A free e-book on the history of filk music, from its beginnings in the forties to the present.
Help make it happen for Tomorrow’s Songs Today: The History of Filk Music. Only a few days left in the fundraiser to help pay for the copy-edited and cover art.
In addition to running Archive of Our Own and the Transformative Works and Cultures academic journal, the Organization for Transformative Works also runsFanlore, a fandom-oriented wiki dedicated to hosting information aboutfan activities, fannish vocabulary, and the histories of fan communities.
On July 5 2014, Fanlore passed its most recent goal of reaching 30,000 articles — which is awesome! But as with any wiki that relies on user interest for the creation and maintenance of pages, there are still some pretty noticeable gaps. Some of the most prominent authors and pairings in popular fandoms have almost nothing on their pages — or, in many cases, have no pages at all. (As of September 21 2014 the Steve/Bucky page barely has anything on it, and Thorin Oakenshield — one of the main characters in The Hobbit books and movies — doesn’t even have a character page.)
The Fanlore Challenge:
To help fill these gaps, I propose a simple three-step solution.
Think of 5 things that you consider important to YOUR fandom experience and that you think other people should know about. (Your favourite pairings, characters, fanfic authors, fanartists, remarkable fanworks — whatever makes you think “this person/thing deserves to be recognized.”)
Go contribute to the Fanlore pages for those 5 things.
That’s all it takes! Saying “X Author is a significant author in Y fandom” with a link to their AO3 page or adding the links to a few Notable Works for a particular pairing is more than enough to qualify. Know of an awesome rec list for that pairing? Add a link. Remember a meme that sprung up about a certain character? Throw that in too. It doesn’t have to be much.
And if you have the time and energy to really flesh out those 5 pages? Even better.
Providing a balanced and well-rounded fandom wiki is pretty much impossible for one person to do. But if everyone who sees this post makes just 5 constructive edits, we can all work towards making Fanlore into an even better resource and repository for all of us to use.
At The Atlantic, Courtney Klauser discussed her education in social networks thanks to fandom…
Corinne Duyvis wrote at YA Highway about lessons learned while roleplaying…
Author Peter David re-posted a poem about fandom he’d published in 2001 about the spread of fandom online…
Elizabeth Minkel wrote in New Statesman about changing times. “It might be easy to forget that a little more than a decade ago, Warner Brothers was yanking down Harry Potter fan sites without warning…”
…In 2009, the final version of Ming’s library became known as The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material. The Fanzine Archives became a federally recognized, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and circulation of fanzines. The Archives maintained an active circulating library of over 300 fanzines, and a permanent collection of over 3,000 titles.
We’ve talked here about online archives and the issues surrounding preservation, scanning, etc. old fanzines. So, I thought it would be cool to post about current archives for hard-copy fanzines which exist. This is the biggest one I know of (and I would have KILLED to be an archivist there, but alas it was not to be…).
During the hey day of K/S fan fiction Spock’s penis came in a huge array of sizes and shapes. Gayle F was the Queen of The Bells - she had Spock with a penis that came in the shape of five bells, and that will always haunt me. And yet… ribbed… for Kirk’s pleasure. Hmm…
The classic fannon that was thoroughly adopted and turned up everywhere was the ‘double ridged’ penis. That is, Spock’s glans had a, er, kind of double echo thing, another set of ridges just underneath. A subtle nod to the alien penis and the fans’ love affair with same.
I’m pretty sure there were a load of self-lubricating penises in the stories - because you could so totally get away with that in fandom. And why not? A self-lubricating penis is logical, dammit, Jim!
There was one story (sadly, I never found this one, only heard about it in horrified whispers from friends) where Kirk had been raped and had developed a fear of penises (other people’s, one assumes, not his own), but that was just hunky dory as Spock didn’t have one. He, instead, had a hundred tiny tentacles that all sort of came together to do the job. How perfect is that? I wish I could find that story, because it’s just like mini-hentai! Hundreds of tiny tentacles! Adorable! Although I think it would make giving Spock head an adventure in eating spaghetti. “Hey, Kirk, you want parmesan on that?”
