The First and Only Weekly Online Fanzine Devoted to the Life and Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs Since 1996 ~ Over 15,000 Webpages in Archive

Volume 0509

ERB ECLECTICA / MOTES & QUOTES
ERB-Date: 2001.08.10

The Many Worlds of "The master of imaginative fantasy adventure... ...the creator of Tarzan and... ...the 'grandfather of American science-fiction'"

Congratulations to a REAL Burroughs heroine

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~ a Princess with three famous names:

Dejah Ralston Burroughs

We received a card from proud parents,
Danton and Linda Burroughs,
announcing daughter Dejah's graduation from
William Howard Taft High School, Class of 2001
at 8:00 p.m., June 21, 2001

Dejah is grand daughter of
Jane Ralston and John Coleman Burroughs
and
great grand daughter of
Emma Centennia and Edgar Rice Burroughs

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Why Own the Heins?

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By David A. Adams

This morning I finally opened the monthly envelope from George McWhorter containing the July 2001 issue of The Gridley Wave.  Along with this always welcome update on the world of Burroughs fandom, I was surprised to find a flyer for Grant's republication of A Golden Anniversary Bibliography of ERB  by Henry Hardy Heins.  It took me about five minutes to call the publisher at (603)778-7191 to place my order to be on the list for one of the 1000 copies of this special second edition.

I must admit that I hesitated about a minute before making my order since the cost is $105.00, which includes the shipping & handling.  I thought about the actual use I might find in this volume since I already have Bob Zeuschner's wonderful book that does find its way to the top of my desk nearly every day.  Then I remembered how long I have wanted to have a copy of the Heins since I am one of those collectors who was unwilling to put out the $400-$600 for a first edition of this book that only rarely becomes available.

I have only looked through the Heins briefly in bookstores, but I have always recognized it as the keystone to any serious or half-way serious Burroughs collection.  Nearly everything a book collector does with his personal collection constantly refers back to a good bibliography of the author's work.  Although I do not own a copy of the first edition, many posts to the ERBlist has made me realize that the Heins does include valuable information not in Zeuschner's book, and I believe that the Zeuschner bibliography has certain information not in the Heins.

Of course, some ERB collectors will not find it necessary to own either of these bibliographies, however, in my opinion this is severely limits one's knowledge of the history and scope of one's personal holdings.  As I looked at the golden flyer from McWhorter, I could see that with the republication of the Heins bibliography I had a unique opportunity to own a book that would become one of the most important items in my collection.  As I said, my hesitation was brief, and now I am looking forward to owning this valuable edition sometime in early September after its printing in August.

Bibliographies are never complete, but they are essential items in every collection.  They always hold their value beyond their initial cost, and I have never regretted in buying them for any author I have collected over the years.  When I talked to George McWhorter on the phone this morning his first statement to me was "Isn't it wonderful!"  I even tried to contact Dr. Zeuschner by telephone, a thing I have never done before, but he was busy teaching his summer classes.  I just wanted to find out if this was really what I thought it was -- the real Heins with all of its wonderful information on the book and magazine versions of ERB's stories.  The answer from George and from the publisher was, yes and yes, this is the book I have been coveting for so many years.

George told me that many of the items have been updated, so it is not exactly the same text as the first edition.  It is to be slipcased in a handsome foil stamped black leatherette case and signed by Dr. Heins.  The publisher told me that I would not be disappointed.   I can't think of any reason a Burroughs' collector could have to prevent the order of this book.  It is indeed a milestone in the age of ERB book collecting, for every collector now has a very reasonable opportunity to own the historical key volume of all Burroughs bibliophiles.

I realize that this message is not going to convince everyone on the list to call Donald M. Grant for their personal copy, but I feel that they should.  My own collection of Burroughs books is very modest indeed, only numbering slightly over 400 copies of variant editions.  I have bibliographies of   Zeuschner, Huckenpohler, McWhorter, Bergen, and Peters, and each have their own unique uses.  The publisher tells me that there are copies left, but I would expect them to go quickly due to the world-wide interest in the works of ERB, and it will be a valuable reference item for libraries.

