TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Robin Lawrie
Subject:
TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Date:
Sun, 26 Apr 1998 21:39:55 +1000
From:
"Robin Lawrie" <rob...@s054.aone.net.au>
To:
"ascem" <as...@earthlink.net>
Good afternoon to everyone; I'm Arachnae, the newly appointed Chairbeing
and Full Professor, Department of Classics. Aunt Ruth has asked me to
write a series of papers on Star Trek fandom, pre-Internet days. (Yes,
it did exist.)
I beg your indulgence on three points. One, i've never posted a formal
anything to a group before; two, I'm doing this entire paper from
memory. The dates are a little fuzzy, OK? And three, I never saw more
than 10% of the Trekfic published in the 1970s and 80s. I'm giving you
*my* impressions of what I *did* see.
If anyone is interested in the subject, I'll continue with the series
for as long as I can come up with ideas for papers. Feedback is
earnestly welcomed.
Professor Arac...@webtv.net
STAR TREK IN THE STONE AGE
Star Trek fan fiction started in 1969, before the original series had
ended its run on network TV. _Spockanalia_, the first fanzine, was a
small, pamphlet-type booklet. The contents were mostly pseudo-scientific
essays, with some Trekfic added as an afterthought. Over the next
several years, four more issues joined the first, following the same
format, and other people started publishing their own fanzines, as they
were called. These were usually all fiction and poetry, with artwork.
By the middle of the 1970s, fen all over the world were writing and
printing their own stories, and several editors has started publishing
anthologies, using material from many writers, and mailing their zines
all over the globe.
The problem was finding out about them, and then finding someone who
published them. Without the Internet, we had to rely on word-of-mouth,
conventions, and the Post Awful. I didn't know about fandom until I was
in high school. If I remember correctly, I first heard about fandom in
David Gerrold's book, "The Making of Star Trek." In it, I found DT
Steiner's book _Spock Enslaved_ (Lord and Lady, what a cover on that
book!), and also "Universal Translator," which was a listing of the
zines available from the advertising editors. A major problem with the
zines was irregularity. We all know that real life has a nasty habit of
intruding on our Trek time, and these ladies had the added problems of
receiving stories and artwork through the mail, getting them published,
usually at printshops, and then mailing them out. (The lifespan of the
average zine was three issues.) It was standard procedure to send out
money, and not get your zine until a year or more had passed. I have
upwards of $100 worth of zines that I ordered and paid for, and never
received.
Another fun part was Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap. You'd
send in your money, wait weeks or months, and what hit your mailbox
wasn't fit to use to line the bird's cage. 30% garbage, 65% readable,
and 5% treasure is about how it broke down. You never knew in advance
which you were getting. Most of the editors actually edited their zines,
but some of them put out any tripe that crossed their desk.
The conventions in those days were puny, despite what Joan Winston wrote
in her book about the conventions she organized in New York City; and
Star Trek was very much the neglected step-child at the "real" science
fiction cons. The very first Trek con held in Reno, NV, attracted
*maybe* 500 people. It was a Creation con, and we didn't have another
one in Reno for over 10 years. There was *no* fanfic sold at that con,
except for Bantam Books "The New Voyages," and those stories got
butchered before they were put in the book.
The early Trekfic was G or PG rated, and sex was barely acknowledged to
exist, and _never_ between the established characters. Slowly, the
writers got more daring, and the stories became more adult in nature. It
wasn't until around the mid 1970s that hard-core sex arrived on the
scene. Once it did, however, it quickly became de rigeur, and non-sexual
Trekfic became the exception, rather than the standard.
It was during this period (mid to late 70s), that the first K/S story
was published. It was a ghastly two-page sex, blood, and death pwp, as
they're called now. I can't even remember the name of the thing. At the
time, it created a firestorm of controversy within Trek fandom, but it
also opened the door for everyone who was to follow. Someone has to be
first, and this was it.
Obviously, Spock was the focus of almost everyone who wrote fanfic in
those days. (As far as that goes, he still is, for the people who write
TOS stories.) One of the best anthologies of the period was _The
Sensuous Vulcan_. 200 pages of Spock getting laid, and giving a whole
new meaning to the concept of the IDIC. There was one K/S story in it,
called "Desert Heat." You know the plot. K & S are trapped on a planet
together, and Spock goes into Pon Farr. That was the very first K/S
story I ever read. I was 22 at the time.
Prior to that, I had read a goodly number of "adult" stories, most
notably _The Night of the Twin Moons_ and _Full Moon Rising_, both of
which concerned Sarek and Amanda. They were written by Jean Lorrah,
whose vision of Spock's parents was the standard used in fanfic for many
years. (Two later books in her series were "The IDIC Epidemic" and "The
Vulcan Academy Murders," both published by Pocket Books.)
After "Desert Heat," I started looking for K/S stories, like the good
little slash-slut I am. (Only we never used the term "slash") R&R was an
anthology zine of the day, and was one of the better quality ones
produced. Warped Space was another, although WS only did PG-rated
material, and never any K/S. Its sister, Obsc'zine, was definitely
X-rated, and did a little bit of everything, including a lot of K/S.
