OUR READERS SAY
With this issue, we are dedicating each number to someone or something. H. P. Lovecraft, one of the greatest writers of the weird alive today, well deserves the honor of being the first, with a story and long instalment of his "Supernatural Horror in Literature" for October. The November issue will be dedicated to Clark Ashton Smith, December to Edgar Allan Poe, (in this issue Mr. Lovecraft's article deals entirely with Poe and is the longest one yet) and the January number to Weird Poetry. Schedule subject to change without notice. Let us know what you think of these dedications, and submit your vote telling who or what you want the following issues to be dedicated to.
This issue has gone to press before reports have come in on the September number, which boasted the smooth paper cover, so all letters refer to the August or previous issues.
"Read the new TFF yesterday with great interest and pleasure. The sketches by Barlow and Morse are very notable. Let us hope that the success of volume one will be brilliantly duplicated in 1934-5."—H. P. Lovecraft, Providence, R.I.
"Congratulations on your successful piloting of TFF through the first year of its existence! The high grade of the subject matter and the careful planning visible in its presentation have made it always interesting and instructive. I sincerely hope that you will soon be able to realize your hopes of expansion."—Richard F. Searight, Detroit, Mich.
"The August issue is very good, Richard Ely Morse's 'Ebony and Ash' being an outstanding little thing. I hope to see more verses, if possible, from the 'Dreams of Yith' by Duane W. Rimel."—Robert Nelson, St. Charles, Ill.
"Great is the August issue of TFF! I enjoyed immensely the splendid tale 'Ebony and Ash,' by Richard Ely Morse. Let's have many more fine stories by this new talented author. I enjoyed very much, too, the excellent poems, 'Necromancy' and 'The Unremembered Realm.' These two poems were certainly the product of masters of the art. 'The Annals of the Jinns' was also very good, as was the entire issue. I shall never grow tired of reading such a grand issue! Enclosed find ten cents for an additional copy."—Fred John Walsen, Denver, Col.
"Just a line to let you know how much I enjoyed the August TFF. R. H. Barlow scores again with his story 'The Fall of the Three Cities' and the one by Richard Ely Morse was splendid. Your brief editorial interested me a great deal and points toward a better and larger TFF! The poems by Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Nelson were superb."—Duane W. Rimel, Asotin, Wash.
"Enclosed you will find a dollar for another year's subscription to our great little magazine, TFF. Allow me to congratulate you for keeping it alive, even at a financial loss to yourself, for the interests of the weirdfan. The outstanding features of the more recent issues are Kenneth B. Pritchard's 'True Experiences.' I imagine that the late Charles Fort would have liked to interview him."—Bob Tucker, Bloomington, Ill.
"Your August number is well up to average. The Morse story was well-written and interesting; and the two poems really quite good."—R. H. Barlow, De Land, Fla.
"The last issue of TFF was diversified enough to satisfy all of us. My only complaint is that the magazine is far too small. I'd like to see two or three times the number of pages. Let's hope the day soon arrives when you will be able to do so. An occasional notice by Wright would no doubt work wonders. I was glad to see that Petaja has continued his little column on 'Famous Fantasy Fiction.' However, he lists 'Sinister Stories' written by Walker. I suspect he has in mind the book 'Sinister Stories' written by Jasper John and published by Walker in England in 1930. Again he mentions 'Wolves of Darkness' by Algernon Blackwood. If memory serves me correctly, I believe the only story in the book written by Blackwood was the title story, 'Wolves of Darkness.' All the others were written by Wilford Wilson."—H. Koenig, New York, N.Y.
"Just finished the first volume of TFF and am writing to tell you it's a grand mag. Far the best stories were Howard's 'Gods of the North' and Morse's 'Ebony and Ash.' Other high spots were Hoy Ping Pong's satires; numbers one, three, five, and eight of the 'Annals of the Jinns'; 'From Beyond,' by H. P. Lovecraft; 'Spurs of Death' by Natalie H. Wooley; Lovecraft's serial article; and 'Weird Whisperings.' I have only two kicks coming. You don't have enough science fiction material and I don't care for Mr. Pritchard's exciting experiences."—J. Sam Smart, New Bloomfield, Mo.
"It was easy to see that Barlow's 'The Fall of the Three Cities' was the best feature of the August issue. The best column was 'Gleanings' by Louis C. Smith. I hope to see this new feature every month. All in all, this issue was well above standard and I hope that during the next year you can give us fans as high a grade of material as you have been doing. My congratulations on the past year's success! We are with you in the future, too!"—F. Lee Baldwin, Asotin, Wash.
Write in to "Our Readers Say" and give us your opinion of the current issue of THE FANTASY FAN. Your suggestions and criticisms are welcome too.
WITHIN THE CIRCLE
by F. Lee Baldwin
At one time Forrest Ackerman had a complete collection of Ghost Stories—the old large-size magazine of the photographic illustrations, featuring strange stories by Victor Rousseau, Ray Cummings, Frank Belknap Long, Jr., etc.—but disposed of them all upon coming across science fiction. This was when he saw his first Amazing Stories—Vol. 2, No. 6, the September 1926 number. Incidentally, this issue contains the only story by H. P. Lovecraft ever to appear in Amazing, "The Colour Out of Space."
Farnsworth Wright is a former music critic of The Chicago American.
This seems to be quite a season with our authors for travelling, E. Hoffmann Price has just recently paid a second visit to Clark Ashton Smith of Auburn, Calif.; Robert E. Howard spent some time exploring the gigantic Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Perhaps we'll be getting some tales along that line, after a while. Richard F. Searight spent some time amid the scenic grandeur in Houghton, Michigan; H. P. Lovecraft has just returned from a visit with R. H. Barlow of De Land, Florida and is now taking a trip to ancient Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts; Jack Williamson has also returned from a sojourn in Key West where he met Edmond Hamilton; Donald Wandrei has been on a fishing trip in the woods of his native state, Minnesota.
H. P. Lovecraft denies all connections with the "The Battle that Ended the Century" (Ms. found in a time machine). He was in De Land or in St. Augustine at the time it was mailed, and by the time he was in Washington D. C., the Eastern readers had received their copies.
Richard Ely Morse is the son of an Amherst professor and an assistant librarian at Princeton.
Louis C. Smith of Oakland, Calif. is a collector of weird and fantastic books and has a library of over two hundred volumes.
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