Enough for today.  Needless to say, I was very excited about this good news and wanted to pass the information on to all the fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

David (Nkima) Adams

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FRIENDS OF ERB

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New from University of Nebraska Press
http://nebraskapress.unl.edu/
University of Nebraska Press
233 N 8th St
Lincoln NE 68588-0255   USA
Two new ERB editions:

Pirates of Venus
By Edgar Rice Burroughs Introduction by F. Paul Wilson Illustrated by Thomas Floyd Glossary by Scott Tracy Griffin Afterword by Phillip Burger
Paper: 2001, , 316, CIP.LC 2001027712, 0-8032-6183-7, $14.95
and
Beyond Thirty
By Edgar Rice Burroughs Introduction by David Brin Essays by Phillip R. Burger and Richard A. Lupoff
Paper: 2001, xiii, 124, CIP.LC 00-051191, 0-8032-6184-5, $9.95

Previously published editions:
At the Earth's Core
By Edgar Rice Burroughs Introduction by Gregory A. Benford Afterword by Phillip R. Burger
Paper: 2000, xi, 309, CIP.LC 99-054812, 0-8032-6174-8, $12.95

The Land That Time Forgot
By Edgar Rice Burroughs Introduction by Mike Resnick
Paper: 1999, xiii, 434, CIP.LC 98-50000, 0-8032-6154-3, $14.95

Next spring, the University of Nebraska Press will also be issuing a complete and restored edition of The Moon Maid, with new illustrations, a smashing cover that features all of the Julians, and lots of additional materials. Also in preparation is a 3-in-1 edition of the first three Barsoom books with new illustrations.
CONTACT:
Gary H. Dunham ~ Acquisitions Manager ~ University of Nebraska Press ~ 233 N. 8th Street ~ Lincoln NE 68588-0255 ~ USA
Phone: 402-472-4452 ~ E-mail: gdunham1@unl.edu ~ FAX: 402-472-0308

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Ray Bradbury: A One-Man Film Factory
Tuesday, July 17, 2001

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - At 81, science-fiction author Ray Bradbury resembles a one-man film factory rather than a retiree. "I've got five films starting this year. Would you believe it?" Bradbury said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. Set to go before the cameras are "The Martian Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451," "The Sound of Thunder," "The Illustrated Man" and "Frost of Fire." "It's incredible to me that after all these years have gone by, I'm 81, and these things are happening," Bradbury added. The prolific author, who sold his first story when he was 21, has had three of his works filmed previously: "The Illustrated Man," "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes." He and John Huston won Oscars for their script of the 1956 film "Moby Dick."

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On youth, literature, Tarzan

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Column by Nick Clooney
Cincinnati Post ~ Online Edition
July 2, 2001
http://www.cincinnatipost.com/

A line I wrote six weeks ago has put me crossways of a literary buzzsaw which doubtless carved out a new San Andreas Fault on its path from the left coast to Augusta.

The sentence is, ''The passion to find deep meaning in "Superman,' "Batman' and "Tarzan' has escaped me.''

The reference was to the remarkable theater production of ''The Lion King'' which Nina and I had seen in New York. I was decrying the fact that there were so few children in the audience for what is, after all, a children's story.

There were several responses to that point of view, some agreeing and others disagreeing, but none had the impact of the letter from my friend Charles Edward Pogue, a fine writer and successful screenwriter in that most difficult of all arenas, Hollywood, Calif. I know him well enough to call him Chuck, and we have shared a panel or two at seminars in recent years.

Chuck sat down and spent a great deal of his time constructing a dissenting point of view. The points are so well-taken and the text so well-written that I will quote extensively from his opinion.

''Allow me to speak a few words on behalf of my pal, Tarzan. I'm not going to quote various scholarly sources or authors as esteemed as Ray Bradbury or Gore Vidal to explain or justify the cultural and literary resonance, the visceral - almost mythical - hold this character has had on our imagination since his inception in 1912.

''While I think there are many riches to be mined from reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'll be the first to admit that he was not a great prose stylist, . . . but he was a great storyteller with a fervoured and boundless imagination.

''The deep meaning I found in him is personal. I owe both my literary and cinematic career to Edgar Rice Burroughs.

''When I was about nine or ten, one of the local stations in Cincinnati started showing the old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies every Saturday afternoon. I was mesmerized. This led me to the books, which I found even better.

''Burroughs led me to Rider Haggard, who led me to Errol Flynn, who led me to Warner Brothers movies which led me to Bogart, who led me to (Raymond) Chandler and (Dashiell) Hammet, who led me to William Powell and Myrna Loy. . . . You get the idea.

''When I wasn't watching a dozen to 20 movies a week, I was prowling through Acres of Books, Ohio Book Store and Neville's Antiques down on Main Street, parting with a precious buck fifty of my allowance to purchase an old Tarzan novel, still in its dust jacket, from the '30s and '40s. . . .