Oddly enough, R&R produced what is probably the very first S/McC story.
I laughed my head off when I first saw it. They had a very strict "no
hard-core" and "no K/S" policy. They also published a Star Trek/Dr. Who
story that won several fan awards. I still have that issue, along with
several others. About 8 years ago, a pipe broke in my basement, and Iost
about $1000 worth of zines in the resulting flood, along with a Gayle
Feyer original poster called, "Kirk Enslaved." I still mourn the loss of
those zines.
The Postal Disservice was also a lot of fun to deal with. I had a few
zines arrive mangled and creased, on occasion. When shipping zines
overseas, in either direction, the covers had to be obscured, because
the Customs inspectors would tear open the envelope, and if they saw an
explicit cover, the zine would be destroyed as contraband. This happened
in England, as well as the US and Canada, so the editors had to learn to
fake them out. Ordering a zine from England usually meant a trip to the
bank for an international money order, a trip to the Post Awful for an
international reply coupon, and a wait of several months, even if the
thing was ready and waiting in the editor's house, because there is a
limit on how many IRCs can be redeemed in one day. I had several zines
lost in the mail. and the editor hadn't insured it, and the Post Awful
wouldn't stir themselves to look, so I was SOL.
The only benefit that the old zines have over the new archives is the
artwork. Some of it was as bad as the writing could get, but some of it
was magnificent. Gayle Feyer, Signe Landon, Nan Lewis. These are names
to summon images of near perfection. Phil Foglio, who has long since
gone pro. Gordon Carlton, who did one of the funniest posters I've ever
seen. And many others, whose names I have forgotten, or never knew.
Ah...Those were the days!
fin~
Well, what do you think? Should I write more, or should I go sit in the
corner?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The older I get, the less I trust technology.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--
TSU If you build it, they will come
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Kevas
To:
<as...@earthlink.net>
Date:
27 Apr 1998 11:17:31 GMT
From:
ke...@aol.com (Kevas)
Organization:
AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject:
Re: TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Arachne,
Ah, the memories you've stirred!
Of course you should post more. People should know what a treasure
trove there
was in those days -- if you were *very* patient, and got to the GOOD
cons...
And you forgot to mention Syn Ferguson among the best fen authors...
And for humor -- Cory Correll! Do you remember the "But it's so
KITSCH"!???
Sigh...
Jen
__________________________________________________________________________
Varoneeka
Date:
27 Apr 1998 22:34:45 GMT
To:
"Robin Lawrie" <rob...@s054.aone.net.au>
From:
varo...@aol.com (Varoneeka)
Organization:
AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject:
Re: TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Fascinating! Write more! Write more!
Varoneeka
http://members.tripod.com/~Varoneeka/index.htm
Varoneeka: What do you think Q would make of Sterling?
Homespon: His mistress.
LazLu
Subject:
Re: TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Mon, 27 Apr 1998 23:11:10 -0400
From:
la...@aol.com (LazLu)
Organization:
AOL http://www.aol.com
To:
<as...@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups:
alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated
References:
1
In article <alexas-ya02408000...@news.earthlink.net>, "Robin
Lawrie" <rob...@s054.aone.net.au> writes:
>Well, what do you think? Should I write more, or should I go sit in the
>corner?
Very interesting. Please, keep writing.
La...@aol.com
--------------------------------------
"The Golden Rule is to test everything in the light of reason and experience,
no matter from where it comes." --- Mahatma Ghandi
--
TSU If you build it, they will come
Posting to ASCEM is easy--just send your messages to as...@earthlink.net
Kimbuk3
Subject:
Re: TSU:Star Trek in the Stone Age/zines
Date:
From:
Kimbuk3 <Kim...@aol.com>
To:
as...@earthlink.net
I would like to thank Chairbeing Arachnae for his/her wonderful lecture
about the early days of fanfic.
I myself am a fairly recent convert to zine fandom, but I have been fortunate
enough to learn from some of those who were around from the beginning. I
know some of those folks are also on this ng, but since I have lots of free
time these days, I'll chime in. This is not at all comprehensive, and please
correct me if I've gotten any of this wrong.
>It was during this period (mid to late 70s), that the first K/S story
>was published. It was a ghastly two-page sex, blood, and death pwp, as
>they're called now. I can't even remember the name of the thing. At the
>time, it created a firestorm of controversy within Trek fandom, but it
>also opened the door for everyone who was to follow. Someone has to be
>first, and this was it.
**Pre-K/S
I believe we've discussed before that the very first "slashy" stories about
Kirk and Spock were hurt/comfort type stories. Stories in which either
Kirk or Spock was injured and the other was required to care for him --
usually with lots of touching and intense emotion. But the emotions and
the physical aspect of the relationship never went any further.
And let's also not forget the Pheonix books (very slashy), and the New Voyages
books. The first New Voyages book was published in 1976, and had the story
"Winged Dreamers", which was subtly slashy. New Voyages 2, published in
1977, had "Surprise," "The Procrustean Petard," and the incredibly slashy
poem in the back:
Soliloquy
by Marguerite B. Thompson
My father gave no word of love to me.
