Tolkien Fandom Review 1968
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The Yellowskin of Tuckborough Tolkien fandom review 1968 by Sumner Gary Hunnewell (Hildifons Took) 2013 First Edition (May 2013) 40 copies Number _____ for ________________________. © 2013, The New England Tolkien Society Sumner Gary Hunnewell (Hildifons Took) 2030 San Pedro Dr., Arnold, Missouri 63010 U.S.A. [email protected] The Yellowskin of Tuckborough: Tolkien Fandom Review 1968 Table of Contents Dedication . 2 From the Archives of Hildifons Took . 2 A Short Overview of Tolkien Fandom in 1968 . 2 Errata from The Yellowskin of Tuckborough 1967 . 4 A Few Comments on the Fanzines Covered . 4 Fanzines . 6 Author index . 25 Artist index . 46 Art index by subject . 49 Ephemera . 53 Addenda (1960-1967) . 56 A Few Comments on the Fanzines Covered . 56 Fanzines . 56 Author index . 57 Artist index . 58 Art index by subject . 58 Ephemera . 59 Fan Names – Names / Names - Fan Names . 60 Glossary . 62 Bibliography . 62 1 The Yellowskin of Tuckborough: Tolkien Fandom Review 1968 Dedication This issue is dedicated to Jan Howard Finder and Richard West. From the Archives of Hildifons Took While working on this project, it is easy to ruminate about its scope and future. It is impossible for this to be a day-by-day (or even year by year) chronicle of Tolkien fandom. Time has erased many small Tolkien societies and clubs of which I’ve never heard. The focus has always been to make this a useful view of Tolkien fandom through the use of printed fanzines and some printed ephemeral material. Additionally, I have decided at this point to limit my efforts to English only material. Although this seems unfair (especially to the Swedish Forodrim, who come onto the scene in 1972), I am shackled by both lack of material and lack of knowledge of the native language. If someone steps in to help with those foreign language fanzines, I am more than willing to share credit. A Short Overview of Tolkien Fandom in 1968 Tolkien fandom flourished in 1968, causing a publishing explosion in the U.S. that would also carry over into the U.K. and Australia. On the U.S. front, Ed Meškys continued to run the Tolkien Society of America out of New Hampshire, while enlisting help from the Browns and other New York science fiction fans to run off two issues of his genzine, Niekas, and mail 2000 copies of Tolkien Journal and Green Dragon appearing that year. Additional help was needed with the crushing correspondence, so Paul Novitski was placed in charge of managing the smials of the TSA. John Closson managed button sales. In addition to his editing role, this still left Meškys with the sale of books, back issues and posters. Niekas did not appear again for nearly a decade. Fans visiting Meškys at his home (dubbed Meškons) decided a one-page science fiction newszine was needed. The theory was that once two sides of a page was filled, it would be mailed. Pulsar and LGM (Little Green Men) were tossed about as names but Meškys lobbied for Locus, the thought being “if mailings were frequent there would be a plague of Locuses.” Charlie Brown, Ed Meškys, and Dave Vanderwerf edited the first issue but within a dozen issues, Brown would be the only editor left standing. As if this was not enough, Meškys organized TSA meetings at Boskone V in Boston, the Worldcon (Baycon) in Berkeley, the annual Yulemoot in New York City. The cherry on top of the cake was the first fan organized Tolkien Conference at Belknap College in October. The conference had 100 attendees, who were treated to a display of Tolkien manuscripts from Marquette University, a play of Farmer Giles of Ham, and paper presentations. The conference was later called Flycon. Flies hatched in the newly built hall where the conference was held, expiring at the rate of a five gallon bucket every day. During these events, Meškys was able to integrate the largely independent Tolkien fandom with well-established science fiction fandom. The University of Wisconsin Tolkien Society continued to meet and published two issues of Orcrist, presenting (mostly) scholarly papers given during its first two years of existence as well as Richard West’s Tolkien bibliography, which Kent State published two years later as Tolkien Criticism: An Annotated Checklist. Similarly, the two year old Michigan State University Tolkien Fellowship’s 2 The Yellowskin of Tuckborough: Tolkien Fandom Review 1968 publishing prowess hit its stride with over a half-dozen Tolkien related fanzines, a non-credit class (Ennorology), and various song books. Neo-Númenor, the wargaming group run by teenagers for the most part, continued to argue club and national politics, while providing publications for fan fiction and speculation. Unlike many of the strictly Tolkien fanzines at the time, comments about the Vietnam War were commonplace in Minas Tirith Evening-Star. Its editor, Philip Helms, was a conscientious objector and not all of the club shared his views (after all, it was a