Jack Chapman Miske
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Jack Chapman Miske |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | Science Fiction |
| Communities: | |
| Other: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Jack Chapman Miske was a member of early science fiction fandom. A member of the Science Fiction League and New Fandom, he also edited the zines Scienti-Snaps (later Bizarre) and Chaos.
About
Miske was outspoken in his views, political and otherwise. His nickname for the Futurians was "The Bolshevik Boys". Bob Tucker reported in a 1941 issue of Le Zombie that Miske was refusing to let copies of Bizarre fall into the hands of British conscientious objectors.[1] Miske had an opinionated column in Spaceways called Stardust, which was published under the pseudonym "The Star-Treader" until he was finally threatened with exposure by Robert A. W. Lowndes, who had taken offense to a number of remarks on the subject of Michelism. In response Miske revealed his identity publicly and continued the column. Stardust had drawn ire from the beginning, beginning almost immediately with an accusation from William L. Hamling that the name Stardust had been stolen from his fanzine, to which Miske countered that Hamling hadn't invented the word "stardust" and many other science fiction works had already used it as a title.
After Chicon I, Miske considered leaving fandom entirely, despite having a positive experience at the con that surprised everyone after the reputation he'd garnered as The Star-Treader.
It would be difficult for me to state in so many words what prompted me to enter fandom, but that which made me think of leaving is easily set forth.I found that fans were not as greatly different from the average person as I hoped. Thus they were different from me, and continued association with them could bear little fruit for me....
Jack Chapman Miske: "In Tribute". Fanfare issue 5 pg. 18 (Dec. 1940)
Of all fans present, only Earl Singleton[2]impressed me greatly. He and I are to a great extent the same, tho he is not remotely as far gone....
Fandom and the heavy philosophical overtones of good fantastic literature gave me the courage to believe only in logic as my mind saw it. They, queerly enough, gave to me the "madness with a pen" that is the attribute by which most fans know me best. They crystallized innumerable wavering thoughts into beliefs and the unshakable basis of a philosophy which is the guiding force of my life....
My whole life and my attitude toward the lives of others are now, for better or worse, what fandom has given me. I may someday leave the field, but I can never leave what it has done to me.
Jack Chapman Miske: "In Tribute". Fanfare issue 5 pg. 18 (Dec. 1940)
References
- ^ Bob Tucker in Le Zombie, issue 37 pg. 4 (March/May 1941)
- ^ Earl Singleton would commit pseuicide and leave fandom in January 1941.