Re: Golden Age of Science Fiction

On Sun, 23 Apr 2006, Butch Malahide wrote:

Bill Patterson wrote:

Thanks very much It's surely there -- the complete trope; all we're
missing is the wording as a slogan.

For the benefit of people who haven't run into the information, Robert
Randall was a pseudonym used by the writing team of Robert Silverberg
and Randall Garrett, mostly, I think, in the 1950's.

Some historical information missing from my previous post: That Guest
Editorial in Infinity Science Fiction was the text of a speech by
"Robert Randall" (i.e. the Silverberg/Garrett team) at the 9th
Westercon, held in Oakland on June 30 and July 1, 1956. According to
the editorial introduction, the speech ". . . which represents their
combined views, was actually delivered by Mr. Garrett." I guess that
accounts for the part where the speaker distinguishes his own "Golden
Age" from Silverberg's.

I'm going to include the "Randall" text from Butch's previous post here:

1956 golden age n. phr. 1956 `R. RANDALL' Guest Editorial in Infinity
Sci. Fiction Oct. 86/2

A lot of people have been complaining lately that modern writers don't
have the old `sense of wonder', and they blame it on this very business
of slanting-among other things. Everybody has their own `Golden Age'
that they point to and say: `Now, them was the good old days. Gee! I
really got a kick outa them stories! Stories are interesting now, but
they ain't got that kick any more.' All right, chums-examine
yourselves. When did you feel that `sense of wonder?' Yeah. When you
first started reading science fiction! My own Golden Age was during the
late thirties and early forties. Mr. Silverberg admits that his was
during the middle and late forties. You can see we're both somewhat
younger than, say, Sam Moskowitz. Hugo Gernsback, the Grand Old Man of
S-F editors, is sure that the best science fiction was written by Jules
Verne and H. G. Wells.

(I believe Butch got this from the Oxford English Dictionary project on science fiction lexicography.)

Peter Graham is the guy who said "The Golden Age of science fiction is twelve."

Graham was an active fan living in the San Francisco area. He was 17 in 1956; as a high school buddy of Terry Carr, he was writing for fanzines. According to Rob Hansen's notes at <http://www.fiawol.demon.co.uk/who/grahm.htm>, Graham's first contact with fandom was at age 11.

I think it likely that Graham was present at Westercon in Oakland when Garrett made the above speech. (A diligent search of con reports in fanzines might possibly confirm this conjecture.) So Garrett may have had a role in inspiring Graham to formulate his famous aphorism.

(Would still be nice to get the exact citation from *Void*, 1957ish.)

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