More on Fanzine History

~ Cheryl

Via Pharyngula I discover this article by Gary Farber (hi Gary, long time to see) about jazz and HP Lovecraft. Gary talks about Willis Conover who was a leading jazz DJ before DJs were invented, and also a pal of weird Howard. This is what caught my eye:

Aside from Conover’s early fanzine activity in the thirties, he was one of the most prolific correspondents with that most prolific of correspondents, H. P. Lovecraft.

And like a lot of us old-time sf fans, Conover started in fanzines:

[…] WILLIS CONOVER (1921–1996), best known as the jazz commentator for Voice of America, published Science Fantasy Correspondent when he was fifteen.

That would have been 1936.

4 thoughts on “More on Fanzine History”

  2. Faan fiction, eh? Let’s see what we can find…

    A science fiction fan, defined by the observer, is a near-sighted youngster who reads and lives this stuff, who haunts back number magazine shops spends fabulous sums to add to his collection of classified pulp, & sacrifices school-work, much sleep, and local friends in the endless search for escape or publicity.

    Plus ca change, eh? And…

    Dull creatures, these British, without inventive or imaginative powers.

    Yeah, fandom hasn’t changed much. 🙂

    Thanks Gary!

  3. He was slagging the British about this in 1936? Which would have been about the same time they were inventing the science fiction convention? Uhh….l

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