DOCSLIB.ORG

Thought Experiment Allen M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Thought Experiment Allen M Thought Experiment Allen M. Steele The History of Science Fiction, and Why It Matters The following essay is adapted from a blue cellophane sheets over the skylight keynote speech delivered at the Melon windows to filter out UV rays, installed 2018 science fiction symposium, March LED lights and a fan for hot days, and 17, 2018, in Hong Kong. put down mousetraps for uninvited bib- irst, a disclaimer: the title of this ad- liophiles. If the house were ever to catch dress should not be taken literally. fire, my town’s volunteer fire department I’m not going to attempt to narrate would probably have to rescue me from F the history of science fiction in the the loft; I’d be up there, desperately short time the convention has generous- throwing my precious collection through ly given me this morning. It’s far too the windows I’ve broken out. complex for any sort of brief yet cogent Shelved on stainless-steel restaurant description. Even an attempt to summa- kitchen racks are the following: rize the most important stuff would soon A near-complete run of Astounding have people in this room checking their (now Analog), including all issues from watches and making furtive dashes for January 1934 to the present, and sixteen the door. issues before then, including January Instead, let me tell you where to search 1930, the first issue; for this history, and why I think it’s so A complete run of Asimov’s Science important for it to be studied, or at least Fiction, from Spring 1977 to the present, not forgotten. including all four issues of the short- If you were to visit me at home, I’d lived Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Ad- probably show you my office. It’s located venture Magazine; on the second floor in what used to be a Fantasy and Science Fiction, complete teenager’s bedroom, and above it is a from July 1969 to present and several small, barn-style loft, accessible by a dozen issues before then, including the built-in ladder. When my wife and I first issue, Fall 1949; bought our house more than twenty A near-complete run of Venture, F&SF’s years ago, one of the big attractions was sister magazine; this loft. I get my exercise from climbing A near-complete run of Unknown, As- the ladder at least twice a day to reach tounding’s sister fantasy magazine, in- that which I’ve put up there, my favorite cluding both the first and last issues; material possession: my science fiction A near-complete run of Planet Stories, magazine collection. including the issues where Ray Brad- I began this collection while still in bury and Philip K. Dick published their grade school more than fifty years ago, first stories; and I’ve been steadily adding to it ever A complete run of Captain Future; since, one issue at a time. I’ve never thrown Near-complete runs of both Galaxy away an SF magazine except when it and its sister magazine If, including the was so damaged that it was unreadable, first and final issues of both; and I’ve become an expert at reinforcing A near-complete run of Amazing Sto- spines, repairing torn covers, reinserting ries from the late sixties through the late loose pages, and erasing pen and pencil eighties, along with individual issues marks. My magazines are individually dating back to the late twenties and ear- stored in plastic bags, with cardboard ly thirties. stiffeners for the oldest issues; I’ve put Besides the racked magazines, rows of 13 November/December 2018 cardboard long-boxes hold complete runs was being published in Amazing and its of Vertex, Science Fiction Age, Absolute competitors Wonder Stories and Astound- Magnitude, Aboriginal Science Fiction, ing. The new genre quickly gained popu- Artemis, Future, and Cosmos, many is- larity. Through the Depression and the sues of Omni, Startling, Fantastic Uni- wartime years, a spate of newer maga- verse, and Thrilling Wonder, and miscel- zines appeared: Startling, Planet, laneous magazines that had brief, but Thrilling Wonder (which was Wonder memorable existences, such as the issue Stories under a more thrilling title), and of UnEarth where William Gibson made my personal favorite, Captain Future. his debut. And while it was mainly a fantasy and As obsessive collections goes, this one horror magazine, Weird Tales nonethe- might be considered a little extreme, but less published some early SF. The first it could be worse. I once saw a porn col- true space opera, “Crashing Suns” by lection nearly this big. Edmond Hamilton, appeared in the Au- I’m not going to try to explain why I’ve gust and September 1928 issues. spent a lifetime collecting SF magazines, A small confession here: in the past nor am I going to rationalize it, for there’s few years, I’ve read very little recent SF. nothing here that needs to be explained Many of the novels published over the or rationalized, let alone apologized for. I last decade, and the authors who wrote love science fiction, and since I go back to them, are unknown to me. It’s not be- a time when SF was principally a short- cause I don’t respect and enjoy their fiction form, with few novels and even work; for the most part, that which I fewer movies or TV shows (and no have read by SF’s newest generation has videogames), I came to it mainly through been pretty good. However, my attention reading SF magazines, and that’s still has lately been consumed by a long what I treasure the