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Fantasy Fan, v. 1, issue 3, November 1933
Page 40
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40 THE FANTASY FAN November, 1933 THE BOILING POINT Herewith we continue the Ackerman-Smith debate, which is waxing hot. "The Ackerman-Smith controversy assumes all the aspects of a mad comedy. To assail and reprehend the writings of Clark Ashton Smith is as preposterous and futile as a dwarf transporting a huge mountain peak upon the tip of his tiny finger. Either Forrest J. Ackerman is daft or an imbecile or a notoriety-seeking clown and knave. Clark Ashton Smith stands alone in the realm of present-day weird and fantastic literature, and, therefore, above all his contemporaries. He is still King: and has yet to be dethroned."--Robert Nelson. "Personally, I thought that 'The Ligh From Beyond' was very good, and I saw nothing weird about it. It was fantasy and not stf., but some of the greatest classics of so-called science fiction have been almost pure fantasy. Witness: "Merritt's 'Snake Mother' and 'Moon Pool,' and Taine's 'Time Stream,' Ackerman's objections to this were particularly obnoxious to me, as I thought it one of the best stories ever written. Certainly, there should be something more to science fiction than rays, machines, villains, heroines (composed of lipstick and leg , as Mr. Barlow rather bitterly expresses it), as has been stressed so greatly of late. There should be an element of antasy, strong characters, and a well-developed plot in addition. The lack of those is why so many weird story lovers (like Mr. Barlow) can find so much fault with stf, I do not blame him. I, myself, as reader, will stop reading stf. when the fantasy element is dropped ompletely." William Crawford. QUESTIONAIRE Here are the answers to the questions we asked you in September. How many could you answer without looking them up? 1. David H. Keller's first story was "The Revolt of the Pedestrians" in the February, 1928 issue of Amazing. 2. Tom Jenkins was the leading character in "In 20,000 A.D." and "Back to 20,000 A.D.' by Schachner and Zagat, in the Sept., 1930 and March, 1931 issues of Wonder, respectively. 3. A. Hyatt Verrill lays most of his plots in Central and South America. 4. "Through the Veil" by Leslie F. Stone in May, 1930 Amazing, gave a scientific explanation of the fairy myth. 5. Clement Fezandie wrote the "Dr. Hackensaw's Secets" stories, a series in the old Electrical Experimenter, and early issues of Science and Invention. "Not so much in rebuttal to Mr. Ackerman as to toss another stick onto the fire, let me confess that the scientific fiction type of literature seems to me among the dullest written. I avoid whenever possible, except in such cases where it passes the boundaries into the weird and horrible. Of course, the work of Wells is an exception. This may be blasphemy to most of your readers, but there it is. To return to Mr. Ackerman's complaint: I fail to see why it is any more deplorable for Wonder Stories to publish Clark Ashton Smith's horror story than for Weird Tales to publish Edmond Hamilton's pseudo-scientific effusions. And it was Amazing Stories that had the honor to publish "The Colour Out of Space" by America's master of the weird, Lovecraft." Richard E. Morse
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40 THE FANTASY FAN November, 1933 THE BOILING POINT Herewith we continue the Ackerman-Smith debate, which is waxing hot. "The Ackerman-Smith controversy assumes all the aspects of a mad comedy. To assail and reprehend the writings of Clark Ashton Smith is as preposterous and futile as a dwarf transporting a huge mountain peak upon the tip of his tiny finger. Either Forrest J. Ackerman is daft or an imbecile or a notoriety-seeking clown and knave. Clark Ashton Smith stands alone in the realm of present-day weird and fantastic literature, and, therefore, above all his contemporaries. He is still King: and has yet to be dethroned."--Robert Nelson. "Personally, I thought that 'The Ligh From Beyond' was very good, and I saw nothing weird about it. It was fantasy and not stf., but some of the greatest classics of so-called science fiction have been almost pure fantasy. Witness: "Merritt's 'Snake Mother' and 'Moon Pool,' and Taine's 'Time Stream,' Ackerman's objections to this were particularly obnoxious to me, as I thought it one of the best stories ever written. Certainly, there should be something more to science fiction than rays, machines, villains, heroines (composed of lipstick and leg , as Mr. Barlow rather bitterly expresses it), as has been stressed so greatly of late. There should be an element of antasy, strong characters, and a well-developed plot in addition. The lack of those is why so many weird story lovers (like Mr. Barlow) can find so much fault with stf, I do not blame him. I, myself, as reader, will stop reading stf. when the fantasy element is dropped ompletely." William Crawford. QUESTIONAIRE Here are the answers to the questions we asked you in September. How many could you answer without looking them up? 1. David H. Keller's first story was "The Revolt of the Pedestrians" in the February, 1928 issue of Amazing. 2. Tom Jenkins was the leading character in "In 20,000 A.D." and "Back to 20,000 A.D.' by Schachner and Zagat, in the Sept., 1930 and March, 1931 issues of Wonder, respectively. 3. A. Hyatt Verrill lays most of his plots in Central and South America. 4. "Through the Veil" by Leslie F. Stone in May, 1930 Amazing, gave a scientific explanation of the fairy myth. 5. Clement Fezandie wrote the "Dr. Hackensaw's Secets" stories, a series in the old Electrical Experimenter, and early issues of Science and Invention. "Not so much in rebuttal to Mr. Ackerman as to toss another stick onto the fire, let me confess that the scientific fiction type of literature seems to me among the dullest written. I avoid whenever possible, except in such cases where it passes the boundaries into the weird and horrible. Of course, the work of Wells is an exception. This may be blasphemy to most of your readers, but there it is. To return to Mr. Ackerman's complaint: I fail to see why it is any more deplorable for Wonder Stories to publish Clark Ashton Smith's horror story than for Weird Tales to publish Edmond Hamilton's pseudo-scientific effusions. And it was Amazing Stories that had the honor to publish "The Colour Out of Space" by America's master of the weird, Lovecraft." Richard E. Morse
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