FA+
Shop
351
Views
Views
3
Favorites
Favorites
Category
All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 802 x 801
File Size 179.5 kB
Report this content
More from Saara
A silly little thing I devised as a publisher's imprint for a fake wraparound cover I did, back around 1986. (The entire cover is posted in my gallery, but you'll have to dig deep for it.) I isolated the imprint to use on another fake cover a couple of days ago. In the end I didn't use this, but decided not to delete the file... you never know when you'll need it.
The Enchanted Duplicator is a piece of fiction written by the Irish fan, Walt Willis, in the early 1950s. It was an allegory of a neofan's journey from his entry into SF fandom, through all the pitfalls and temptations and tribulations that lay in wait for all neos, until he discovers the true meaning of being a fan. It was meant tongue in cheek. Even so, it does read rather self-serving and twee. Yet, The Enchanted Duplicator left a mark on SF fandom that persists to this day. It has been reprinted about a dozen times and can be downloaded in several forms from efanzines.com should you care to look. For years, most fanzines that originated in Ireland were emblazoned with the lighthouse from which shone the light of true fannishness.
The Enchanted Duplicator is a piece of fiction written by the Irish fan, Walt Willis, in the early 1950s. It was an allegory of a neofan's journey from his entry into SF fandom, through all the pitfalls and temptations and tribulations that lay in wait for all neos, until he discovers the true meaning of being a fan. It was meant tongue in cheek. Even so, it does read rather self-serving and twee. Yet, The Enchanted Duplicator left a mark on SF fandom that persists to this day. It has been reprinted about a dozen times and can be downloaded in several forms from efanzines.com should you care to look. For years, most fanzines that originated in Ireland were emblazoned with the lighthouse from which shone the light of true fannishness.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 802 x 801px
File Size 179.5 kB
Walt Willis has been dead a number of years. To have written TED in the present century, he'd probably have to be in his 90s. Nothing inherently improbable about that mind you. I'm personally acquainted with two fans who are in their 90s. What would probably have stopped Walt is lack of interest in the fun and games possible with modern digital gimcrackery.
As it happens, Willis did write a sequel to TED, called Beyond The Enchanted Duplicator... to the Enchanted Convention. It left no impact at all. In fact, I'm not the only one to feel that the sequel is a total reversal of the author's original idea.
You see, in TED, "the enchanted duplicator was the one with a trufan on the end of the crank." What he meant was that the joy of creating your own imitation of a prozine was the best thing about fandom -- not collecting rare and expensive first editions, not seeking fame, not sucking up to pro writers, not taking easy shortcuts by paying a printer to do all the work for you, yadda, yadda, yadda. Okay... this is a very debatable point. But for fanzine fans it was a sort of vindication... if you didn't take it too seriously.
Years later, when Willis wrote Beyond TED, he seemed to be saying that pubbing your ish was yet another false trail, and that the real goal of fannishness was to spend a weekend at the perfect convention with all your friends. This was increasingly true for fans when Willis wrote this. More and more members of fandom had no connection with the old fan press, and were familiar only with con going. They would have endorsed Beyond TED without a shrug. But for a diehard fanzine publisher like me, it was treason. Cons are alright... I've been to my share. But as I got older they seemed less and less attractive and certainly were certainly *never* the central reason I belonged to fandom.
And that's why Willis never go to be 90. We strung the bastard up! (HHOK)
As it happens, Willis did write a sequel to TED, called Beyond The Enchanted Duplicator... to the Enchanted Convention. It left no impact at all. In fact, I'm not the only one to feel that the sequel is a total reversal of the author's original idea.
You see, in TED, "the enchanted duplicator was the one with a trufan on the end of the crank." What he meant was that the joy of creating your own imitation of a prozine was the best thing about fandom -- not collecting rare and expensive first editions, not seeking fame, not sucking up to pro writers, not taking easy shortcuts by paying a printer to do all the work for you, yadda, yadda, yadda. Okay... this is a very debatable point. But for fanzine fans it was a sort of vindication... if you didn't take it too seriously.
Years later, when Willis wrote Beyond TED, he seemed to be saying that pubbing your ish was yet another false trail, and that the real goal of fannishness was to spend a weekend at the perfect convention with all your friends. This was increasingly true for fans when Willis wrote this. More and more members of fandom had no connection with the old fan press, and were familiar only with con going. They would have endorsed Beyond TED without a shrug. But for a diehard fanzine publisher like me, it was treason. Cons are alright... I've been to my share. But as I got older they seemed less and less attractive and certainly were certainly *never* the central reason I belonged to fandom.
And that's why Willis never go to be 90. We strung the bastard up! (HHOK)
Comments