''Today my book collection stands at about six thousand books. The heart of it is fiction - late 19th century to mid 20th century fantasy, adventure, mystery, histories. But Dickens and Twain and Shakespeare and Shaw and Theater and History and Biography and Mythology all proudly share space with Mr. Burroughs. . . .

''(That is part of) of man's discovery of deeper meaning to Tarzan. If you need more, I suggest you jaunt down the road to Louisville.

''The University of Louisville Library has one of the largest Edgar Rice Burroughs collections in the world, and George McWhorter, its curator and publisher of the "Burroughs Bulletin,' can whip up an eloquent defense for Tarzan's literacy merits. . . .''

Tarzan needs no defense, though, if he did, yours is eloquent enough, Chuck.

Our entryways into literature were different. I devoured historical novels and, when they got too thin, histories and biographies. My tastes in fiction, not as eclectic as yours, are also, I'm afraid, more pedestrian. Perhaps that is why your writing crackles with imagination while mine is more likely to trace the anatomy of the movies we both love than to break new ground.

But in one particular I better you: My wife has a cousin in central Kentucky whose parents were so caught up in the Burroughs story that they named him Tarzan. Go top that one.

Nick Clooney writes for The Post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Publication date: 01.07.02.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
Tarzana, California
1298 Kapiolani Boulevard
Honolulu  T H
July 21, 1941

Joan darling:
Well, here I am back at my office again; I've been away since June
25th and most of the time since I first went to the hospital June 5th.

In re-reading your letters that came while I was in the hospital, I
discovered that they were just like new material. Between my fever
and the dope, I had almost completely forgotten them; and I realize
that I never acknowledged them. I was glad to have the pictures of
the children. How sweet Joanne is! Mike does look a lot as Jack
did, and I can see a vague resemblance to some of my baby pictures;
but maybe that is because I want to see it. I am not casting any re-
flection on Mike. I liked one of the pictures of you better than I
did the other. You scarcely change at all, except that in maturing and I
think that you have grown even lovlier.

Am glad that Jim's father was able to visit you and see your new home.
I have never met the newspaper man he mentions, nor do I recall your
neighbor who was on a Tarzan picture. But that is not strange, as my
recaller is almost a total loss.

How many hours has Jim?    If this was any place for a white man to
live, I might suggest that he try to get a job here flying for the
Inter-Island Navigation Company. They run several planes a day to
the various islands - Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii. They
are beautiful runs, scenic beyond description.  I don't know, but I
have an idea that they may lose some of their pilots to the army or
navy. However, I'd hate to have you live here; and would never ad-
vise it. They use amphibians, as a forced landing might be in the
ocean.  They have a wonderful record of not a single fatality in all
the years that they have been operating commercial planes. You re-
call meeting Kit Carson at Somerset house, don't you?  He is vice-
president of Inter-Island.

Than you again, darling, for the numerous and nice letters you have
written me. They buck me up no end.

Lots of love to you all,

Papa

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Jungle Funnies with Tantor

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Why did the elephant wear red tennis shoes?
His blue ones were dirty.
How do elephants make extra money?
By babysitting for bluebirds on Saturday night.
Why do elephants wear springs on the bottom of their feet?
To catch low flying birds
What is the worst sound a bird can hear?
Sproing!
Why do elephants eat peanuts?
Because they can save the packages for valuable prizes
Why do elephants wear glasses?
To read the  fine print on the back of the peanut packages
Why do elephants never forget?
What do they have to remember?
Why do elephants drink?
To forget
How do you shoot a blue elephant?
With a blue elephant gun
How do you shoot a pink elephant?
(With a pink elephant gun?)  No. You tie his trunk in a knot, wait till he turns blue, then shoot him with the blue elephant gun.
Why did the elephant paint his toenails red?
To hide in the cherry tree.
Ever see an elephant in a cherry tree?  No?  Works, doesn't it?
How do you get 6 elephants in a Volkswagon?
3 in front, 2 in back, and one in the glove compartment
What's economical, handy, and weighs 24,000 pounds?
A six pack of elephants
Here are a few more that came to me since last night.
Never wear gray--look what it does for an elephant.
What is the difference between a flea and an elephant?
An elephant can have fleas, but a flea can't have elephants.
What can an elephant have that no other animal in the world can have?
Baby elephants
What is the most ambitious thing in the world?
A flea crawling up an elephant's leg
What is te most ridiculous thing in the world?
A flea crawling down an elephant's leg with a satisfied look on his face.
What is the most unusual thing in the world?
An elephant giving birth to 20,000 fleas.