Oh, and there was this really great novel, I forget what it was called, but it was huge, where Spock’s nuts were on the inside. In fact, he may have had a couple of sets… no, wait, I remember, his nuts where accessible from the back, like, um, near his kidneys or something, so he really, really enjoyed massages, and then his scrotum just filled up with juice prior to coming. Or something. Anyway, it was hot. Back nuts.
My absolute favourite, though, was the extreme alien penis presented by Leslie Fish (Ah, Leslie, your zines are still my sugar bunny comfort fic). Spock’s genitals could best be described as a kind of hairy orchid. When he became aroused, the petals unfolded, revealing a studded (with emeralds) green shaft (again, ribbed for Kirk’s pleasure!), and two little whippy tentacles that just joyfully joined in the fun. [11]
He replaced the idea of wanting to be liked with the idea of becoming accomplished. Instead of being interested in being popular, he became interested in being intelligent. And instead of wanting to be powerful, he became interested in being useful.
He said to himself: ‘Not everyone will like me. But there will be those who will accept me just for what I am. I will develop myself to such a point of excellence, intelligence, and brilliance that I can see through any problem and deal with any crisis. I will become such a master of my own abilities and career that there will be a place for me. People of all races will need me and not be able to do without me.’ And that’s just what he did.
So my little history of fandom’s adaptability and why comment subject lines became such a big deal got really popular. That’s been kind of an experience. Wee!
I just wanted to say that I’ve noted more than a handful of people saying that we should write this stuff down. And they’re right, we…
Over the summer I had the pleasure of attending a panel about fandom. It kindled an interest in the history of fandom that I’ve had for a while now. What I’ve spent a lot of time wondering about specifically is: “fanzines? (pre-internet fanfiction, how does it work?),” “is there any body of work that chronicles the history of old fandoms?” and “is anybody chronicling fandom now?”
I have recently learned about a wiki, where I can read all about these questions and more squee!
And in my infinite free time I’d love to be a tag wrangler for AO3! [lays down and cries on the floor because free time what is that]
My fan tendencies have been with me for a long time, and they aren’t going away any time soon. Community has always been super important to me, and fandom is no exception. I’m always looking for positive ways to promote fandom and be a part of it, so I was really excited to learn about OTW.
I hope you guys learned something by reading this! Educator out!
“ In the days before the internet, Trek fans would actually gather in each others homes and talk about Star Trek. Young Dana here started his own local Trek club, and I joined it for a while. Met many interesting characters people! The highlight for us was actually getting to watch a (film-stock) Trek episode every month, which was borrowed from the local ABC affiliate and shown on a movie screen at Dana’s house!”
In the days before streaming or DVRs: “From October 1979, a slap-dash poster from the halls of a local community college showing ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’. As I recall back in the day, our local ABC-TV affiliate station showed Star Trek on Monday through Friday’s at 6:00, and occasionally they’d loan out their copies (on film-stock) to local showcases. But this wasn’t a local loan, I see that the poster has “Clem Williams Films. Inc” in the lower left hand corner, which was a distributor of 16mm films (in the era before VHS took over) and the school must have rented it from them. I recall my sister and her beau drove me out to the college so I could watch it! (wasn’t that nice?) Oh sure, I could see it anytime on TV, but to see it on a big screen? Bring it on!”