wargaming group). Helms created a new organization, Eldila, and broke away, taking MTES with him in an attempt to remove club politics and elections from the discussion altogether. One of its writers, college student Frank Goddard, railed against the mindless approach to having a club hierarchy at all. This caused even more consternation among the membership until it was reported that Goddard died in a car accident. In a conciliatory tone, members admitted Goddard’s ideas had merit. However, rumors spread that Goddard was still alive. In a meeting in Monmouth, Illinois, Helms produced “Goddard,” a teenage actor, who convinced no one. Helms later admitted he made Goddard up, the first Tolkien fandom hoax. Helms turned over the reins of MTES when he went to college, which brought some peace and normalcy back into the group. In California, the branches of the Mythopoeic Society continued to meet monthly as the MythSoc gathered steam. Glen GoodKnight would lead the discussion at members’ homes on various Inklings related books. He also organized the annual Elvish New Year / Destruction of the Ring party and Bilbo and Frodo Birthday Party. Scott Smith’s Elbereth! continued the way of his earlier fanzines with stream of consciousness reporting, but taking on a far more mystical air in his commentaries. Also on the west coast, the first fannish Tolkien calendar, created by Tim Kirk, appeared in the Shangri L’Affaires Christmas art supplement. Also during this time, Hoom appeared, easily the most appealing dittoed Tolkien fanzine ever produced. The affable editors, Bee Bowman and Frank Denton, produced an eclectic apazine, including teen and youngster columns. Tolkien activity was not limited to the U.S. Archie Mercer became the TSA’s British agent and published the first of his long running and entertaining Middle Earthworms. News of a Tolkien Society of England appeared but no activity was recorded. In Australia, Paul Novitski and Michael O’Brien founded The Australian Tolkien Society, publishing the first issue of Carandaith. The Sydney University Tolkien Society was also formed. This year was marked as the year of lost fanzines. Many of the Tolkien clubzines are gone, especially those from the Michigan State University Tolkien Fellowship as well as the independent wargaming group Neo-Númenor. No issues of Tolkien Tribune from Bob Liebert, the 13 year old leader of the St. Louis Tolkien Society, exist, nor the only issue of the second volume of MTES. There may be many others not reported, which have disappeared over time. However, demand was great for those fanzines with a more national scope. Issues of Tolkien Journal, Elbereth!, Carandaith, and Orcrist were eventually reprinted. The next year, the Tolkien following continued to grow. 3 The Yellowskin of Tuckborough: Tolkien Fandom Review 1968 Errata from The Yellowskin of Tuckborough 1967 Page 4: American Tolkien Society should read Tolkien Society of America. Pages 5 and 9: “recipes for mullet claret” should read “recipes for mulled claret.” (Thanks to Andrew Wells.) Pages 5 and 22: J. Travers should read P. J. Travers. Pages 7, 10, and 21: Marta Mahoney should be Martha Mensch. A Few Comments about the Fanzines Covered Most fanzines were created in limited quantities and are difficult to track down, so this is by no means a complete list of fanzines that contain Tolkien content. In some cases I have only a photocopy of a page or two. Often mimeographed and dittoed fanzines would use capital letters for titles or other artistic scripting. In cases like this, titles were standardized. Here is a list of the fanzines covered in this review and their affiliation. See the Glossary for additional information. Carandaith. Published in either Hughes, Australia Capital Territory, Australia, or Austin, Texas, by Paul Novitski. Different. Published in Newark, New Jersey, by Sam Moskowitz for FAPA. Dwimmerlaik. Published in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, by Gary Phillips; independent. Elbereth! Published in Temple City, California, by Scott S. Smith; independent. Glamdring. Published in Los Angeles, California, by Bruce Pelz; independent. Granfalloon. Published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by Linda Eyster and Suzanne Tompkins; independent. Green Dragon. Published in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, by Ed Meškys for the Tolkien Society of America. GUTS. Published in Los Angeles, California, by Jeffrey and Robert Gluckson; independent. Holbytla. Published in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, by Gary Phillips for the Michigan State University Tolkien Fellowship. Hoom. Published in Waynesboro, Virginia, by Bee Bowman and Frank Denton for N’APA. I Barad. Published in Van Nuys, California, by Stanley Hoffman for the San Fernando Valley Chapter of Some Sort of Medieval Elvish Society I Think (SSMESIT). Locus. Published in the Bronx, New York, by Charlie Brown, Ed Meškys, and Dave Vanderwerf. Magic Bagel, The.