Exploration Log 16: Clifford D. Simak’s speech “The Face of Science Fiction” (1953)

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Clifford D. Simak’s speech “Face of Science Fiction” appeared in Minnesota Libraries, vol. XVII, no. 7. (September 1953). He originally gave it to the Minneapolis Branch Library staff. I have not found evidence that the speech appeared elsewhere or is anywhere online. I requested the article through the university library I’m affiliated with. I’ve included a transcription below. I hope with the easy access of important primary sources related to Simak’s fan activities and views on SF, we can see more scholarship on his fiction in the future vs. empty repetition of time-worn designators of his brand of SF.1 As with other posts on Simak’s interviews, speeches, and fan articles, I’ll provide a few words of summary first.

  • Four editions of Clifford D. Simak’s City (1952): Artists and publication date from L to R, Ed Valigursky (1958), Richard Powers (1954), Karel Thole (1964), uncredited (1965)

“The Face of Science Fiction” articulates the intersection of Simak’s own interest in the genre (and hope for its future), its larger history, with observations about the growing contemporary interest. He highlights the exploding popularity (and commercialism) the genre underwent in the 50s in the aftermath of WWII, for example the sheer quantity of magazines, toys, games, gadgets, and scientific gadgets designed with “science fiction motif” for teenagers. He charts his own exposure to the genre through authors like Jules Verne. 

And echoing later arguments by Darko Suvin, posits an incredible “long and honorable lineage” of the genre with works like the Greek Legend of Icarus, Plato’s Republic, Thomas Moore’s Utopia, and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels that detach its origins from the influence of Hugo Gernsback (he does not mention his name but does acknowledge the “first science fiction magazines” that appeared in 1926).2 Arguments like this one partially serve as a rhetorical flourish meant to legitimize the genre and to self-justify your own brand of writing. And like those classics of old, 50s SF seems to re-manifest some of that ancient maturity (“fewer and fewer of them think of it in terms of Buck Rogers and rocket guns”) with increasing quality of writing. While acknowledging the fix-up novels still hitting print culled from the old pulps, he hopes the “backlog of old stories” is coming to its end.3 He admits that modern science fiction is still a young genre with growing to do!

  • William Timmins’ cover art for Astounding Science Fiction, ed. John W. Cambell, Jr. (March 1944). Contains Cleve Cartmill’s “Deadline” (1944)
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Short Book Reviews: George Alec Effinger’s The Wolves of Memory (1981) and J. J. Connington’s Nordenholt’s Million (1923)

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Note: My read but “waiting to be reviewed pile” is growing. Short rumination/tangents/impressions are a way to get through the stack before my memory and will fades. My website partially serves as a record of what I have read and a memory palace for future projects. Stay tuned for more detailed and analytical reviews.

1. George Alec Effinger’s The Wolves of Memory (1981)

  • Norman Walker’s cover for the 1st edition

4.75/5 (Near Masterpiece)

I read almost 150 pages of George Alec Effinger’s masterful The Wolves of Memory (1981) before setting it down almost two years ago. As is often the case, I do not have a single reason why. It certainly had nothing to do with its quality. Perhaps Effinger’s uncanny evocation of dementia (through a SF lens) felt a bit too real. Perhaps his ability to render deeply affective interactions hurt in a way I rarely feel in science fiction. The volume sat on my desk waiting to be completed. I picked it up a few days days ago and finished in one sitting. I’m glad I did.

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Updates: Podcast discussion of Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955)

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  • Three locations where Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955) appeared: L to R. Star Science Fiction No. 3 (1955), The Best Of Philip K. Dick (1977), and Second Variety (1991)

I appeared on the podcast DickHeads (i.e. Philip K. Dick fans) to discuss one of his most underrated (in my opinion) short fictions: “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955). If you want to read the short story before you listen to the quite detailed discussion, it’s available online here. I’m a sucker for science fiction satires of 50s American defense policy, commercialism, and the idiocracy of fallout shelters. As I am allergic to listening to myself, I’ve not given it a re-listen! Hopefully it went as well as I thought it did at the time.

Also, here is my short review of the story–part of my larger review of the entire original anthology Star Science Fiction No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955)–from last year if you don’t have time to listen to the podcast at the moment.