“From September of 1979, a flyer from Pocket Books heralding all the new Star Trek merchandise. You see, in the before time of no internet, one would be on something called ‘a mailing list’. Surprisingly, there are no flashy graphics here, just a basic list. Pocket smelled money…”
A Star Trek fan from the 1970s writes: ‘From 1979, the monthly Starlog Star Trek Report, this time featuring what it’s like to be an extra on the set of ST:TMP. Among the notable extras cast were Louise Stange, president of the Leonard Nimoy Association of Fans (LNAF, of which I belonged at the time) “
“ From July 11, 1978 “Star Trek: A Galaxy of Gastronomic Goodies”. These excerpts from a Star Trek cookbook were posted in our weekly Food section. Mind you, this was in the dark pre-internet days when our two local newspapers had money and space to print entire sections dedicated to frivolous things like Food, and Lifestyle, something never done anymore. (they’re lucky to still have a small Sunday berth). And someone in the culinary field figured out how to make a quick buck by slapping the Star Trek name on not-too-other worldly dishes. ”
In 1978, a young Star Trek fan meets Leonard Nimoy: “Well kids, this was it; my ambition, my dream , my ultimate fan-girl fantasy coming to fruition as a tender 16 year old. As I mentioned in the January 14th post, my Mom had secured tickets to see Leonard Nimoy (in person!) on a lecture tour in Elmira NY on February 18th, 1978 , and as we traveled out on that cold winter evening, I had realized to my horror half way there that none of us had brought a camera! Too late to complain, too cold and too far to go back, so we carried on. All I knew was I never wanted to forget this night, and fortunately, after it was over, I hastily scribbled eight journal pages of the whole event. (see below)”
From a fan who attended a Star Trek convention in 1976: “Hello Scrappers, today’s flashback features the 4-day schedule of events that was the Star Trek Bi-Centennial-10 Convention in NYC. Looking back on this now I realized that, although we saw a lot at the convention, we missed a lot too! How could I have missed visiting the replica of the Enterprise Bridge and Transporter Room!!!??”
A Star Trek fan from the 1970s talks about communicating before the Internet: “From the back of the program, a couple hundred names and addresses of “Star Pals”; Trekkies who entered their names, addresses and birth dates –in Stardate code* to be Pen Pals with other Trekkies across the nation! Are people still Pen Pals anymore, or is it all Twitter and Facebook? The fans range from early teens to the mid twenties, and I’ve blurred out all but their first names for their privacy, but my how times have changed! Also note the ads for that new publication Starlog Magazine and ads for April Publications and New Eye Studio, jumping on the Trek bandwagon with UFP flags and Saurian Brandy Bottles. Note on the last page, along with the convention layout of the Statler-Hilton Hotel there’s an ad for a Mr. Spock Computer Image. “
A Star Trek fan from the 1970s discusses fan art: “The second is a fantastic pen and ink pointillist piece by artist Monica Miller called Pirates of the Empire. I love this, with the proud but menacing Vulcan and that leering sneer of Kirk. Monica did a lot of work for Star Trek ‘fanzines’ at the time. Fanzines were home-made mimeographed magazines featuring Star Trek-centered stories. Many fanzines were written by women and the stories were often erotic, with lots of starship romances; e.g. Spock and Chapel, and where the Kirk/Spock ‘slash’ stories were born. Miller created many memorable covers for publications — see here a similar design for an issue of Off The Beaten Trek. Unfortunately I could not find any online bios for Ms. Miller, but I’m sure her unique style was greatly appreciated.”
A Star Trek fan remembers: “That was the first time I was exposed to erotic Star Trek art too; I’ll never forget there was a nude pencil sketch of Spock, reclining on his right elbow, with his left arm modestly concealing his manhood. As I recall, the picture was titled “R&R”. Of course my Mom wasn’t too thrilled with it –‘That’s dirty!’ — But one could not deny the female fans their fantasies. In the end I was just forever grateful to my Mom for letting me go to this convention, and putting up with all the Trek mania around her.”