most. What I’d like to study of the genre’s history and develop- talk about, briefly, is what I’ve learned ment, and I feel that the best way to do from this obsession of mine. that is by reading the literary works Science fiction came from somewhere. themselves, and whenever possible in It wasn’t as if the Almighty looked down the form in which they first appeared. upon the face of the waters, said “Let So most of the SF I’ve read lately was there be SF!,” and with lightning and published before 1950, particularly from thunder Robert Silverberg appeared. We the twenties through the forties. The au- can debate forever who wrote the first thors I’ve been reading include Neil R. SF novel: Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Jones, whose Professor Jameson series or Jules Verne. And for what little I was probably the first treatment of what know about Asian SF, there may be a we’d now call transhumans, Clare Winger Chinese author who predates them all. Harris, the first female SF author of the In both name and form, though, sci- twentieth century, and Stanley G. Wein- ence fiction as a distinct and definable baum, whose tragically short life—he genre emerged from American pulp liter- died at age thirty-three—didn’t stop him ature. First in Argosy and All-Story, then from being one of the great innovators of in Science and Invention, and then, in early space opera. If you haven’t read any 1926, the great Amazing Stories, where of these writers, you’re not alone . and the genre was given its original name, I’ll come back to that in a minute. “scientifiction” (which, thankfully, never My fascination with early SF has noth- really caught on). It took many decades ing to do with nostalgia or a desire to live for major publishers to begin regularly in the past. And while most of the stories producing SF novels, and small-press I’ve read in the pulps are as entertaining publishers like Gnome, Shasta, and Fan- as anything published today, that’s not tasy Press didn’t appear until the late the principal reason either. Rather, I’ve forties, so at first nearly all science fiction developed an abiding interest in what I 14 Allen M. Steele Asimov’s consider to be science fiction’s greatest It can be said that science fiction is, it- contribution to human culture, the subtle self, a science fiction story: the invention yet detectable influence it’s had on scien- and development of a literary form that, tific inquiry and technological develop- over time, inadvertently changed the na- ment. ture of science and technology. More of- There’s a theory, which I happen to ten than not, SF as a source of inspira- share, that science and science fiction tion for real-world sci-tech development have established and sustained a pattern has been largely overlooked. Yet there of co-evolution for the past 150 years or have been so many instances in which so. Just as real-world science and tech- reality has echoed fiction that they can’t nology has influenced science fiction, so be considered coincidence or happen- SF has influenced scientific and techno- stance. And the further back you look, logical progress. SF does not predict the the more obvious the pattern becomes. future, and serious SF writers don’t con- Take, for example, the search for ex- sider themselves to be prophets. Howev- traterrestrial intelligence and our at- er, the genre has had demonstrable im- tempts to make contact with alien civi- pact on what scientists have chosen to lizations. investigate and what technologists have One of the earliest SF stories about chosen to invent. SETI is “Old Faithful,” by Raymond Gal- Science fiction came out of the nine- lun, published in the December 1934 is- teenth century industrial revolution, and sue of Astounding.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • FANTASY NEWS TEN CENTS the Science Fiction Weekly Newspaper Volume 4, Number 21 Sunday, May 12
    NEWS PRICE: WHILE THREE IT’S ISSUES HOT! FANTASY NEWS TEN CENTS the science fiction weekly newspaper Volume 4, Number 21 Sunday, May 12. 1940 Whole Number 99 FAMOUS FANTASTIC FACTS SOCIAL TO BE GIVEN BY QUEENS SFL THE TIME STREAM The next-to-last QSFL meeting which provided that the QSFL in­ Fantastic Novels, long awaited The Writer’s Yearbook for 1940 of the 39-40 season saw an attend­ vestigate the possibilities of such an companion magazine to Famous contains several items of consider­ ance of close to thirty authors and idea. The motion was passed by a Fantastic Mysteries, arrived on the able interest to the science fiction fans. Among those present were majority with Oshinsky. Hoguet. newsstands early this week. This fan. There is a good size picture of Malcolm Jameson, well know stf- and Unger on investigating com­ new magazine presents the answer Fred Pohl, editor of Super Science author; Julius Schwartz and Sam mittee. It was pointed out that if to hundreds of stfans who wanted and Astonishing, included in a long Moskowitz, literary agents special­ twenty fans could be induced to pay to read the famous classics of yester­ pictorial review of all Popular Pub­ izing in science fiction; James V. ten dollars apiece it would provide year and who did not like to wait lications; there is also, the informa­ Taurasi. William S. Sykora. Mario two hundred dollars which might months for them to appear in serial tion that Harl Vincent has had ma­ Racic, Jr., Robert G. Thompson, be adequate to rent a “science fiction terial in Detective Fiction Weekly form.
