tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post5442725422107081455..comments2024-03-27T23:55:17.673-07:00Comments on Flogging Babel: R. A. Lafferty and the New WaveMichael Swanwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-41444091907601276322016-06-11T06:14:33.597-07:002016-06-11T06:14:33.597-07:00Pretty sure no videos. We can hope for write-ups.Pretty sure no videos. We can hope for write-ups.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-41955079055688906142016-06-07T14:33:52.067-07:002016-06-07T14:33:52.067-07:00I wish I could have been there -- my six month old...I wish I could have been there -- my six month old son said 'no.'<br /><br />Are there any write-ups or videos from the event?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17100545369671783823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-51953064988362514912016-06-07T09:06:50.642-07:002016-06-07T09:06:50.642-07:00What a great gathering it was! Glad to have been t...What a great gathering it was! Glad to have been there, and to have learned about the Door!<br /><br />HWWHWWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12062293473859787712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-78116684770626797722016-06-06T16:25:04.779-07:002016-06-06T16:25:04.779-07:00Lafferty's style was quite like Donald Barthel...Lafferty's style was quite like Donald Barthelme's, so it doesn't surprise me that Lafferty was associated with the New Wave. I seem to recall Barthelme may have written genre work early on, but I am not certain. While Lafferty may not have considered himself New Wave, isn't it possible that the movement helped paved the way for unusual work like his own?Trent Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16691824673281607781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-86720836645693801912016-06-06T15:54:39.770-07:002016-06-06T15:54:39.770-07:00I think Lafferty was the acid test of whether you ...I think Lafferty was the acid test of whether you wanted to read damn fine stories or really just wanted to read science-fiction...new wave or not. Lafferty was always sui generis and fits no genre. He was a fantasist, but much of his writing isn't "fantasy" per se. Still, it is always fantastic, and always reads like a folk-tale. During the new wave battles, much like today's foolishness over SJWs/Sad Puppies, people were too busy worrying about categories to sit down and accept work on its intrinsic merits. Pamela Zoline wasn't a science fiction writer, but her "Heat Death of the Universe" remains a high point of the new wave. Brunner was a science fiction writer--and "Stand on Zanzibar" likewise is a high point. Lafferty fit no definition, and his whole career is a high point. Who cares if it was new wave or not?AlextheKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17369662061440471361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-24422852628506621672016-06-06T15:26:50.175-07:002016-06-06T15:26:50.175-07:00Intriguingly, Lafferty even appealed to people who...Intriguingly, Lafferty even appealed to people who didn't like the New Wave. I seem to recall that anti-New Wave crusader J.J. Pierce had favorable things to say about Lafferty, whom he regarded to be quite apart from all that. A fair assessment, I think. Lafferty was off by himself, never deliberately part of any movement, for all that during the Wave Wars he was embraced by both sides.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484534538130317079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-75720338198510109392016-06-06T14:58:34.666-07:002016-06-06T14:58:34.666-07:00Beautiful summation! The only thing I can add is t...Beautiful summation! The only thing I can add is to comment on what a joy it was to see you and Darrell Schweitzer speaking so eloquently and eruditely about his place (out of) the new wave, and on what great pride it gives me to belong to a group that would have you as a member.Kevin Cheekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17615258563790520320noreply@blogger.com