A fan remembers attending her first Star Trek convention in 1976: “This week I take a trip down memory lane to the first (and best) Star Trek convention I ever attended wa-a-a-ay back in 1976. It was the Star Trek Bi-Centennial-10 Convention in New York City that celebrated the 10th Anniversary of our beloved original Star Trek series. Why was this the best one I ever attended? Well, the main reason was that it was probably one of the last conventions before the Star Wars era, when TOS was at its zenith of popularity, before Star Trek became something called a franchise, when the expressions ‘Keep On Trekkin’ and ‘Star Trek Lives’ were on the tongues of everyone enamored of the series. There was something quaint, yet universal about a bunch of people gathering to celebrate this little show. I think a lot of us felt that we were misfits; geeky types who were socially awkward, the stuff of ridicule and mockery. Yet here at the convention, as a shy 15 year old, I felt accepted for the first time in my teen life by a community of people from all over the U.S., enjoying and conversing about pointed ears and mini-skirts.”
A fan who kept a Star Trek scrapbook in the 1970s wrote: “Here’s today’s flashback” From 1977, a preview of the Star Trek America Convention in NYC. Unfortunately, I could not go to this one because my Mom had figured one big NYC convention in the last 12 months was enough! (“But Mom! Leonard Nimoy’s going to be at this one!”–no dice).”
From a Star Trek scrapbook created by a fan in the 1970s: “Here’s today’s flashback: Nichelle Nichols gets a decent 1-page article in that new-fangled People magazine about her NASA Career. Now if only they could have given her a cover! It should be noted that Trek stars, despite their wild popularity in in the seventies, pretty much never got any covers in weekly glossies. A shame too, they deserved a little more attention than, say, Donny and Marie, but such it was.”
The posts from the 1970s Star Trek scrapbook continue:
“And then these are 6 stamps that I bought at the Star Trek Bi-Centennial 10 Convention in 1976 with the familiar logo ‘Star Trek Lives” and Support Star Trek on each, with a dollar bill style portrait of a crew member on each. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov. How could they forget Sulu? Unless having six made it mathematically easier to print.”
“Here’s today’s blast from the past. A fascinating piece from the New York Times sent to me by one of my Aunts about rival Star Trek Conventions, all after the Trekkie dollar. (That Trek huckster is really rockin’ the Mirror Spock look) A portion of a TV Guide article about nostalgia conventions, and a local article about Deforest Kelley being interviewed by WHRW, the local college station. ”
Starting in 1972, Star Trek fans launched a series of fan run conventions that led to the revival of the Star Trek franchise. It also marked the return of user created programming to a generation of passive media consumers. This letter to the editor of The Bridgeport Post was published in Feb 1973 and attempted to frame the Star Trek phenomena in broader terms. Amusingly, many of those “broader terms” are still being debated. Here is a snippet quoted from the beginning:
“Daily we hear the cry that the youth of America is mentally unhealthy. The crime rate is up. Sexual promiscuity is the vogue. Morals are at an all-time low.
A recent speculative science fiction convention at New York’s Commodore Hotel proved that over 7,000 people, predominantly high school and college age have bright hope for the world in the future.”
You can read more about the early Star Trek conventions on Fanlore, the fan run, non-profit wiki about media fandom here.
From a Star Trek fan who is posting excerpts from her Star Trek scrapbooks pasted together in the 1970s:
“As I re-read this article after all these years, it amazed me how cheap everything was at a Convention –an original script for $50, and original uniform for $100!!! After reading this as a kid, it was my dream to go to a real Trek convention, and I would three years later in 1976, as I mentioned last week and will again when I get up to it. Be sure to click on the images to enlarge so you can read them better.”
From a fan who is blogging excerpts from her Star Trek scrapbooks from the 1970s:
“Today I’ll be sharing the rest of the contents of The Box, including one very special souvenir. As I scratched through the pieces within, I came across several writings I had forgotten about — breathless explanations of events Trek related -the convention of ’76, of course, which I’ll transcribe here later, as my original writing was pretty horrific in both style and execution. There are bus ticket stubs and jotted lists my mother made of what we spent there at the NYC con., and some letters from people I met at various Trek events, and letters from an aunt or two when then found an article related to Trek in their newspapers.”
On occasion, people will ask me: “Why is there a digital media fanzine collection at Texas A&M University. TAMU is not…is not….well, it’s not that science fiction-y. Is it?”