    [Show full text]
  • For Fans by Fans: Early Science Fiction Fandom and the Fanzines
    FOR FANS BY FANS: EARLY SCIENCE FICTION FANDOM AND THE FANZINES by Rachel Anne Johnson B.A., The University of West Florida, 2012 B.A., Auburn University, 2009 A thesis submitted to the Department of English and World Languages College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities The University of West Florida In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2015 © 2015 Rachel Anne Johnson The thesis of Rachel Anne Johnson is approved: ____________________________________________ _________________ David M. Baulch, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ David M. Earle, Ph.D., Committee Chair Date Accepted for the Department/Division: ____________________________________________ _________________ Gregory Tomso, Ph.D., Chair Date Accepted for the University: ____________________________________________ _________________ Richard S. Podemski, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School Date ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank Dr. David Earle for all of his help and guidance during this process. Without his feedback on countless revisions, this thesis would never have been possible. I would also like to thank Dr. David Baulch for his revisions and suggestions. His support helped keep the overwhelming process in perspective. Without the support of my family, I would never have been able to return to school. I thank you all for your unwavering assistance. Thank you for putting up with the stressful weeks when working near deadlines and thank you for understanding when delays
    [Show full text]
  • Pseudoscience and Science Fiction Science and Fiction
    Andrew May Pseudoscience and Science Fiction Science and Fiction Editorial Board Mark Alpert Philip Ball Gregory Benford Michael Brotherton Victor Callaghan Amnon H Eden Nick Kanas Geoffrey Landis Rudi Rucker Dirk Schulze-Makuch Ru€diger Vaas Ulrich Walter Stephen Webb Science and Fiction – A Springer Series This collection of entertaining and thought-provoking books will appeal equally to science buffs, scientists and science-fiction fans. It was born out of the recognition that scientific discovery and the creation of plausible fictional scenarios are often two sides of the same coin. Each relies on an understanding of the way the world works, coupled with the imaginative ability to invent new or alternative explanations—and even other worlds. Authored by practicing scientists as well as writers of hard science fiction, these books explore and exploit the borderlands between accepted science and its fictional counterpart. Uncovering mutual influences, promoting fruitful interaction, narrating and analyzing fictional scenarios, together they serve as a reaction vessel for inspired new ideas in science, technology, and beyond. Whether fiction, fact, or forever undecidable: the Springer Series “Science and Fiction” intends to go where no one has gone before! Its largely non-technical books take several different approaches. Journey with their authors as they • Indulge in science speculation—describing intriguing, plausible yet unproven ideas; • Exploit science fiction for educational purposes and as a means of promoting critical thinking; • Explore the interplay of science and science fiction—throughout the history of the genre and looking ahead; • Delve into related topics including, but not limited to: science as a creative process, the limits of science, interplay of literature and knowledge; • Tell fictional short stories built around well-defined scientific ideas, with a supplement summarizing the science underlying the plot.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of Fantasy Magazines 1945
    A CHECKLIST OF FANTASY MAGAZINES 1945 Edition Bulletin Number One 20 c to Subscribers PREFACE As the first of a long line of Foundation publications we are happy to present a relatively complete checklist of all fantasy periodicals. Insofar as the major Eng­ lish-language titles are concerned, we believe this list to be both complete and error-free, but it was not poss­ ible to furnish an adequate listing of.several of the more obscure items. It is also very likely that there exist several foreign language publications whose names are not even known to us. Anyone able to furnish addi­ tional information is requested to send it to Forrest J. Ackerman, 236^ N. New Hampshire, Los Angeles 4, Cal., for inclusion in the next edition of this checklist. No author is shown on the title page of this pamphlet because in its present form it is the work of at least five individuals: Norman V. Lamb, William H. Evans, Merlin W. Brown, Forrest J. Ackerman, and Francis T, Laney. The Fantasy Foundation wishes to extend its thanks to these gentlemen, as well as to the several members of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society who assisted in its production. THE FANTASY FOUNDATION June 1, 1946 Copyrighted. 1946 The Fantasy Foundation AIR WONDER STORIES (see WONDER) AMAZING STORIES (cont) 1929 (cont) AMAZING detective tales Vol. 4, No. 1 — April —0O0— Arthur H. Lynch, Ed. Hugo Gernsback, Ed. Vol. 4, No. 2 — May 1930 3 — June Vol. 1 No. 6 -- June 4 — July 7 — July 5 -- August 8 — August 6 — September 9 — September 7 — October 10 — October T.