By the way, I was surprised to see the poem "Eletelephony" on your site (Jungle Funnies I & Jungle Funnies II).  I had to memorize that poem in elementary school, and, like an elephant, I never forgot it.  But I thought I was the only one who remembered it.
Sincerely,
Submitted by Alice Collins  (A child of the 60s)

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A reminder from
Laurence Dunn ~ The ERB Traveller

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There are two Edgar Rice Burroughs events coming up this month:

The first is the Michigan Military Academy symposium taking place at St. Mary's College, Orchard Lake, Michigan on August 11th. Follow in the footsteps of the young Ed Burroughs as he pounded across the parade ground and see where the infamous duel almost took place. Details of the symposium, events and registration costs can be found at:
http://www.gwbhs.com/ThemWas/index.htm

The second event is the annual ECOF gathering (now in its 18th year?) the following weekend (August 17th, 18th) hosted by Elaine Casella in Binghamton NY. Guest of Honour is Mike Kaluta who drew the Carson of Napier strip in DC comics and also the artwork for the recently published Minidoka book. Registration cost is $75. Call Elaine on 1-607-724-3114 to get details of the hotel venue and rates. A panel discussion is also planned headed by DJ Howell with myself and Huck in support. Who will get this year's ERB Lifetime Achievement award? Be there to find out...

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Poul Anderson Dead At 74

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Award-winning SF author Poul Anderson, the prolific author of more than 100 books, died July 31, 2001 of prostate cancer at his home in Orinda, Calif., according to his publisher, Tor Books. He was 74. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Anderson was considered one of the best writers in the genre, having penned hundreds of short stories and dozens of novels; more than 100 of his novels and short-story collections have been published.

Anderson--born in Pennsylvania of Scandinavian parents, a culture that informed his writing--was just 20 years old when he published his first short story in 1947, according to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. In 1948, he earned a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota. Among his early novels are the SF Brain Wave and the fantasy Three Hearts and Three Lions. Anderson also wrote under the pseudonyms Michael Karageorge and Winston P. Sanders. With SF author Gordon R. Dickson, Anderson also wrote stories about Hokas, a species of furry aliens.

His later books can be grouped by sequence, including the Technic History series, centered on Nicholas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry; the Time Patrol stories, which began with Guardians of Time; the Psychotechnic League stories; and the History of Rustum sequence. Notable singletons include the fantasy A Midsummer Tempest and the SF Tau Zero, and his recent work included the four-book sequence beginning with 1993's Harvest of Stars. In an interview in Locus in 1997, Anderson said that he would like to be remembered for Tau Zero, Midsummer Tempest, The Boat of a Million Years, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Enemy Stars and Brain Wave.

On July 6, Anderson's 2000 novel Genesis won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of the year, the latest in a long string of honors that included three Nebula Awards and seven Hugo Awards, according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Anderson was a former president of the SFWA and guest of honor at the World Science Fiction Convention. In 1997 he received SFWA's Grandmaster Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Anderson is survived by his wife and writing partner, Karen; his daughter, Astrid; brother, John; two grandchildren; two nieces; and SF writer Greg Bear, his son-in-law.
See: Poul Anderson Bibliography

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The Cats and Moi
By David Adams

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The cats and I have a lot in common these days.  It's a struggle to not fall into their habits of eating three squares then sleeping the rest of the day curled up on the couch.

Since my retirement, I've been working hard on a number of projects, doing all those things I planned on doing when I reached these "golden years."  I've tried to remain in the driver's seat in my wayward life, rising at a certain time, then going about my business according to a schedule pasted up on the walls of my brain like a good soldier performing his daily duties with precision and dispatch.

I've the best of intentions, but then one of the cats arrives while I am reading my "novel of the day," and after a preliminary casing of a possible lap to land on, a furry face appears in my face with a soft trilling and immediately becomes a model of sloth that is hard to resist.

  Even with the best of intentions, it's hard to concentrate on Moby Dick with a warm cat snoring on your lap.  At first he tucks his head is right under my chin, so it's hard see and turn the pages.  I struggle with the situation as best I can for ten minutes or so, then the cat decides to see how long he can make himself draped across my entire chest.  He's quite a large cat, so when he's stretched out this way with his head under my beard, his long tail almost reaches my toes.

Being under a cat-blanket can be rather pleasing since we do have a mutual affection for each other, but the purring motor soon has its effect on my concentration, and I close my eyes for a minute and promptly forget the entire last paragraph I have read.  When I open my eyes with a start and realize that I've been  sleeping again, I find that the book is still in my hands open to the page, but I have no idea where the last sentence I read -- once upon a time in another life -- begins.

