Futurians: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Group of science fiction fans and writers (1938–1945)}} | {{Short description|Group of science fiction fans and writers (1938–1945)}} | ||
{{for-multi|the comic book series|Futurians (comics)|the sci-fi punk band|Futurians (band)}} | {{for-multi|the comic book series|Futurians (comics)|the sci-fi punk band|Futurians (band)}} | ||
[[File:With_Frederik_Pohl_and_John_Michel_c._1938.jpg | thumb | right | alt=Donald Allen Wollheim, Frederik Pohl and John Michel | Donald Allen Wollheim, Frederik Pohl and John Michel]] | |||
The '''Futurians''' were an influential group of [[science fiction]] fans, writers, and editors who helped shape the genre in the United States between 1938 and 1945. Based in [[New York City]], the group included many individuals who would become major figures in science fiction, including [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Frederik Pohl]], [[Donald A. Wollheim]], [[James Blish]], [[Cyril M. Kornbluth]], [[Damon Knight]], and [[Judith Merril]].<ref name="Knight">{{cite book |last=Knight |first=Damon |title=The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's that Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors |year=1977 |publisher=John Day |oclc=2645770}}</ref><ref name="SFE">{{cite web |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/futurians |title=Futurians |work=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Nicholls |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Langford |editor3-first=David |edition=4th |access-date=2025-07-23}}</ref> Known for their [[left-wing politics|left-wing political views]] and collective approach to professional development, the Futurians were, as Knight noted, "brilliant, eccentric and poor," yet from this group of never more than twenty members came seven of the field's most prominent names.<ref name="Knight"/> | The '''Futurians''' were an influential group of [[science fiction]] fans, writers, and editors who helped shape the genre in the United States between 1938 and 1945. Based in [[New York City]], the group included many individuals who would become major figures in science fiction, including [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Frederik Pohl]], [[Donald A. Wollheim]], [[James Blish]], [[Cyril M. Kornbluth]], [[Damon Knight]], and [[Judith Merril]].<ref name="Knight">{{cite book |last=Knight |first=Damon |title=The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's that Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors |year=1977 |publisher=John Day |oclc=2645770}}</ref><ref name="SFE">{{cite web |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/futurians |title=Futurians |work=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Nicholls |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Langford |editor3-first=David |edition=4th |access-date=2025-07-23}}</ref> Known for their [[left-wing politics|left-wing political views]] and collective approach to professional development, the Futurians were, as Knight noted, "brilliant, eccentric and poor," yet from this group of never more than twenty members came seven of the field's most prominent names.<ref name="Knight"/> | ||
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The Futurians formed in September 1938 following ideological conflicts within New York science fiction fandom.<ref name="Kyle">{{cite journal |last=Kyle |first=David |title=SaM – Fan Forever |journal=Mimosa |issue=21 |pages=7–10 |date=December 1997 |url=http://www.jophan.org/mimosa/m21/kyle.htm |access-date=2025-07-23}}</ref><ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last=Moskowitz |first=Sam |title=The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom |year=1954 |publisher=Atlanta Science Fiction Organization Press |oclc=6570418 |pages=140–155}}</ref> The group emerged when [[Donald A. Wollheim]] broke away from the [[Greater New York Science Fiction Club]] (GNYCSFC), which was led by [[Sam Moskowitz]].<ref name="Kyle"/><ref name="Warner98">{{cite book |last=Warner Jr. |first=Harry |title=All Our Yesterdays: An Informal History of Science Fiction Fandom in the Forties |year=1969 |publisher=Advent:Publishers |isbn=0-911682-00-7 |pages=98–110}}</ref> | The Futurians formed in September 1938 following ideological conflicts within New York science fiction fandom.<ref name="Kyle">{{cite journal |last=Kyle |first=David |title=SaM – Fan Forever |journal=Mimosa |issue=21 |pages=7–10 |date=December 1997 |url=http://www.jophan.org/mimosa/m21/kyle.htm |access-date=2025-07-23}}</ref><ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last=Moskowitz |first=Sam |title=The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom |year=1954 |publisher=Atlanta Science Fiction Organization Press |oclc=6570418 |pages=140–155}}</ref> The group emerged when [[Donald A. Wollheim]] broke away from the [[Greater New York Science Fiction Club]] (GNYCSFC), which was led by [[Sam Moskowitz]].<ref name="Kyle"/><ref name="Warner98">{{cite book |last=Warner Jr. |first=Harry |title=All Our Yesterdays: An Informal History of Science Fiction Fandom in the Forties |year=1969 |publisher=Advent:Publishers |isbn=0-911682-00-7 |pages=98–110}}</ref> | ||
[[Isaac Asimov]] described the split in his autobiography ''[[In Memory Yet Green]]'' (1979), attributing it to political differences. Wollheim and his followers believed science fiction fans should incorporate [[Marxist]] political perspectives and work toward a "scientific world-state," while Moskowitz preferred to keep fandom focused solely on science fiction as literature.<ref name="AsimovMemory">{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, | [[Isaac Asimov]] described the split in his autobiography ''[[In Memory Yet Green]]'' (1979), attributing it to political differences. Wollheim and his followers believed science fiction fans should incorporate [[Marxist]] political perspectives and work toward a "scientific world-state," while Moskowitz preferred to keep fandom focused solely on science fiction as literature.<ref name="AsimovMemory">{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920–1954 |year=1979 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-13679-X |pages=211–212}}</ref> Following the split, Moskowitz organized the competing faction into "New Fandom," maintaining what Knight called "an atmosphere of permanent crisis" between the two groups.<ref name="Knight"/> | ||
===Origins and predecessors=== | ===Origins and predecessors=== | ||
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==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
===Primary sources=== | ===Primary sources=== | ||
* {{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, | * {{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920–1954 |year=1979 |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, NY |isbn=0-385-13679-X}} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Knight |first=Damon |title=The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's that Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors |year=1977 |publisher=John Day |location=New York |oclc=2645770}} <!-- ISBN often cited as 0-381-98288-1 but this fails checksum --> | * {{cite book |last=Knight |first=Damon |title=The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's that Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors |year=1977 |publisher=John Day |location=New York |oclc=2645770}} <!-- ISBN often cited as 0-381-98288-1 but this fails checksum --> | ||
* {{cite book |last=Pohl |first=Frederik |title=The Way the Future Was: A Memoir |year=1978 |publisher=Del Rey Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0345277145}} | * {{cite book |last=Pohl |first=Frederik |title=The Way the Future Was: A Memoir |year=1978 |publisher=Del Rey Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0345277145}} | ||