My mother practiced laudable restraint.
My Vulcan childhood lessons logically
Prepared me to despise human taint.
I could not blame T'Pring; I saw that she
Let flawless logic over pledge prevail.
For she would stop at nothing to be free
Wisely to mate with a pure Vulcan male.
Human tormentors do not understand
Acknowledgment of feeling causes pain,
Cruelly subvert defenses I had planned,
Plot to anesthetize my watchful brain.
What will they find when I am ripped apart?
"I love you, Captain," written on my heart.
Um.........did Bantam Books have *eyes*?????
Anyway.
**Early K/S
I have much respect for the brave woman who published the first K/S story.
Here's the legend as I've heard it told. Gayle Feyrer had already written
"Desert Heat", but it hadn't been published yet. So, the first story actually
published was "Epilogue to Orion." (I won't mention the author's name...cause
I'm feeling somewhat weird about it...I don't know how she'd feel...) It came
out in around 1978. I haven't read it, but I don't believe it's the PWP
Arachnae
described above. It was a short little story, but I don't believe it was very
explicit at all. However, it was clearly *not* hurt/comfort.
And it did indeed cause a firestorm within Star Trek fandom. Some glimpses
of this discussion can be had in the "Best of Trek" books. An article
entitled,
"Characterization Rape," by Kendra Hunter in "Best of Trek #2" takes a
somewhat balanced, but ultimately negative view of K/S. There's more
sniping about it in "Best of Trek #3 & 5" in the Roundtable sections. Here's
a representative quote:
(Regarding Spock taking Kirk as his mate during Pon Farr):
"It would be much more realistic to suppose that if Spock were in the
grip of Pon Farr and too far from Vulcan, he would seek out one of the female
crewmembers to help him in his hour of need. Nurse Chapel would probably
be the number-one candidate, with Uhura or Rand as alternate choices.
For the moment, let us assume that it has happened. Kirk enters a
homosexual
relationship to save Spock from death. Would Spock allow Kirk to be destroyed
by any guilt over it? He would probably release him from any remorse by
taking
the memory from him, or at least the "worst" of it."
Mary Phelen, Trek 15 (1980?)
And, of course, there's also the fact that in 1979, Gene Roddenberry felt
compelled to weigh in on the issue with his infamous footnote in the
novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (Judith - would this be a good
time to repost your wonderful analysis of said footnote?)
>Obviously, Spock was the focus of almost everyone who wrote fanfic in
>those days. (As far as that goes, he still is, for the people who write
>TOS stories.) One of the best anthologies of the period was _The
>Sensuous Vulcan_. 200 pages of Spock getting laid, and giving a whole
>new meaning to the concept of the IDIC. There was one K/S story in it,
>called "Desert Heat." You know the plot. K & S are trapped on a planet
>together, and Spock goes into Pon Farr. That was the very first K/S
>story I ever read. I was 22 at the time.
Gayle did publish Desert Heat in "The Sensuous Vulcan" shortly after "Epilogue
to Orion" was published. She also wrote three sequels to DH. They were
eventually collected into one short zine called, "Desert Heat Collected" -
naturally. I have read these stories, and in my opinion, the reason these
stories
became legend is that they are *very* erotic. Lots of hot, steamy sex - which
back then was more unusual than it is now. And, of course, she more or less
invented the "Kirk and Spock trapped on a planet, Spock's in Pon Farr" plot.
So, just because it seems overused to us now, it was still pretty cool for
1979.<g>
As far as the quality of the stories themselves, I prefer Gayle's later
stories
much better....especially her novel, "Choices."<swoon> And "Cave of the
Heart",
the only K/S/Mc story I've ever been able to stomach.
>The only benefit that the old zines have over the new archives is the
>artwork. Some of it was as bad as the writing could get, but some of it
>was magnificent. Gayle Feyer, Signe Landon, Nan Lewis. These are names
>to summon images of near perfection. Phil Foglio, who has long since
>gone pro. Gordon Carlton, who did one of the funniest posters I've ever
>seen. And many others, whose names I have forgotten, or never knew.
Wow. What can I say about the artwork? Some of it is so incredibly bad
it's frightening. But when it's good -- it's *good.* Many of the early zines
were elaborately illustrated and designed. All in the days before computers -
god bless their little hearts. (And would you have been brave enough to take
a
fully illustrated K/S zine to a printer in 1981??)
> (The lifespan of the average zine was three issues.)
It's true that there were many short-lived zines in the early days.
Publishers
would put out a few issues, then stop. However, several of the very first
zines kept going a very long time. Naked Times was published until the
early 90's. T'hy'la and First Time are *still* being published.
>It was standard procedure to send out
>money, and not get your zine until a year or more had passed.
While this was sometimes true in the past, it is *not* true now. The few
remaining K/S zine publishers are scrupulously honest and very reliable.
You sends your money, you *will* get your zines.
>Well, what do you think? Should I write more, or should I go sit in the
>corner?
Yes, please write more!! I can only speak from second-hand knowledge. I'm
very interested to hear from people who were actually there.
Kimbuk3
--