fans puts them above the average, for such readers must be broadminded and open minded, and not the "What's-good-enough-for-father-is-good-enough-for-me" or "There-ain't-no-such-animal" types. We believe that this letter leaves cause for rebuttal on the part of Messrs. Smith and Lovecraft. Forrest J. Ackerman, of course, does not like the way he has been treated, and has this to say about it: "Pardon me, do; but why do you run 'The Boiling Point' in a foreign language? What a vocalberry on those Weird Men Smith and Lovccraft! And I think I'll have to change my tag from 'Forrest J. Ackerman, Scientifictionist' to 'Forrest J. Ackerman, Ebullitionist'. The two got the word in within the first line of comments. Now Mr. Smith will be
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62 THE FANTASY FAN December, 1933 THE BOILING POINT The Smith-Ackerman debate is still going strong, with Smith in the lead. However, the Ackerman side is taking a big leap with the following defenses. The first comes from Allen Glasser, who says: "I am surprised at the vicious remarks being made about Forrest Ackerman. He really doesn't deserve any such abuse. Perhaps his writings are a bit flamboyant and over-enthusiastic; but surely that's no great fault. To those who know him well, Forrest is a fine fellow; and his zeal for science-fiction merits praise rather than censure." Donald Alexander is all for Ackerman and wishes to make no secret of it: "I've been watching the controversy in 'The Boiling Point.' It seems to me that young Forrest J. Ackerman is by far the most sensible of the lot. Instead of intelligently answering his arguments, Messrs. Smith, Lovecraft, Barlow, etc., have made fools of themselves descending to personalities. Ackerman is a most interesting type of 'crank.' (Everyone who writes in to a magazine is a 'crank.' So'm I). At least, F. J. A. shows signs of a rudimentary intelligence, which most cranks don't. I agree with him. 'The Light from Beyond' and several other Smith yarns, had no place in Wonder Stories. WS calls itself a science fiction magazine. Smith's story under discussion isn't science fiction, so, it had no place in such a magazine. F. J. A. is right there. I see no reason why Lovecraft should condemn Ackerman for not liking Smith. After all, we each have our own tastes. Smith, in my own opinion, is a poor writer. His stories are all like the ravings of some fearfully diseased mind. Lovecraft, on the other hand, is a fairly good writer. But I'm wasting good typewriter ink; your readers haven't enough intelligence to grasp such a common sense argument as one presented by Ackerman, so they call him a nitwit, while he actually has more sense than the lot of them thrown together. If there were a hundred-million Forrest J. Ackermans in the world, it'd be a better place to live in, at least we'd have a little common sense used occasionally." Now, while we are very glad to find defenses on the Ackerman side, we must disagree with Mr. Alexander when he calls our readers too ignorant to grasp an argument put forth by Mr. Ackerman. Their eager disapproval with logical objections contradicts this theory. And then again, the mere fact that they are science fiction and weird fans puts them above the average, for such readers must be broadminded and open minded, and not the "What's-good-enough-for-father-is-good-enough-for-me" or "There-ain't-no-such-animal" types. We believe that this letter leaves cause for rebuttal on the part of Messrs. Smith and Lovecraft. Forrest J. Ackerman, of course, does not like the way he has been treated, and has this to say about it: "Pardon me, do; but why do you run 'The Boiling Point' in a foreign language? What a vocalberry on those Weird Men Smith and Lovccraft! And I think I'll have to change my tag from 'Forrest J. Ackerman, Scientifictionist' to 'Forrest J. Ackerman, Ebullitionist'. The two got the word in within the first line of comments. Now Mr. Smith will be
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