    [Show full text]
  • Eng 4936 Syllabus
    ENG 4936 (Honors Seminar): Reading Science Fiction: The Pulps Professor Terry Harpold Spring 2019, Section 7449 Time: MWF, per. 5 (11:45 AM–12:35 PM) Location: Little Hall (LIT) 0117 office hours: M, 4–6 PM & by appt. (TUR 4105) email: [email protected] home page for Terry Harpold: http://users.clas.ufl.edu/tharpold/ e-Learning (Canvas) site for ENG 4936 (registered students only): http://elearning.ufl.edu Course description The “pulps” were illustrated fiction magazines published between the late 1890s and the late 1950s. Named for the inexpensive wood pulp paper on which they were printed, they varied widely as to genre, including aviation fiction, fantasy, horror and weird fiction, detective and crime fiction, railroad fiction, romance, science fiction, sports stories, war fiction, and western fiction. In the pulps’ heyday a bookshop or newsstand might offer dozens of different magazines on these subjects, often from the same publishers and featuring work by the same writers, with lurid, striking cover and interior art by the same artists. The magazines are, moreover, chock-full of period advertising targeted at an emerging readership, mostly – but not exclusively – male and subject to predictable The first issue of Amazing Stories, April 1926. Editor Hugo Gernsback worries and aspirations during the Depression and Pre- promises “a new sort of magazine,” WWII eras. (“Be a Radio Expert! Many Make $30 $50 $75 featuring the new genre of a Week!” “Get into Aviation by Training at Home!” “scientifiction.” “Listerine Ends Husband’s Dandruff in 3 Weeks!” “I’ll Prove that YOU, too, can be a NEW MAN! – Charles Atlas.”) The business end of the pulps was notoriously inconstant and sometimes shady; magazines came into and went out of publication with little fanfare; they often changed genres or titles without advance notice.
    [Show full text]
  • By Lee A. Breakiron ONE-SHOT WONDERS
    REHeapa Autumnal Equinox 2015 By Lee A. Breakiron ONE-SHOT WONDERS By definition, fanzines are nonprofessional publications produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, such as a literary or musical genre, for the pleasure of others who share their interests. Readers themselves often contribute to fanzines by submitting their own articles, reviews, letters of comment, and fan fiction. Though the term fanzine only dates from 1940 when it was popularized within science fiction and comic book fandom, the first fanzines actually date back to at least the nineteenth century when, as a uniquely American development, literary groups formed amateur press associations or APAs in order to publish collections of poetry, fiction, and commentary. Few, if any, writers have had as many fanzines, chapbooks, and other ephemera dedicated to them as has Robert E. Howard. Howard himself self-published his own typed “zine,” The Golden Caliph of four loose pages in about August, 1923 [1], as well as three issues of one entitled The Right Hook in 1925 (discussed later). Howard collaborated with his friends Tevis Clyde “Clyde” Smith, Jr., and Truett Vinson in their own zines, The All-Around Magazine and The Toreador respectively, in 1923 and 1925. (A copy of The All-Around Magazine sold for $911 in 2005.) Howard also participated in an amateur essay, commentary, and poetry journal called The Junto that ran from 1928 to 1930, contributing 10 stories and 13 poems to 10 of the issues that survive. Only one copy of this monthly “travelogue” was circulated among all the members of the group.
