From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!ihnp4!ihuxe!aark
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Title: Re: SF attacked in December Harper's magazine
Article-I.D.: ihuxe.174
Posted: Thu Dec 16 14:39:35 1982
Received: Sun Dec 19 06:42:38 1982


The attack on science fiction in the December Harper's magazine
reminded me of a scene in Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" (surely Arnold
Klein, the author of the attack, would consider this a "regular novel").
Levin and his brother are having an argument about farming in
Russia.  Each thinks the other is crazy, and the argument gets
increasingly heated.  Finally Levin's brother starts to walk out
in disgust.  Levin says something like, "Can't you ever admit you're
wrong?"  His brother replies, "Very well, I'm wrong!  You're right!
But I'm still leaving!"

The best response to people who attack your reading tastes and go to
great lengths to prove how asinine and infantile they are is to nod
your head and tell them, "OK, if you think science fiction is
pubescent, naive, stupid, noncreative, unoriginal, and boring,
then you must be right.  But I'm still going to go on reading it."
And walk out.

In my opinion, Arnold Klein (who was described as "a poet who used to
write book reviews and animal features for the Soho Weekly News") is
jealous of the interest of many people in science fiction instead of
"regular novels," and the consequent lack of money being spent on
those regular novels, and the royalty income going to science fiction
authors instead of writers of non-science-fiction and poets like himself.

I disdain to argue with a person who I perceive has this attitude,
or apologize to him or her for my reading tastes.  Since Klein has
dismissed science fiction, I will dismiss Klein.  I'll just walk out,
continue spending my book money on whatever *I* want, and let Klein think
whatever *he* wants about me.

Alan R. Kaminsky
Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL
...ihps3!ihuxe!aark