Roadtripping With the Wheels of IF
Geri Sullivan
2018
Fanthology
In November, 1987, Walt Willis published Hyphen 37 in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the founding of Irish Fandom. He sent a copy of the fanzine to Geri Sullivan. She wrote a letter of comment (LoC) -- standard fannish practice, albeit one all fan editors wish more readers would do.
Walt then replied *directly* to Geri's LoC. His action was so far from the fannish norm that he acknowledged that in his first sentence: "I know it's not done to send letters of comment on letters of comment: everyone knows there no telling what that sort of thing might lead to -- maybe even *correspondence."
Walt's reply led not just to correspondence, but to Geri joining other fans the Wheels of IF welcomed into their lifelong circle of friends. Like fandom itself, the circle spanned generations and continents. "Roadtripping with the Wheels of IF" is a 74-page collection of articles, correspondence, fan art, and photos by and about these fannish jiants of yore: Walt Willis, James White, Chuck Harris, and Vin¢ Clarke with Ireland and Irish Fandom as a backdrop throughout. Come. Join the circle. Read on.
For more Fanthologies, see http://fanac.org/fanzines/Fanthologies/
| Cover | ATom (Arthur Thomson) | |
| Intro | Geri Sullivan | |
| The letter that started it all | Walt Willis | |
| The Exorcists of IF | James White | |
| The power of friendship and the joy of fandom in troubled political times conveyed in James White's outstanding piece of fan fiction, "The Exorcists of IF", from Hyphen 37, pg9 | ||
| The Exorcists of IF Endnotes | Walt Willis | |
| From Hyphen 37, pp 8 & 58-60 | ||
| Walt Willis in the Oblique House fanattic | photo by Geri Sullivan | |
| November 1989 | ||
| Letter from James to Geri | James White | |
| Letter from Geri to Walter & Madeleine | Geri Sullivan | |
| Seamstress Kay Drache and James White wearing velvet smoking jacket at Toad Hall | Photo by Geri Sullivan | |
| September 1992 | ||
| Walt Willis at Tropicon 7 | Geri Sullivan | |
| December 1988 | ||
| Life at Oblique House, technological obsolescence | Walt Willis | |
| Warhoon 28, originally Warhoon 11 | ||
| Geri with Walter & Madeleine at Tropicon | December 1988 Photo | |
| Analyzing the creative process | Walt Wills | |
| Fanwriting skills masterclass in two essays from Walt Willis' long-running column "The Harp that Once or Twice." First, the essay itself, then an in-depth description of how he constructed and wrote it. From Warhoon 12, pp 22-25 | ||
| Letter from Chuck to Geri | Chuch Harris | |
| Picnic photo | ||
| Taken in 1954 - duplicated and reprinted by Jeff Schalles, 1990 | ||
| Through Darkest Ireland with Knife, Fork & Spoon | Chuck Harris | |
| Chuck Harris presents the rules of Ghoodminton! and oh, so much more in "Through Darkest Ireland with Knife, Fork & Spoon" | ||
| Vin¢ Clarke | photo by Geri Sullivan | |
| At Rob and Avedon's after Intersection (1995) | ||
| Vin¢ Clarke memorial card | Geri Sullivan | |
| Letter from Vin¢ to group | Vin¢ Clarke | |
| Letter to Jophan | Vin¢ Clarke | |
| Vin¢ Clarke's observations about fandom in the early 1980s after more than 20 years away. From Not Science Fantasy News 1, pp 1-2. | ||
| A few notes on Easter 1982 | Vin¢ Clarke | |
| Not Science Fantasy News 1, pp 3-5 | ||
| Letter excerpt from Teresa Nielsen Hayden | Teresa Nielsen Hayden | |
| Q, May 1986 | ||
| Aspects and Inclinations | Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden | |
| Visit Walter and Madeleine Willis at Strathclyde, their home in Donaghadee, N. Ireland, in Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden's "Aspects and Inclinations". From Hyphen 37, pp 39-45 | ||
| Chuch Harris & Geri Sullivan | ||
| Photo, Mother's Day 1989 | ||
| Cheshire cat envelope from Chuck to Geri | ||
Updated December 11, 2018. If you have a comment or question about these Web pages please send a note to the Fanac Webmaster. Thank you.