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Short Story Reviews: Harlan Ellison’s “Night Vigil” (variant title: “Yellow Streak Hero”) (1955) and “Life Hutch” (1956)

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The following reviews serve as the 38th installment of my series searching for “SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.” Some stories I’ll review in this series might not fit or are poor quality. And that is okay. I relish the act of literary archaeology. I’ve previously covered two Harlan Ellison short stories for this series: “Psycho at Mid-Point” (1956) and “The Discarded” (variant title: “The Abnormals”) (1959). As always, if you know of any others that might fit, let me know. I’ve compiled an extensive list but like all lists it’s incomplete.

Thank you Richard, “Friend of the Site,” for these recommendations all the way back in 2022. I didn’t forget.

Previously: Clifford D. Simak’s “Madness from Mars” (1939)

Up Next: TBD

Let’s get to the stories!

  • Ed Valigursky’s cover for the Amazing Stories, ed. Paul W. Fairman (May 1957)

3/5 (Average)

Harlan Ellison’s “Night Vigil” (variant title: “Yellow Streak Hero”) first appeared in the fanzine Peon, ed. Charles Lee Riddle (May 1955). It was reprinted in Amazing Stories, ed. Paul W. Fairman (May 1957). You can read it online here in Peon and here in Amazing Stories.

Futuristic Press Gangs

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Updates: Recent Science Fiction Purchases No. CCCLI (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Philip K. Dick, Howard L. Cory, Ward Moore and Avram Davidson, and Muriel Jaeger)

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Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?

1. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic (1972, trans. Olena Bormashenko, 2012)

  • Dominic Harman’s cover for the 2012 edition

From the back cover: “Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those misfits who are compelled, in spite of the extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the the alien products. Even the nature of his mutant daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that he makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile territory.”

Initial Thoughts: One of those obvious holes in my SF knowledge… I certainly have read about the writing pair but I’ve only read a story here and there–for example “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)–and one novel that I never managed to review. My father has been pushing me to read more of their work. And yes, Andrei Tarkovsky’s adaptation Stalker (1979) remains one of my favorite movies. I took a History of Russian Film class in college and wrote my term paper on Tarkovsky’s use of color.

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Short Story Reviews: David Ely’s “Court of Judgment” (1961), “The Last Friday in August” (1961), and “The Wizard of Light” (1962)

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In 2019, I reviewed and adored David Ely’s science fiction thriller Seconds (1963), the source material for John Frankenheimer’s similarly brilliant 1966 film. I did not know that Ely got his start in genre magazines under the editorship of Cele Goldsmith Lalli (1933-2002), known for “discovering” SF luminaries like Ursula K. Le Guin, Thomas M. Disch, Keith Laumer, Sonya Dorman, and Roger Zelazny (among others).1 Before his writing career, Ely served in the Navy (1945-1946) and Army (1950-1952) and as a reporter in St. Louis (until 1956) before entering the corporate world as an “administrative assistant” for the nebulously named Cold War organization Development and Resources Corporation in New York (1956-1959).2

After a handful of short stories in genre magazines, Ely moved to far more lucrative venues like Playboy and Cosmopolitan. I’ve had my eyes on his collection–containing additional SF tales–Time Out (1968) for years. Unfortunately, prices rarely drop below $70 with shipping. Science fiction seems to have been close to his heart as he returned to the genre with his novel Journal of the Flood Year (1992).

Let’s get to the stories!

  • Alex Schomburg’s cover for Fantastic Stories of Imagination, ed. Cele Goldsmith (October 1961)

3/5 (Average)

“Court of Judgment” (1961) first appeared in Fantastic Stories of Imagination, ed. Cele Goldsmith (October 1961). You can read it online here. Received an Honorable Mention at the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction.

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Exploration Log 15: Clifford D. Simak’s fanzine article “The Future of Science Fiction” (1941)

/ Joachim Boaz / 16 Comments
  • Cover image from The FANAC Fan History Project. Clifford D. Simak is the second from the left in the back

Clifford D. Simak’s “The Future of Science Fiction” appeared in the fanzine Fantasite, No. 2, ed. Phil Bronson (February 1941). You can read it online here. As the quality of the scan at the link is quite poor and close to unreadable in spots, I’ve transcribed the entire article below. In a few instances I have guessed based on vague letter shapes. If you spot an error, let me know!