After a while I find the lost words and start in again with determination but wake up awhile later wondering how it's possible that the clock has moved a half hour in such a short time.  I make a noise clearing my throat, hoping that somehow it might persuade the cat to jump down, but it only causes him to roll over on his back, sliding down
into the crook of my arm so I can't even turn pages anymore.

I rearrange the book on the other side of the cat and start over again.  Where was I?  The white whale is slipping through silent seas.  He rolls over into the waves, showing flukes, waving goodbye to me as I sink into the deep waters of another nap.  I dream that I am reading the book.  I take in whole paragraphs of words this way, thinking I'm making great progress.  When I wake up again, I'm sure my dream is the story I've been reading, then realize that it IS only a dream, having nothing to do with the real words on the page.

Out of curiosity I wonder if this is what it is like to sit all day in a chair in a rest home looking at the wall.  The dream is really much more interesting than the book, and in many ways it is the book itself.  There's actually no difference between my dream and the story.  I realize that Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger is speaking the truth when he says:

" . . . you are not you -- you have no body, no blood, no bones, you are but a thought.  I myself have no existence, I am but a dream -- your dream, creature of your imagination.  In a moment you will have realized this, then you will banish me from your visions and I shall dissolve into the nothingness out of which you made me . . . . ."

Since this is such a scary idea, the cats and I decide to eat lunch.  The white, granny cat is already sitting on the counter when I get down to the kitchen.  She has taken up to sleeping on a chair by her food bowl so as not to miss a single meal.

The cats and I open a fresh can of senior cat dinner, lamb and rice for easy chewing.  They crowd around me, bumping with their heads and purring loudly to let me know that the can is theirs in case I am tempted to try a spoonful.  I dish it out to the cats not even wondering what it tastes like since I have a sandwich in mind.

The cats eat warily, looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes, checking to see who will finish first.  For a while I'm free of cats and build a Dagwood sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, lunch meat, and lettuce, topped with a smooth layer of mayonnaise.  One of the cats jumps up for some cheese, and I break off a hunk to get him away.

I sit in the big chair at my wife's "command central" in the family room and switch on the TV to watch the news and weather.  It's hot everywhere -- it's summer.  With this useful information and the sandwich under my belt, I head back to my room and Moby Dick.  The book doesn't seem too attractive in my lethargy after lunch, so I sink into my chair wondering when a cat will arrive.

August 1-2, 2001.
943 words

Editor's Note:
David Adams' The Cats and Moi will soon appear in the Olivia Times Journal where his articles are an ongoing feature. This piece is part of a series of articles dealing with how a long-time teacher deals with retirement: building rock gardens, sketching and painting, writing, reading, etc.  I know that many of the ERB fans on the Net are looking forward to the quality time offered by retirement.

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ERB IN THE AIR

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Watch for our special
ERB the Aviator edition in ERBzine 0606

A few ERB aviation items from our ERB LifeLine Bio:
1934
January 5 - noon: Ed took his first flying lesson from instructor Jim Granger at Clover Field. The plane is a
Kinner Security low wing monoplane.The permit is made out to: "Smith" (to prevent Emma from worrying), age  58, weight 189, height 69 1/2".
February 10: Ed takes delivery of a Security Airster plane, which he names the Doodad.
February 12: Ed makes his first solo flight. Emma and the boys are also interested in learning to fly.
February 16: Twenty-five-year-old son, Hulbert, in attempting to land the new Security Airster at Santa Monica's Clover Field, loses control of the craft and crashes into an adjacent golf course. He suffers minor injuries.

Kinner K [NC234Y] (Frank Rezich coll)

SPECS: K, K-5 Sportster 1932 (490) = 2pO-ClwM; 100hp Kinner K-5; span: 39'0" length: 23'8" load: 575# v: 104/90/37 range: 300. Max Harlow redesign of Bolte LW-2. Folding wing; optional cockpit canopy. $2,490; POP: less than 32 K, of which some were modified into B Sportster, and 1 K-5 [NC13799]. Production continued in 1933 at Kinner's new Security-National Corp as Security S-1 Airster. Design was also adopted in 1940 as Call-Air.

Suggested by Michael Wm. Kaluta

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ECOF 2001

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Binghamton, New York August 17, 18, 19, 2001 Registration: $75  Elaine Casella, Hostess 64 Front Street Binghamtom, NY    13905-4709 Phone: 1.607.724.3114 Guest: Michael Wm. Kaluta