    [Show full text]
  • Fantast Handbook 1952 Contents
    OPERATION FANTAST HANDBOOK 1952 CONTENTS AN INTRODUCTION...................................................................... .. Page 4. THE CONTACT BUREAU ....................................................................... Page 6. DOLLARS AND POUNDS ....................................................................... Page 7. OPERATION FANTAST POSTAL LIBRARY..........................................Page 9. CURRENT MAGAZINE LISTING............................................................. Page 10. "DEAD" MAGAZINES................................................................................ Page 14. MAGAZINES: some general notes •• •* ...................... Page 15. THE FANTASY ART SOCIETY............................................................. Page 16. THE DISTRIBUTION SERVICE............................................................. Page 18. THE INTERNATIONAL FANTASY AWARD..........................................Page 18. A WORD ABOUT FANZINES ............................................................. Page 19. LITERARY AGENTS.................................................................................Page 21. CLUBS AND SOCIETIES.......................................................................Page 22. THE BRITISH FANTASY LIBRARY................................................... Page 25. BOOK DEALERS.......................................................................................... Page 26. MAGAZINE DEALERS................................................................................ Page 26.
    [Show full text]
  • Science Fiction Book Club Interview with Eric Leif Davin (Aug
    Science Fiction Book Club Interview with Eric Leif Davin (Aug. 2021) Dr. Eric Leif Davin teaches labor and political history at the University of Pittsburgh. He wrote "Pioneers of Wonder: Conversations with the Founders of Science Fiction." as well as "Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1928-1965." John Grayshaw: What is the Gernsback era? Although Hugo Gernsback briefly published an SF magazine in the 1950s, “SF Plus,” the Gernsback Era is actually referring to the period 1926-1934. In 1926 Gernsback launched “Amazing Stories,” the first SF magazine. It was the only SF magazine until 1929, when he launched “Wonder Stories.” In 1934 he sold the latter magazine to the Thrilling group, with it becoming “Thrilling Wonder Stories.” With that, he exited the SF magazine world until the 1950s. Bill Rogers: Professor Davin, have you done much research on early Russian science fiction, particularly that written after the October Revolution? If so, what do you think it contributed to the genre, or was it too isolated due to the external reaction to the revolution to have much effect beyond Russia? I’ve not done much research on early Russian SF. My feeling is that the handful of Russian SF films were more influential than the print versions. This might be seen in the impact they had on Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis,” a German film, which is currently playing in Berlin in the year 2021. Eva Sable: Has the function of the editor changed much from Gernsback's day to today? Is an editor more or less directive of the content, for example? No, the job of the editor has not basically changed.
    [Show full text]
  • Science Fiction, Technology Fact
    BR-205 SCIENCESCIENCE FICTION,FICTION, TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY FACTFACT INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION ArtworkArtwork hashas playedplayed anan influentialinfluential andand centralcentral rolerole inin sciencescience fictionfiction literature.literature. ItIt hashas partlypartly defineddefined thethe scopescope ofof thethe genregenre andand hashas broughtbrought thethe startlingstartling andand imaginativeimaginative visionsvisions ofof outerouter space,space, explorationexploration ofof otherother worlds,worlds, interplanetaryinterplanetary spaceflightspaceflight andand extraterrestrialextraterrestrial beingsbeings intointo thethe mindsminds andand consciousnessconsciousness ofof thethe generalgeneral public.public. InIn magazinesmagazines andand books,books, filmfilm andand television,television, advertisingadvertising andand video,video, thethe artist’sartist’s visionvision hashas transformedtransformed wordswords intointo dazzlingdazzling andand compellingcompelling imagesimages thatthat stillstill liftlift thethe spiritsspirits andand brightenbrighten thethe soul.soul. A range of books gives wonderful examples of book and magazine covers, as well as paintings, illustrations and film posters, depicting science fiction themes and scenes. They trace the history and development of science fiction art, giving many examples of the images behind the stories, noting the technologies and ideas inherent in the pictures, and describing the lives and works of the artists and illustrators. Pulp magazines, with their lurid covers and thrilling, violent,
    [Show full text]
  • About This Volume Gary Hoppenstand
    About This Volume Gary Hoppenstand Much has been published over the past several decades about both the pulpPaJa]ine ¿ction oI the s and s and Weird Tales, one of the Post faPous and inÀuential pulps to have been published durinJ this tZodecade period 7he dif¿cult\ of editinJ a voluPe that both brieÀ\ outlines the heiJht of the pulpPaJa]ine era and speci¿call\ examines an important title of this era was in deciding what to exclude, rather than what to include. M\ solution to the dilemma was to provide a timeline of popular ¿c- tion following the Industrial Revolution and leading up to the pulps. I wanted to discuss the cultural and social dynamics of the invention and evolution of popular ¿ction over a period of approximately years in both England and the United States, being sure to cover such topics as social class, education, the rise of the city, and printing technology as important elements of the discussion. I also wanted to cover the historical sequence of working-class ven- ues for popular ¿ction that led to the creation of the pulp maga]ines in general and Weird Tales speci¿cally. It is important for the contempo- rary reader to understand that historical sequence and to realize that publications such as Weird Tales did not spring fully grown onto the newsstand without an extended lineage. Beginning with the story pa- pers and penny dreadfuls and leading up to the dime novels and early decades of the pulps, each iteration of working-class popular ¿ction was essential in leading to the conception of the next iteration.