The fanzine Fantasite, comprised of twelve issues between 1940 and 1944, was the official organ of the Minneapolis Fantasy Society. For more on the fanzine and its creator, consult the Fancyclopedia entries. The MFS was formed when when Simak arrived in Minneapolis and joined with the old Minneapolis Science Fiction League (Hugo Gernsback’s SF clubs). The second meeting happened at Simak’s house. As members went off to WWII, the group became less formal and eventually dissipated. Simak helped briefly resurrect the club after WWII, joined by Poul Anderson and others. Other SF authors who were members included Theodore R. Cogswell, Noel Loomis, Oliver Saari, and Gordon R. Dickson. For a fan history of the organization, check out Jim Young’s fanzine Rune 17 issue.

This is a fascinating, if a bit vague and imprecise, look at Simak’s early views on the evolution and potentiality of science fiction. Unfortunately, as his professional life as a newspaper reporter ramped up he paired back his fan activities. These three points stood out: 1) Simak believes that the science fiction of the 1930s (in particular 1933 and 1934) transformed the genre by departing from “wooden men” who stalk through “wooden plots.” 2) he speculates that science fiction will diversify even further with “new ideas and new ways of presenting them” 3) he emphasizes the importance of “careful delineation in character” with “superb plotting.” Even from Simak’s earliest fannish writings, he shows an interest in a genre without clear boundaries — a genre that grows and expands and explores new things. For a more overt statement on his toleration for a diverse genre, check out his 1971 Worldcon Guest of Honor Speech given in the middle of the New Wave movement.

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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XXIX

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What pre-1985 science fiction adventures have you started this summer? Any great reads? Disappointing ones? Intriguing discoveries? Here’s the April installment of this column.

  • A selection of read volumes from my shelves

In a conversation on Blueksy, someone asked for my history of science fiction recommendations (including a few general surveys). I scoured my shelves and came up with an all-too-large pile (with some notable volumes I wanted to include but could not find) of favorite histories of science fiction. See photo below. I tried to include monographs that were not studies of single authors.

As I am a historian by training and trade who holds on to some of my disciplinary ticks and hangups, I also included works by trained academics with two major exceptions 1) Mike Ashley’s multi-volume study of science fiction magazines (but no other recent works exist and they’re really good for the nuts and bolts of genre magazines) and 2) Alec Nevala-Lee’s approachable and well-researched group biography  Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction (2018). Both should be read.

  • A photo of a few of my history of science fiction recommendations

I deliberately avoided works by science fiction authors like Damon Knight, Brian W. Aldiss, and Frederik Pohl. They’re great sources and I own and have read many of them but…. they are not histories by trained scholars. I do not mean for this to come off as elitist. Rather, my personal remit for my list—I needed to winnow down the hundreds and hundreds I own–was deliberately narrow! I read and use sources widely. Remember, these are my favorites — they might not be the best but they got me thinking and reading and writing. And that’s what we all should be doing, reading what makes us happy.

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Exploration Log 14: Anti-Racism in Chandler Davis’ “Stereotypes Are Dangerous” (1950)

/ Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments
  • John Grossman’s cover for vol. 1 of the fanzine Futurist, ed. Redd Boggs (Spring 1950)

“Write a story that will give a few bigots the jolt they need. Write a story that will open the eyes of the unconsciously bigoted” (8).

Chandler Davis (1926-2022) strikes a fascinating figure. He was a communist activist, science fiction author, fanzine editor, a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan, and political prisoner. He was fired from the University of Michigan in 1954 and imprisoned for six months in 1960 on charges of contempt of Congress leveled by HUAC.1 Between 1946 and 1970, he published 12 short stories. One additional story, a casualty of Harlan Ellison’s infamous unpublished Last Dangerous Visions, appeared in 1994.2 I reviewed three of his 1940s short stories on the theme of nuclear war back in 2023: “The Nightmare” (1946), “To Still the Drums” (1946), and “The Aristocrat” (1949). He’s certainly an author I need to return to on the merits of his article “Stereotypes Are Dangerous” (1950).

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