More Worldcon

[randy_byers]

To a large extent, Worldcon is comprised of a long sequence of conversations with a variety of people, and the process of trying to remember Worldcon becomes a process of remembering who I talked to, which too easily becomes a list of names: John Hertz, Lise Eisenberg, Art Widner (whose comment that it's extremely difficult to find a typo in Chunga

Comments

[holyoutlaw]

Wonderful, wonderful. The most illuminating of all the worldcon reports I've read. Yeah!

[randy_byers]

Illuminated by the wildfires of Australia, no doubt.

[scarlettina]

Excellent report. It's been 5 years since I've been to a WorldCon, and it felt like a homecoming for me--and my experience was completely different from yours, and yet they are both authentic, pure examples of WorldCon. I attended the Hugos with someone who has never attended before, someone who though he's been aprofessional in the field, hasn't actively participated before, and he made a respectful but distanced comment about how the emphasis on history seemed a little tortured. I remarked to him that 5 years down the road, after he's been to a few of these and made more of a contribution to the field, participated more, he'd get nearly as choked up as I always do. When I attend WorldCon, I'm always amazed and grateful that I've been able to contribute something and have been a part of our shared history. I forget sometimes what a tribe we are, what a global family fandom is and can be. WorldCon is an awesome reminder.

[randy_byers]

Well said. It took me many years to really understand and accept the history, traditions, and lore around the older parts of fandom, but now I find a lot of pleasure in the sense of continuity with the past -- and, yes, in being a participant in the ongoing community.