Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Futurians
Group of science fiction fans and writers (1938–1945) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
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.[1][2] Known for their 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.[1]
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
Formation
The Futurians formed in September 1938 following ideological conflicts within New York science fiction fandom.[3][4] The group emerged when Donald A. Wollheim broke away from the Greater New York Science Fiction Club (GNYCSFC), which was led by Sam Moskowitz.[3][5]
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.[6] Following the split, Moskowitz organized the competing faction into "New Fandom," maintaining what Knight called "an atmosphere of permanent crisis" between the two groups.[1]
Origins and predecessors
Frederik Pohl, in The Way the Future Was (1978), traced the Futurians' roots to earlier fan organizations. The group's core members—Pohl, Wollheim, John B. Michel, and Robert A. W. Lowndes, who called themselves the "Quadrumvirate"—had previously been members of the Brooklyn Science Fiction League, founded in 1934 as a chapter of Hugo Gernsback's Science Fiction League.[7]
According to Pohl, the group "changed clubs the way Detroit changes tailfins," moving through several organizations including the East New York Science Fiction League (1935), the Independent League for Science Fiction (1936), and the International Scientific Association (ISA) (1937) before founding the Futurians.[7][5] The name "Futurian" was taken from J. Michael Rosenblum's British fanzine The Futurian, though the New York group did not acknowledge this borrowing until 1945.[8]
Activities and influence
The Futurians met regularly in members' apartments, particularly in communal living arrangements they called "Futurian Houses."[1] These included the "Futurian Embassy" and later the "Ivory Tower," where members shared living expenses and collaborated on writing projects.[7] The group published numerous fanzines and helped launch the careers of its members through mutual support and criticism.
During the early 1940s, Futurians edited approximately half of all science fiction pulp magazines in the United States. Frederik Pohl edited Astonishing Stories and Super Science Stories for Popular Publications; Robert Lowndes edited Science Fiction and Future Fiction for Columbia Publications; and Donald Wollheim briefly edited Cosmic Stories and Stirring Science Stories for Albing Publications.[2][9]
The Great Exclusion Act
The Futurians' political activism reached a climax at the First World Science Fiction Convention in New York in 1939. Convention chairman Sam Moskowitz barred six Futurians from entry after discovering they had prepared pamphlets criticizing the convention organizers as "dictators" serving commercial interests rather than fandom.[4][10] This incident, known in fan history as the "Great Exclusion Act," deepened the rift between the Futurians and New Fandom.[11]
Dissolution
The group began to dissolve in 1945 as members were drafted for World War II service or moved away from New York to pursue professional opportunities. According to Damon Knight, the formal end came when Wollheim sued other members for libel after they voted to expel him from the group over a personal dispute involving John Michel and Judith Merril.[1]
Remove ads
Political views
The Futurians were known for their left-wing political stance, though individual members held diverse views. Donald Wollheim, the group's founder, believed that science fiction fans "should actively work for the realization of the scientific world-state as the only genuine justification for their activities and existence."[12] This led to the group being labeled "Michelists" after John B. Michel's controversial "Mutation or Death" speech at the 1937 Third Eastern Science Fiction Convention.[13]
Several members briefly investigated Technocracy, attending study sessions before dismissing movement leader Howard Scott as a "crackpot."[14] Individual political affiliations varied: Frederik Pohl joined the Communist Party USA in 1936 but left in 1939;[7] Judith Merril supported Trotskyism;[14] and despite the group's leftist reputation, Wollheim voted for Republican candidate Alfred Landon in the 1936 presidential election.[7]
Remove ads
Members
Summarize
Perspective
Core members of the Futurians included:
- Isaac Asimov – science fiction writer[6][1]
- James Blish – science fiction writer[1][2]
- Chester Cohen – fan and organizer[14][5]
- Damon Knight – writer, editor, critic[1][2]
- Cyril M. Kornbluth – science fiction writer[1][2]
- Walter Kubilius – writer and fan[1][5]
- David Kyle – fan artist and writer[3][1]
- Robert A. W. Lowndes – editor and writer[7][1]
- Judith Merril – writer and editor[1][2]
- John B. Michel – writer and political activist[7][4]
- Frederik Pohl – writer, editor, agent[7][2]
- Richard Wilson – writer[1][2]
- Donald A. Wollheim – editor, publisher, writer[6][1]
Associated members and frequent attendees included:
- Elsie Balter (later Elsie Wollheim)[1][15]
- Doris Baumgardt (pseudonym: Leslie Perri)[1][9]
- Hannes Bok – artist[1][2]
- Daniel Burford[5]
- Mary Byers (later Mary Kornbluth)[1]
- Rosalind Cohen (later Mrs. Dirk Wylie)[1][5]
- Harry Dockweiler (pseudonym: Dirk Wylie)[1][4]
- Jack Gillespie[5]
- Virginia Kidd – writer and agent[1][2]
- Herman Leventman[5]
- Jack Rubinson[1]
- Larry Shaw – editor[1][5]
Note: Membership varied over the group's seven-year existence, with some individuals attending meetings without formal membership.[1] The distinction between "members" and "attendees" was often fluid, as the group operated informally without dues or official membership rolls.[7]
Legacy
The Futurians significantly influenced the development of science fiction as both a literary genre and a community. Seven core members became major figures in the field, collectively winning numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards. Their emphasis on literary quality and social relevance helped move science fiction beyond its pulp magazine origins.[2]
The group pioneered many fannish traditions, including collaborative living arrangements for fans and the practice of mutual support among aspiring professionals. Their political engagement, while controversial at the time, presaged science fiction's later engagement with social and political themes.[5]
Remove ads
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads