Pern Portfolio
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pern Portfolio |
| Publisher: | Isis/Yggdrysil Press |
| Editor(s): | Anne E. Zeek (Anne Zeek) |
| Date(s): | 1978 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Anne McCaffrey & Dragonriders of Pern |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Pern Portfolio is a Pern anthology of fiction, articles, filks and art. Anne McCaffrey wrote the forward. While it is labled v. 1 n.1, it is the only issue. It was published in June 1978 and contains 118 pages.
The publisher writes in an ad in the Mos' Eastly program book that it "is the ONLY authorized McCaffrey fiction zine."
In March 1978, Jacqueline Lichtenberg told fans she had seen "the official letter of permission myself." [1]
Editorial
From A.E. Zeek:
HOW TO ENJOY GREY HAIRS, ULCERS, MIGRAINES, COLITIS, NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS, FAMILY FEUDS, MIFFED PETS, WARNING NOTICES FROM YOUR JOB, DIVORCE, INSOMNIA, ANOREXIA NERVOSA OR FOODCOHOLISM, AND VARIOUS AND SUNDRY OTHER DELIGHTS BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL: Edit a fanzine.Not just any fanzine, mind you. Oh, no. Rather, I suggest working on the first Issue of a theme-orlented fanzine which, for maximum exposure, must be printed by the date of a certain con (would you believe the last con at which the author you are honoring will appear this year?!!) when said certain con is, of a certainty, at least three months too early for your zine to really properly be ready. Have I explained the situation clearly?...
Believe it or not, this whole fanzine started as a planned special "portfolio' of Pern oriented art and music. The special art folio and the musical settings were to appear within the pages of another 'zine entirely. But, one thing led to another, and the Pern Portfolio was suddenly a fanzine in its own right.
We hope you like it. We worked quite hard on the 'folio In the few months since its conception, and we like to think that our effort has resulted in a 'zine that you will enjoy - and one the dragons will be proud of! We do ask that you pass along any comments or criticisms. At present, it looks as though there will be further issues of the 'folio, and we want those issues to reflect your desires. So write us, hear?
Forward
The forward by Anne McCaffrey is mostly about how her ideas for dragons and Pern originated.
There is one small blurb about the fanzine at the end: "My gratitude to Anne Zeek and Jean Stevenson for wanting to expend such effort, organization, and energy in creating PERN PORTFOLIO: and my thanks to you who are reading it. Enjoy!"
Content
Jean L. Stevenson wrote music for 9 filk songs for woodwind and guitar. All of the lyrics are from Anne's books The songs are: Gathersong, Question Song, Menolly's Running Song, Menolly's Song for Petiron, The Hatching, 400 Turns "Between", Eastern Sea-Hold Song, Lullabye and Good-night and The Alarm Chorus.
The art is by Barbi Johnson, Bill Feret, Amy Harlib, Mei-Moi Lee, Patricia Munson, Stella Nemeth, J.T. Sibley, Virginia Lee Smith, Colleen Winters, and A.E. Zeek.
- Preface: Let There Be... Bill Feret (3)
- Dedication (7)
- Editorials (8)
- Forward by Anne McCaffrey (11)
- For Love of Dragons, Joseph Mclellan (14)
- On Dragons by Beborah Burros (18)
- On the Sixth Day by Cynthia Levine (28)
- The Dragon Rider's Creed (30)
- "First Alarm" by Jean L. Stevenson (about the man who wrote "The Alarm Chorus") (article) (31)
- Suite for Dragons by Jean L. Stevenson (39)
- Dragon Song by A.E. Zeek (48)
- Pern Art Portfolio by Amy Falkowitz (49)
- The Candidate by A.E. Zeek (57)
- Desperate Flight by A.E. Zeek (about a different Moreta and her flight, Canth's Choice" about a female impressing a bronze dragon) (58)
- Weyrwoman by Frances Zawacky (79)
- Canth's Choice by D.A. Lewis (80)
- Some Observations On Mycorrhiza Stellarubris: A Preliminary Report by J.T. Sibley (regarding the life cycle of Thread and how an infestation spreads) (article) (94)
- Hrruban and Terran Formality by Stella Nemeth (has an accompanying drawing of Todd (with tail) and a Hrruban) (article) (102)
- Dialog for a Distant Planet by A.E. Zeek (104)
- The Letter by A.E. Zeek (105)
- bibliography (106)
Art
The cover is of the white dragon, "Ruth", done in 4 colors. The back is a black and white drawing of a mating flight. There are two large drawings that fold out. They are larger than the rest of the pages and fold back in on themselves.
Galleries
Inside the Finished Issue
"A Lady and Her Dragon" by Bill Feret, illo featuring Anne McCaffrey
two-page illo by Amy Falkowitz
"The Hatching: Ramoth and Lessa" by Cindy Sims Millan
Virginia Lee Smith
music
Barbi Johnson, "Menolly"
Bill Feret
Bill Feret, two-page illo
Amy Falkowitz
"Helva" by Cindy Sims Millan
title page, "Desperate Flight"
Mei-Moi Lee
Bill Feret
Colleen Winters
J.T. Sibley
Barbi Johnson, "Todd and Hrruna"
The Proof
There are several issues of the proof available. They differ from the original with the cover and the order of contents.
front cover of proof
inside of proof
inside of original
One of Its Beginnings
The back cover of Time Warp #2, "Grooming the Steed" by Amy Falkowitz -- from the editor of "Time Warp": "Oh yes. My bacover. THAT, my dears, is the illo that spawned a fanzine of its own. Seems Amy Falkowitz believed me when I said I liked dragons and wanted an illo of one. I saw this, and wrote back, "Why not do me a whole portfolio of dragon illos?" So she did. THEN I said... anywho, the end result was PERN PORTFOLIO, a McCaffrey zine."
Reactions and Reviews
1978
If you are an Anne McCaffrey fan, especially a Pern fan, then whatever you do, DON'T miss 'Pern Portfolio.' Put together by Ann E. Zeek, the zine contains stories, articles, and a variety of fantastic art -- bet you didn't think there could so many interpretations of the Pern Dragons. The zine is beautifully done, including a gorgeous color cover by Bev Zuk. Anne Zeck has absolutely outdone herself. With this zine, I'm honored and delighted to be a part of it. This is the only official McCaffrey fiction zine -- it has a forward by the Dragon Lady herself. [2]
Attention Anne McCaffrey fans - there is now a zine out especially for you. Entitled "Pern Portlolio, it was never intended to be its own zine, but one thing led to another and Pern Portfolio grew in to a 120-page concoction filled with stories, poems, songs , articles , artwork, and much love.
[general info about Pern snipped]
This first Pern zine has several interesting articles. An article about Anne McCaffrey that was first published in the Washington Post is reprinted. A short thesis explains the differences between Oriental (Pernese) and Occidental (Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy) dragons. Thread is explained in an article entitled "Some Observations on Mycorrhiza Stellarubris: A Preliminary Report." It details just what thread is and describes the different types (stages), how to identify each, and ends with a discussion of whether or not thread should be eliminated entirely. At the end of the zine is a complete Anne McCaffrey bibliography listing all her published novels, novelettes, novellas, small novels, and short stories, and where they were published.
Another section contains 9 songs from Pern. Anne McCaffrey wrote the lyrics and Jean Stevenson set to music. If you can play an instrument, the chords are written down as well as the notes. Several have catchy little tunes that are hard to forget.
The stories consist of 2 long stories and 2 short-shorts. "First Alarm" is set in Pern's past and tells of the very first time that the dragons lifted their voices in warning -- not telepathic words, but a deep brassy fanfare. The second long story is "Canth's Choice." Canth, "F'nor's brown dragon, has chosen Kanara, daughter of a Weyr-bred man, to become a candidate at the next hatching. A queen egg has been laid, and Kanar joins with several other girls hoping to Impress the new queen. The ending turns out somewhat differently than Kanara had hoped, though.
One of the short-short stories, "Four Kinds of Dragons," combines the Pern universe with the Star Trek universe for a short what-if story.
Poetry and several other articles deal with some of Anne McCaffrey's other writings round out the issue.
Pern Portfolio is definitely something different to enjoy on a lazy afternoon. You certainly can't dislike it. [3]
What do you know?!!? ST fen have put out a zine that is not STAR TREK oriented. {My apologies [for including this review in Right of Statement, ladies, I know you're all SF fen as well.)
What struck me most about this zine was the collection of new talent. I can only assume that they are SF fans with no interest In STAR TP' .. My compliments to the editors for a successfully completed Weyr Search.
This zine is a spectacular mimeo job — print dark, clear, readable; art work fantastic (As a matter of fact, I believe that in many cases the art work surpasses the printed matter. But then, I'm prejudiced — I'm on line for a dragon!!).
I suppose I shouldn't comment on the poetry, since I have a piece In the zine. However, I will say that there are pieces here any harper would be proud of. I wish I could comment on the music that was written, but I don't play any musical instrument. However, the lyrics are inspiring.
While I knew that everyone was intrigued by Ms. McCaffrey's dragon stories, I was surprised by the material within this zine relating to her other worlds as well. For anyone who has read THE SHIP WHO SANG, "The Letter" is an absolute must. I can almost believe that Helva’s mother was the author.
Complete with color cover, this zine is a must for any McCaffrey fan.
And because the zine is mimeo, the price is a real bargain. And with so many zines proliferating at expensive prices, perhaps other zine editors should take note and return to the zine's original medium — the mimeograph machine. If PERN is any example, with TLC mimeo reproduction can be clear, eminently readable, and not all that different from offset. (And don't tell me the artist's will complain, because even the artwork in this zine — including a pen-and-ink wash drawing — came out extremely well!)
So buy! Read! Enjoy! [4]
References
- ^ "Speaking of Dragonfen, we now have an official Pern Portfolio (I saw the official letter of permission myself.)" -- from Darkover Newsletter #11
- ^ from a review by Amy Falkowitz in Scuttlebutt #9
- ^ from Fleet #25
- ^ from Right of Statement #1 (1978)