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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Science fantasy (abbreviated as sci-fantasy) is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy.[2] In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as grounded by the laws of nature and comprehensible by science, while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural elements that do not obey the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science–like explanations of any supernatural elements.[3][4][need quotation to verify]
During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, science fantasy stories were seen in sharp contrast to the terse, scientifically plausible material that came to dominate mainstream science fiction, typified by the magazine Astounding Science Fiction. Although science fantasy stories at that time were often relegated to the status of children's entertainment, their freedom of imagination and romance proved to be an early major influence on the "New Wave" writers of the 1960s, who became exasperated by the limitations of hard science fiction.[5]
The term "science fantasy" was coined in 1935 by critic Forrest J. Ackerman as a synonym for science fiction.[6] In the 1950s, the British journalist Walter Gillings considered science fantasy as a part of science fiction that was not plausible from the point of view of the science of the time (for example, the use of nuclear weapons in H.G. Wells' novel The World Set Free was a science fantasy from the point of view of Newtonian physics and a work of science fiction from the point of view of Einstein's theory). In 1948, writer Marion Zimmer (later known as Marion Zimmer Bradley) called "science fantasy" a mixture of science fiction and fantasy in Startling Stories magazine. Critic Judith Murry considered science fantasy as works of fantasy in which magic has a natural scientific basis. Science fiction critic John Clute chose the narrower term "technological fantasy" from the broader concept of "science fiction".[7] The label first came into wide use after many science fantasy stories were published in the American pulp magazines, such as Robert A. Heinlein's Magic, Inc., L. Ron Hubbard's Slaves of Sleep, and Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp's Harold Shea series. All were relatively rationalistic stories published in John W. Campbell Jr.'s Unknown magazine. These were a deliberate attempt to apply the techniques and attitudes of science fiction to traditional fantasy subjects.[8]
Distinguishing between pure science fiction and pure fantasy, Rod Serling argued that the former was "the improbable made possible" while the latter was "the impossible made probable".[9] As a combination of the two, science fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world under any circumstances. Where science fiction does not permit the existence of fantastical or supernatural elements, science fantasy explicitly relies upon them to complement the scientific elements.
In explaining the intrigue of science fantasy, Carl D. Malmgren provides an intro regarding C. S. Lewis's speculation on the emotional needs at work in the subgenre: "In the counternatural worlds of science fantasy, the imaginary and the actual, the magical and the prosaic, the mythical and the scientific, meet and interanimate. In so doing, these worlds inspire us with new sensations and experiences, with [quoting C. S. Lewis] 'such beauty, awe, or terror as the actual world does not supply', with the stuff of desires, dreams, and dread."[3]
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore published novels in Startling Stories, alone and together, which were far more romantic. These were closely related to the work that they and others were doing for outlets like Weird Tales, such as Moore's Northwest Smith stories.[citation needed]
Ace Books published a number of books as science fantasy during the 1950s and 1960s.[citation needed]
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction points out that as a genre, science fantasy "has never been clearly defined", and was most commonly used in the period between 1950 and 1966.[10]
The Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry is sometimes cited as an example of science fantasy. Writer James F. Broderick describes Star Trek as science fantasy because it includes semi-futuristic as well as supernatural/fantasy elements such as The Q.[11] According to the late science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, many purists argue that Star Trek is science fantasy rather than science fiction because of its scientifically improbable elements, which he partially agreed with.[12]
Science fantasy blends elements and characteristics of science fiction and fantasy.[13] This usually takes the form of incorporating fantasy elements in a science fiction context.[13] It tends to describe worlds that appear much like fantasy worlds but are made believable through science fiction naturalist explanations.[13][14] For example, creatures from folklore and mythology typical for fantasy fiction become seemingly possible in reinvented forms through for example the element of extraterrestrial beings.[13] Such works have also been described as "mythopoeic science fantasy".[14] In the genre, subjects are often conceptualized on a planetary scale.[15]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Science fantasy (abbreviated as sci-fantasy) is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as grounded by the laws of nature and comprehensible by science, while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural elements that do not obey the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science–like explanations of any supernatural elements. During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, science fantasy stories were seen in sharp contrast to the terse, scientifically plausible material that came to dominate mainstream science fiction, typified by the magazine Astounding Science Fiction. Although science fantasy stories at that time were often relegated to the status of children's entertainment, their freedom of imagination and romance proved to be an early major influence on the "New Wave" writers of the 1960s, who became exasperated by the limitations of hard science fiction.