    [Show full text]
  • Science, Expertise, and Everyday Reality in 1926 by Brian S. Matzke
    All Scientific Stuff: Science, Expertise, and Everyday Reality in 1926 by Brian S. Matzke A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (English Language and Literature) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Eric S. Rabkin, Chair Professor John S. Carson Professor June M. Howard Professor Alan M. Wald Copyright © Brian S. Matzke 2013 Dedication To my parents, Charles Matzke and Janice Beecher, who taught me to read, to write, to think, and to question. ii Acknowledgements Many scholars have mentored and advised me over the years, and I am grateful to all of them for the insights that they have provided and the knowledge that they have imparted. This project began as a paper in John Whittier-Ferguson’s graduate seminar on modernism, and from that beginning, numerous professors’ influences have shaped this book. I would like to thank George Bornstein, John Carson, Gregg Crane, Paul Edwards, Gabrielle Hecht, June Howard, Steve Jackson, Howard Markel, Susan Parrish, Eric Rabkin, Paddy Scannell, Derek Vaillant, Alan Wald, and Patricia Yaeger. In addition to the faculty at the University of Michigan, I received tremendous insights and support from my colleagues both at Michigan and other institutions. Their comments on drafts and their recommendations at every stage of the writing process were invaluable to me. I am grateful to Alex Beringer, Geremy Carnes, MicKenzie Fasteland, Molly Hatcher, Korey Jackson, Chung-Hao Ku, Konstantina Karageorgos, Corinne Martin, Karen McConnell, Nathaniel Mills, Daniel Mintz, and Michael Tondre. Some ideas from the chapter on Amazing Stories have their basis in my work with the Genre Evolution Project, and I am thankful to the members of the project for their inspiration, in particular, Eric Rabkin, Carl Simon, Rebecca Adams, Zach Wright, Meg Hixon, and Dayna Smith.
    [Show full text]
  • 25 Kraitsowits Ac
    Cercles 25 (2012) SCIENCE FICTION IN THE 1930S A LITERATURE OF ANGST STEPHAN KRAITSOWITS Université de Picardie Jules-Verne (Amiens) During the few years after the trauma of World War I, in the midst of a financial crisis and in the dread of a Second World War a new kind of literature was coming to fruition in Europe and America in the works of mainstream authors such as E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad or Ernest Hemingway. Yet, if the nostalgia for a glorious and stable past was being contrasted with a more disjointed and subjective present in the works of the new Modernist authors [KALAIDJIAN : 10], a more marginal genre was also busy giving a sense to readers of what the future might have in store. That genre was Science Fiction. The start of the popular dissemination of SF can be pin-pointed to April 1926, when the American writer and publisher Hugo Gernsback launched Amazing Stories. Amazing Stories was the first pulp magazine to be specialized in tales willfully and explicitly mingling Science and Fiction. What Gernsback first called “Scientifiction” in the editorial of the first issue of his magazine, and later referred to as “Science Fiction”, was a particular type of literature defined as: “... the Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and E.A. Poe type of story - a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision”. 1 What Gernsback’s magazine was proposing was to go one step further than the avant-garde literature of the day and to offer the new readers of mass publication a quick glimpse into the realm of completely new possibilities offered by the upsetting of the past order.
    [Show full text]