Things have been crazy this past month, and I’ve been too busy with other projects and/or just wiped out to get this up sooner.
COVID killed the lectureship in 2020. Last year’s was all online. That was better than nothing, but everyone agreed it was less than satisfactory. Fortunately, this year’s event was held in person. It was good to be back in Portales again. I’d attended in 2018 and 2019 and had a fantastic time. Continue reading
As I write this, there are still a few hours left in April 29, at least in this time zone. Final exams start a week from today, and between trying to get my classes ready and dealing with emails from students who are suddenly concerned about bad lab grades they received months ago (and mostly didn’t bother to read the lab syllabus), I’ve not had time to read anything by these gentlemen. So no close look at any work by these guys. Just a shout-out to bring them some recognition. So in order of their births, here are: Continue reading
Jack Williamson
There are a number of birthdays today that I could write about, but I want to focus on three, in no other order than their importance to me.
Legendary science fiction and fantasy author Jack Williamson was born 111 years ago today. That would be April 29, 1908. He passed away in 2006.
Williamson got his start in the pulps in the late 1920s with his first story, “The Metal Man”, being published in Amazing Stories. His final novel, The Stonehenge Gate, was published in 2005.
My project to read and compare the magazine and book versions of Darker Than You Think got sidetracked last year. I’ll try to get it restarted in the summer.
I’ve written about Williamson’s impact on me several times before, so I’ll keep my comments short. I came across a stripped copy of The Best of Jack Williamson for a quarter at the flea market in Wichita Falls, Texas, when I was in the seventh grade. (Stripped means the cover had been stripped off and the book had been reported to the publisher as having been pulped. It was stolen, IOW, although I didn’t know that then.) My favorite story in the collection at the time, and still a favorite today, is “With Folded Hands”. It’s a chilling story about robots who protect us from ourselves, whether we want them to or not. If you haven’t read it, it’s worth tracking down a copy. Continue reading
Jack Williamson and Your Intrepid Blogger gazing into the future.
Last Friday I made a trek to the Jack Williamson Lectureship at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Even though the GoH wasn’t someone I was familiar with (film maker Alex Rivera), I wanted to make sure I went this year. I’d had an interview at a different university the previous week and felt I had a good shot at the position. (I learned a few days ago the dean and the provost decided not to fill the position but to split it into two positions next year.Oh, well. I’m under no pressure to leave where I’m at. The other position would have put me closer to family, which was the main reason I applied.) Continue reading
There are two birthdays we need to recognize today, October 1.
The first is the artist J. Allen St. John (1872-1957). The second is editor Donald A. Wollheim (1914-1990). Continue reading
Today marks the anniversaries of two favorite writers, men who are no strangers to readers of Adventures Fantastic or fans of classic pulp and adventure literature. They are Rafael Sabatini and Jack Williamson. Plus a third pulpster whose work I’ve not read much of yet. Continue reading
So last Friday, April 6, I decided to play hookey take a personal day from work and attend the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales, NM. This was the 42nd annual Lectureship. Jack Williamson was a Professor of English at Eastern New Mexico University. The Lectureship was established in 1977, when he retired.
I had always wanted to go, especially since I moved out to this part of Texas. Portales is just under two hours from my house. I needed the break, so I went.
Boy, am I glad I did. I didn’t realize until i got there just how badly I needed the getaway. It was like visiting a home I hadn’t realized existed and being united with family I never knew I had. I will be returning next year. By the time I left for home, the Williamson Lectureship became second only to Howard Days on my calendar. (Those who know me will understand the significance of that statement.)
I’d like to thank Betty Williamson, Jack’s niece, for her hospitality and generosity during my visit. Betty oversees the Lectureship and has done a remarkable job of keeping Jack Williamson’s legacy alive. Jack was one of the most original and innovative science fiction writers of all time, and much of his work is sadly unavailable these days outside of second hand bookstores. Continue reading
“Wolves of Darkness” was published in Strange Tales, probably the most successful of the rivals of Weird Tales, in January 1932. As you can see, it got the cover.
I read the story years ago, when I was either in high school or an undergraduate. I was expecting it to be an early version of Williamson’s novel Darker Than You Think. It’s not. While both deal with lycanthropy, they are very different stories. I remember I enjoyed the story and that it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting. Other than that, I didn’t recall any of the plot when I sat down to reread the story the other day.
The first two things I mentioned above, I enjoyed it and it wasn’t what I was expecting, were still true. While lycanthropy is a theme, this horror tale is more grounded in science fiction than the supernatural. Continue reading
Before he became a master of science fiction, Jack Williamson was a master of pulp adventure. He’s becoming forgotten these days, especially much of his early work. It doesn’t help that most of his books are not available in electronic format. Haffner Press collected all of his short fiction in a ten volume set. They’re pretty much out of print except for a couple of limited editions of the later volumes.
Williamson started writing for the pulps in 1928. His last novel was published in 2005. He passed away in 2006. I’ve always wanted to attend the Williamson Lectureship in Portales. It’s within driving distance, but the day job has always interfered.
But I digress. There’s a clear difference in Williamson’s early work compared to his later novels. As he said in the Tamerlane Press edition of Golden Blood (still available for a reasonable price online) as well as the introduction to the Phantasia Press edition of The Reign of Wizardry (also still available), these were works he probably wouldn’t be able to write as an older writer. (I’m paraphrasing here, of course.)
Golden Blood was first serialized in Weird Tales after being rejected by Argosy. If there is an electronic version, I’m not aware of it. It got the cover twice, with both covers painted by J. Allen St. John.St. John also did the interior illustrations shown below.
The first cover, from the April 1933 issue, is a near classic image in the field of fantasy art. Williamson had an opportunity to buy the painting at the time the story was published but had to decline due to lack of funds.
There have been two paperback reprints, one with a cover by Ed Emshwiller at the bottom of the post. The other was a large print edition from Lancer. My favorite cover is the one with the giant tiger on it. Continue reading
Weird Tales editorial office, l. to r., unknown, Farnsworth Wright, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch
By the time of his death in 1940, Farnsworth Wright had become one of the most influential editors the field of the fantastic would ever see. Wright was born in 1888 on July, 29. I would argue his influence on science fiction, fantasy, and horror has been greater than any other editor, including John W. Campbell, Dorothy McIlwraith, Fred Pohl, Ray Palmer, or Hugo Gernsback.
Yes, I realize that last sentence could be controversial, especially the inclusion of Campbell and Gernsback. So be it. Farnsworth Wright edited Weird Tales during what is considered to be the magazine’s golden age. The authors he published have had a greater impact on the literature of the fantastic than those of any other editor at any time in history. Continue reading