Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other famous and influential works of speculative fiction, died yesterday at his home in Sri Lanka. Before he was well-known as a writer, he was active in the British science fiction fan community. He appears in our collections in fanzines produced during the 1940s now held in the M. Horvat Collection of Science Fiction Fanzines. One example is provided below in tribute.
The images are hard to read, as the ink used in the printing of the zine has faded to almost imperceptible levels - so light, in fact, that it fools our scanner and results in washed out images. The images are the cover and first page of the zine Gargoyle from March, 1940. War had already come to Britain by this date, and this first issue of Gargoyle features a news update reporting that a house shared by fans including Arthur C. Clarke, had been destroyed by Nazi bombing:
“War is responsible for some funny things, and I don’t necessarily mean the goings on in the blackouts. The most famous establishment in British fandom the flat at 88 Grey’s Inn Road is finally smashed and Bill Temple is settling down (we hope) to a tranquil existence with his wife. Arthur Clarke we hear is somewhere in Enfield living on top of a hill - or is it two hills? The other hill must be for his famous Ego.”
Clarke had many friends in fandom and was well known in its circles. He went on to a long and highly successful writing career, one that will continue to exert influence even after his death.
