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David A. Kyle
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| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | David A. Kyle |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | Science Fiction |
| Communities: | Futurians |
| Other: | |
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David A. Kyle was an actifan present for the beginnings of science fiction fandom. He was one of a very small number present at the First Eastern Science Fiction Convention. Kyle was active in fandom until his death in 2016.
The Futurians
Beginning in the late 1930s, East Coast science fiction fandom hosted a feud between the leftist Futurians and the more conservative New Fandom. Kyle had been a member of the International Scientific Association, which was one of the initial sites of the split between former allies Donald A. Wollheim and William S. Sykora. When the ISA collapsed as a result, Kyle stayed with the Wollheim faction and joined him as a founding member of the Futurians.
At the Newark Convention, Kyle argued with Sykora over a proposal to reorganize the ISA. Sykora "flared" at Kyle and tried on the spot to create a new planning committee for the first Worldcon--the first planning committee had included Wollheim as chairman, since it was formed over a year ago at the Second Eastern, when the ISA was still active and he was friends with Wollheim. The new committee consisted of his current friends. Kyle circulated a petition against Sykora that was signed by a number of other fans.[1]
At Worldcon 1939, Kyle himself sparked off the feud's main event, The Great Exclusion Act. The Futurians resented the fact that New Fandom had been chosen to plan and run Worldcon. Unbeknownst to the other Futurians, Kyle printed a set of pamphlets titled A Warning! that cautioned fans attending the con to beware of tyrannical behavior from the Triumvirs. Several other Futurians were stopped at the door by James V. Taurasi, and a light scuffle broke out. It was then that Sam Moskowitz, the con chair, was handed a copy of A Warning! and discovered a stash of them hidden behind a radiator. The six Futurians were ejected from Worldcon as a result, although Kyle himself managed to make it inside.
References
- ^ John James Weir: "Signing the Petition" in Science Fiction Collector #23 pp. 6-8 (Jan. 1939)