Justly Jesting Jittery Jabberings
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Oh me ... this is one of those months ... here it is the 3rd of February already, and still six pages of WARP to mimeo. You have only yourself to blame for the cover; no WARPreader provided a better one, so I had to do one myself ... pondered awhile not having a cover pic at all, & starting this column immediately below the title on p. 1. But the appalling prospect of having to write up a three-page-long Timber! dissuaded me.
Nothing would go together right in this ish. I've got stacks of material, but none of a length to fill the spaces that were to be filled this time. In most cases it's merely a matter of digging deep enuf in the copy file and eventually emerging with the proper bit of crud to round out a page. Not this month.
The March issue, on the other hand, should be less trouble. I've got most of the copy already, which can be attributed more to the lateness of this ish than remarkable foresightedness about the next.
And if the remainder of the March ish is as good as it begins, it'll be something! There will be two -- at least -- new columns inaugurated in the Third Annish -- plus some BNF's contribbing other items to the lineup. Most of the fen from whom I requested material responded promptly; I would be irked at the others, were it not for the half-dozen requests for contributions to other fanzines which are gathering dust on my desk.
A publication which deserves mention (it was crowded out of the regular review column on p. 10) is Fan-Fare, a 16-pp bi-monthly job whose hekto format brings thoughts of the days when WARP appeared through that delicate and messy process. The publishers of Fan-Fare, however, seem to be experts at it. No air-bubbles, no blurs. It's 10¢, 6/50¢, from W. Paul Ganley, 119 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, New York.
Re: SAPS. It's full, as I warned you it would be. There are three fen on the waiting list at the moment. If you get on it now, you may become a member by July -- if you don't apply now, you'll most likely have to wait even longer.
I am working on compilation of a list of all currently-active fan-clubs, this list eventually to be given to fans as they join the NFFF. If you're a member of a fan club -- especially a local or regional club -- let me know about it -- it's time & place of meeting, address of whatever officer prospective members should write, purpose of the club (if any), etc. Troubling yourself to drop me a postcard now may bring you a flock of valuable new members later.
Also available to NFFFers now is a list of pseudonyms of fantasy pro writers. This is largely a reprint of the list published about a year ago in SPACEWARP. If you are already a NFFF member and want a copy of the list, write Eva Firestone, Upton, Wyoming, for it.
Fan event of the past few weeks around here was the weekend visit of George Young, Martin Alger, Gerald Gordon, and Arnim Seielstad, who came up to Saginaw to buy mags, discuss the decadent state of Michigan fandom, and generally enjoy themselves. Ben Singer was supposed to come, too, but overslept and missed the boat ... or rather, car.
With a case of beer, Ralph, a fifth of vodka, and Bill, the gathering got underway early Saturday evening and lasted until about 2:30 Sunday morning. Entertainment consisted of scornful recriminations about the Bombing, disparaging predictions about the futures of each others fan activities, and reading of items by Burbee and Laney in my back FAPA mailings. This continued (with a brief pause for sleep) until Sunday evening. This event is hereby designated The Vodcon.
Eventually I'll get down to Detroit for a meeting of the DSFL, and will then pour into your shell-pink ears all the sordid details of what is going on in Motor City fandom since the Blowup wiped out fancivilization around here.
To change the subject abruptly -- this should have gone in last month's WARP: Redd Boggs is surveying the past three years of WARP for the Third Annish, and invites any other WARPreader whose files go back a year or more, to chime in with suggestions and/or comments. Rush 'em to Redd at 2215 Benjamin St., NE. Minneapolis 18, Minnesota -- he'll be finishing his column (I hope) within a few days after you find this WARP in your mailbox.
Anyone notice the ad on page 25 of the November 49 Coronet? The Ideal film-distributing corporation offers 16mm prints of (among others) "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" and "Things To Come." I suppose these are highly-cut versions, but even so, they should be just the thing to brighten up a fanmeet.
Heard from Steve Mechette the other day -- he, in cahoots with a flock of other San Francisco fen, are working on a club fanzine. That should be a very readable pub when it appears...
Also heard from Dick Avery, who tells how he traveled from Alaska to Tennessee via the Pacific and Gulf coastlines, looking up fen along the way, but without success. Wally Weber wasn't home; Rick Sneary might have been home, but Dick couldn't find South Gate. This leads to the supposition that South Gate is a purely mythical community, created by Rick as part of a gigantic hoax which will flower in 1958 when fandom votes to hold the World Convention there, and then discovers there is no such place.
Well, I have been working for exactly three and one-half hours at filling these two pages. Never saw such a shortage of ideas. Mayhap this is GAFIA, but more likely it's just a lull in fanactivity. Also, lots of the stuff I usually cover in Timber! is elsewhere in the zine this time.
With all the new columns appearing or about to appear in WARP, I'd better say once again (for the last time) that when I ask someone to do a column, the agreement is that I print whatever he writes, and do not interfere in any way, unless a lot of readers write to me saying that the column bores them.
Which is highly unlikely.
While on the subject -- it is highly unlikely that I'll print any of the fanfiction you keep shipping to me. I'll turn it over to other fanzines, or to the NFFF Manuscript Bureau -- but it'll save you time if you send it there in the first place. But articles, and poetry, are likely to be welcomed. Particularly items that run a half-page or so in length. And, as you might shudderingly deduce, cover-designs. I'll use mimeo-hekto now and then, but since it now involves preparing at least three mastersheets, I prefer plain mimeo. If you wanna cut the stencil yourself, send a rough sketch for my o.k. first.
-ahr
Text versions and page scans Judy Bemis
Data entry by Judy Bemis
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