Science Fantasy, which also appeared under the titles Impulse and SF Impulse, was a British fantasy and science fiction magazine, launched in 1950 by Nova Publications as a companion to Nova's New Worlds. Walter Gillings was editor for the first two issues, and was then replaced by John Carnell, the editor of New Worlds, as a cost-saving measure. Carnell edited both magazines until Nova went out of business in early 1964. The titles were acquired by Roberts & Vinter, who hired Kyril Bonfiglioli to edit Science Fantasy; Bonfiglioli changed the title to Impulse in early 1966, but the new title led to confusion with the distributors and sales fell, though the magazine remained profitable. The title was changed again to SF Impulse for the last few issues. Science Fantasy ceased publication the following year, when Roberts & Vinter came under financial pressure after their printer went bankrupt. Gillings had an inventory of material that he had acquired while editing Fantasy, and he drew on this for Science Fantasy, as well as incorporating his own fanzine, Science Fantasy Review, into the new magazine. Once Carnell took over, Science Fantasy typically ran a long lead novelette along with several shorter stories; prominent contributors in the 1950s included John Brunner, Ken Bulmer, and Brian Aldiss, whose first novel Nonstop appeared (in an early version) in the February 1956 issue. Fantasy stories began to appear more frequently during the latter half of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s Carnell began to publish Thomas Burnett Swann's well-received historical fantasies. Carnell felt that the literary quality of Science Fantasy was always higher than that of New Worlds, and in the early 1960s his efforts were rewarded with three consecutive Hugo nominations for best magazine. Under Bonfiglioli more new writers appeared, including Keith Roberts, Brian Stableford and Josephine Saxton. In the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley, the final year of Impulse, as it was titled by that time, included some of the best material ever published in a British science fiction magazine.
Weird Science-Fantasy is an American science fiction-fantasy anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955.
Science fiction appeared regularly in UK magazines in the late 19th century, but it was not until 1934 that the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction was launched in the UK. This was Scoops, a weekly aimed at a juvenile audience; it lasted only a few months. In the late 1930s two pulp magazines, Fantasy and Tales of Wonder, were launched, but World War II brought paper shortages, and only a few issues appeared. Contributors included John Wyndham and Arthur C. Clarke. Only publisher Gerald Swan, who had stockpiled magazines before the war, issued any new science fiction titles over the next few years. Paper rationing continued for several years after the end of the war, and as the demand for new reading material exceeded the supply publishers often produced shoddy material, paying very low rates to writers, since they knew almost anything they printed would sell well. New Worlds, edited by E. J. Carnell, was an exception to this rule: it was started in 1946 by a group of science fiction writers and fans that included Wyndham, Carnell, and Walter Gillings. The publisher, Pendulum Publications, went bankrupt in 1947, but a group of eight of the magazine's backers formed Nova Publications to continue the magazine. In 1950 a second title, Science Fantasy, was added, edited by Gillings, but after two issues Carnell took over as editor. A third Nova title, Science Fiction Adventures, was started in 1958. In the early 1960s New Worlds and Science Fantasy were taken over by Roberts & Vinter, a paperback publisher: Science Fantasy ceased publication in 1967, but New Worlds continued for several decades. New Worlds published many of the top British and American science fiction writers of its day, including J. G. Ballard, James White, Michael Moorcock, Cyril Kornbluth, Theodore Sturgeon and Philip K. Dick. John Spencer was one of the publishers that printed low quality material, and between 1950 and 1954 they published dozens of science fiction magazine issues under four different titles. The contents were "the worst science fiction ever published", according to Mike Ashley, a historian of science fiction. Of somewhat better quality was Authentic Science Fiction which appeared in 1951 from Hamilton & Co, another high-volume low-quality publisher. Its first editor, Gordon Landsborough, was able to persuade Hamilton to invest a little more money and effort in the magazine and it became more respectable over its six-year run. In 1952 Peter Hamilton, a young Scot, launched Nebula Science Fiction using his parents' printing business as the magazine's printer. He bought the first sales of Robert Silverberg, Bob Shaw, and Brian Aldiss, and gradually raised his pay rates to be competitive even with the US markets. The result was a well-liked and successful magazine, eventually brought down by business circumstances that made Nebula's overseas subscriptions unsustainable. Several publishers, include Atlas Publications, Thorpe & Porter, and Pembertons, reprinted British versions of the US science fiction and fantasy pulps. Many only lasted for one or two issues, but some were more successful: Atlas's British edition of Astounding Science Fiction lasted for 222 issues and fourteen years, and the Thorpe & Porter edition of Galaxy Science Fiction ran for 9 years, from 1953 to 1962, with 94 issues.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker
