OUR READERS SAY
"Some will perhaps wonder what I precisely meant, in my dialog in the May issue, when my character, Sidney, exclaimed, "And if scribes could only emulate Smith or Lovecraft or Howard!" I meant, of course, that writers should strive to these three in greatness—but a greatness of a different sort. For there can only be one Clark Ashton Smith, one H. P. Lovecraft, one Robert E. Howard. But the aspiring writer can always form himself on a good model; and in time, he will find his own individuality. I wish to see another tale by Eando Binder, as well as a story by J. Harvey Haggard, and more poetry by William Lumley."—Robert Nelson
"I find the June FANTASY FAN interesting. This story is really good, the one by H. P. Lovecraft. Science in a weird atmosphere, 'From Beyond;' interesting, and the story worked out completely satisfactorily. This will probably horrify a number of readers, but as far as I know, this is the first story I have ever liked by Lovecraft; but I like it very well. The word wanderings of 'Prose Pastels' number three are a bit entrancing. F. Lee Baldwin seems worth his increased column."—Forrest J. Ackerman
"The June FANTASY FAN contained everything that goes to make a magazine successful—I need not list the splendid array of stories and articles that you have somehow condensed into one issue."—Duane W. Rimel
"The June number was very well done. In addition to my old stand-bys Lovecraft and Smith, I was pleased with Haggard's little note on 'Books of the Weird.' I'd like to see more of such articles. 'Weird Whisperings' is one of my favorite columns."—H. Koenig
"Enjoyed the latest FANTASY FAN—an excellent issue. The cover of different colour adds to the effect."—H. P. Lovecraft
"Please print only short stories, the shorter the better, and no serials. Also give us a greater variety of authors. Let's have poetry in every issue, but not too much of Smith's heavy ones. All eight pieces printed so far have been fine! Very glad to see the way you're encouraging amateurs."—William H. Dellenback
"I wish to commend Mr. Lumley's remarkable poem, 'Shadows,' in the May TFF. This poem seems to have in it all the mystic immemorial anguish and melancholy of China. The quatrain, 'Dragons,' is a vivid picture too. I enjoyed 'Phantom Lights,' 'The Flower God,' and the various departments—in fact, the entire contents of the magazine."—Clark Ashton Smith
"The June issue of THE FANTASY FAN was great! I enjoyed immensely the fine tale by H. P. Lovecraft, 'From Beyond.' It was extremely well-written and lacked nothing in my estimation. I hope that I shall enjoy many more of Mr. Lovecraft's splendid stories."—Fred John Walsen
"I note in 'Weird Whisperings' that Seabury Quinn gets most of his plots while shaving. According to the looks of things in 'Weird Tales,' Mr. Quinn is sporting a long, long beard. Also in 'Weird Whisperings' the nassysnoopers are revealing the real names of authors. Now—febbensake—why do writers use nom-de-plumes if they let the readers know their real names? What can be the use of pen-names in such a case? As for 'Prose Pastels,' I must say I'm going to offer my first criticism to Clark Ashton Smith. After reading 'The Muse of Hyperborea,' I sez to myself, 'I'll bite! What is it?' You tell me—I can't figure it out. Another thing I must slam Mr. Smith for is his use of obsolete and rare words. Not that I don't enjoy them—they make the stories so much more—so-so—but I dunno what they mean—my dictionary is pretty big—but doesn't contain all those words."—Gertrude Hemken
"The June 1934 FANTASY FAN is pleasing to the eyes with its bright yellow cover. Please make Lovecraft's 'Supernatural Horror in Literature' at least four pages long. 'Side Glances' and 'Weird Whisperings' are interesting. You ought to discontinue 'Your Views,' since it offers nothing of value."—Charles H. Bert
"I was sure pleased with this month's TFF, and I especially liked 'Prose Pastels' by Clark Ashton Smith; also 'From Beyond' by H. P. Lovecraft. Glad to see you are going to print such fine material as is unjustifiably rejected by other magazines. Some of the real gems of literature are sometimes never printed professionally, but thanks to semi-amateur magazines like TFF, the efforts of an author is not entirely lost. Let's have more by Mr. Lovecraft. Schwartz and Weisinger have certainly been around quite a bit lately. Their stuff is brand new and very interesting as well as amazing."—F. Lee Baldwin
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WEIRD WHISPERINGS
by Schwartz and Weisinger
Seabury Quinn returns to Weird Tales in the September issue with the latest Jules de Grandin thriller, "The Jest of Warburg Tantavul".... In prospect for publication in Weird in the near future, but not as yet scheduled, are two stories of brain transplantation by Bassett Morgan, entitled "The Vengeance of Fi Fong" and "Black Bagheela," with great apes and sinister Chinamen springing out of every corner to horrify and amaze the reader.... All of H. P. Lovecraft's tales are sold to WT with the understanding that nothing whatever is to be changed in them.... "The Waning of a World" by W. Elwyn Backus, an old Weird Tales serial, was reprinted in Aviation & Mechanics under the title "A Leap to Mars."
The "Weird Tales" radio program announced some time ago in the Eyrie, has not been given up, but the Hollywood Radio Attractions, Inc., which is handling the broadcasts and the making of the electrical transcriptions, ran into difficulties in trying to get sponsors for the program. However, they are pressing forward in a drive to obtain sponsors in all the various districts.... Paul Ernst, who is about 33 years old, has sold over 300 stories to more than 50 magazines since 1926.... A serial novel set in the Sahara Desert, entitled "Rulers of the Future," written by Ernst, is slated for publication in Weird next winter.... The tale of a mild-appearing, bespectacled American physicist who in a few days forced the world to destroy its armaments and agree to perpetual peace is narrated in S. Gordon Gurwitt's next Weird Tales' story "The Golden Glow."
Mysterious letters postmarked from Washington, D. C., consisting of two mimeographed pages bearing the title "The Battle that Ended the Century" have been received by several well-known fantasy authors, editors and fans. It is a satire, and the character's names are those of popular people in the fantasy field, being thinly veiled. Seabury Quinn wrote Farnsworth Wright that if he didn't know that he lived in Chicago he'd swear that Wright had written them. Frank Belknap Long, Jr. feels confident that they were authored by H. P. Lovecraft who is now touring in the South. "I'm too well acquainted with Howard's (Howard Lovecraft) style," he declared, "to mistake it. It's just a gag...."
"The Distortion out of Space" by Francis Flagg, an ingenious tale of the fourth dimension to appear in the August WT, has a very strange illustration by Harold R. Hammond.... The same number will contain a weird-scientific story by Frank Belknap Long Jr., entitled "The Beast-Helper," a story based on the craze for dictatorships that is epidemic in Europe just now.... Long, Jr., has crashed Astounding Stories with "The Last Men," to appear in the August number.... On hand for a coming issue of Weird is "Yellow Doom" by Robert H. Leitfred, a smashing, quick-moving tale on the old theme of an oriental despot who by his mastery of science tries to make himself ruler of the world.