Comments | randy_byers: Readercon report

randy_byers

Readercon report

Jul 27, 2012 10:32

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda tries his hand at that most fannish of forms, the conreport.

(Hat tip to ron_drummond.)

conventions, science fiction

Comments 11

holyoutlaw July 27 2012, 17:58:49 UTC

"Who gets to be a geek? Anyone who wants to." is the question and answer of the day -- apparently even Pulitzer prize winners can take a stab at fanfiction and conreports.

That reads like something I'd say in the "share on your wall" box in Facebook. Sorry.

Amusing article. Readercon sounds like a convention I'd travel to if I could afford it.

randy_byers July 27 2012, 18:03:19 UTC

I've always been curious about Readercon, even though it sounds like it's oriented toward professionals, like World Fantasy Con.

bovil July 27 2012, 19:58:03 UTC

It's not so much oriented towards professionals. It's oriented towards very serious fans. It's near-NY location and very serious fanbase draws lots of professionals.

randy_byers July 27 2012, 20:16:39 UTC

Fair enough. I was originally just going to describe it as a sercon convention, but then felt there was an added dimension that made it different from something like Potlatch.

Thread 6

supergee July 27 2012, 20:32:56 UTC

Blogging this. Thanx.

randy_byers July 27 2012, 20:42:39 UTC

I halfway wondered if you already had!

akirlu July 27 2012, 23:19:53 UTC

And written for The American Scholar, forsooth. Although I was a little bit gobsmacked at him naming as The Doyenne of Science fiction...who? Katherine Maclean? I had to Google her just to make sure it wasn't a typo. Turns out maybe I should have heard of her, since she won a Nebula in '71, and was the inaugural GOH at Wiscon in 1977, but the doyenne of SF? Even if we limit ourselves to living authors, I gotta think LeGuin ought to be ranked higher...

randy_byers July 27 2012, 23:36:38 UTC

I bet if you asked Le Guin, she'd say something in praise of Katherine MacLean. I certainly agree that Le Guin has been more influential, but I've heard of MacLean and have read her collection, The Diploids, which I highly recommend. However, I think it's also the case that Readercon has been trying to call attention to MacLean in recent years, so Dirda may also be participating in this effort. In short, I'd say that Dirda is exaggerating, but for a good cause.

By the way, I'm curious whether you agreed with his characterization of Deborah Newton's reputation in knitting circles.

akirlu July 28 2012, 00:01:56 UTC

I confess I had never heard of Deborah Newton, but not unlike fandom, knitting circles are diverse and manifold, and more like overlapping Venn diagrams than a unified chorus, and so she may well be huge in places I don't (yet) frequent. Or possibly she's like unto Katherine MacLean and is someone that I ought to have heard of, but hadn't stumbled across. She's No Elizabeth Zimmerman, but then, who is? She certainly does some nice designs, she has a presence on Ravelry, and her patterns are plenty popular there. She's published in Interweave Knits and other major pattern publishers, so there's no doubt that she's legit.