The K/S Press/Issues 151-160

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The K/S Press 151 (April 2009)

  • contains 28 pages
  • has LoCs about the fiction in Touch, Their Hearts' Revenge, Language Lessons and other material in the zines First Time #44, Beyond Dreams #8, Matter/Antimatter #3/4 and Side by Side. See those pages.
  • A thank you from the editor to Lemli for her donation to the K/S Press.
  • CGA by Virginia Sky in honour of K/S Day
  • A reminder that with the upcoming Shoreleave con, the editors would very much like to encourage attendees to write reviews.
  • An announcement in the editorial from the organisers of the UK K/S convention Kismet that the con has had to be cancelled due to the venue going bust with no time to find an alternative location
  • An announcement from Mkashef Press that after a number of years of no change, the prices of all zines will be rising from March 2009.
  • Liz's Episode Commentaries: Patterns of Force
  • A fan comments about archiving zine collections:
I felt a tad guilty to read that there were no Roundtable entries for the February issue and determined to write at least SOMETHING for the next one... Especially as I'd only just finished reading some earlier letters. Somehow, I'd missed Rebecca's comments from the December Press on first reading and only found it recently... Rebecca, well done with your determination and persistance in finding a home for your zine and story collection. I do agree that our 'universe' should be preserved in various ways for future researchers and I enjoyed your account no end, notably the more clueless suggestions you received! This is a subject that attendees in the past at various British K/S Cons have touched upon, and I well remember Gallimaufrey's enthusiasm for our own archive somewhere... The internet is all well and good—amazing in the changes it has brought to fandoms, of course, but I was glad to read of the UC-Riverside special collection and the care it takes. My solution to the 'one final duty to perform' has for a while now been to leave all the Trek stuff to Liz (Hi Liz!) as she's considerably younger than some of us. At least now she may have an option as to what to do with it all!

  • Author Addison R comments on getting feedback for her stories:
It’s always amazing to me when someone reviews one of my stories from “the before time”[1], and it warms my heart to know that I’ve contributed even one tiny spark to the flame of love that burns so brightly between Kirk and Spock. That’s all I ever wanted to do. Whatever gave me the idea I could write I have no idea. All I knew is that I was consumed with fascination and passion for K/S and one day I found myself at the typewriter. Yes, the old kind where you had to use correction tape or an eraser and generally found yourself typing a story at least three times before you were finished. Thanks to all who continue to tell me it was not a wasted effort. I wanted to especially thank Crunchy for her review of “By Dawn’s Light” in the last issue. It’s so nice to hear the kind words about how well the story works from someone who has studied writing and who also obviously loves K/S. There are many of my stories I’d as soon forget, but I have to say that I still like this one very much. The morning I wrote it, the sun was burning through the fog much as I describe and suddenly I envisioned the whole vignette and was able to put it on paper. It is so nice to hear that I was successful in capturing that moment in time when Kirk’s mother discovers her son has found a soul mate. Thank you, Crunchy, for this and all your perceptive reviews!

  • In issue #150, a fan posed a question in the Roundtable: “I would very much like to know if any of the rest of you experience a lull in your K/S enthusiasm occasionally." Several fans respond to the question. Here are two of them:
One fan describes how she joined the fandom in the early 80s and has bought many zines over the years; she feels sad that so many of the authors she loved to read have left the fandom while her own interest in it has never wavered. She comes to the conclusion that her love of K/S stems from her love of TOS and despite watching the various other Trek series, none have affected her emotionally the way TOS does, and the way her two favourite characters, Kirk and Spock and their clear love for each other, whether the viewer believes they took it to the physical level or not. She believes that for all the fans who have remained steadfast to the fandom, that love is "a fire that will never go out."
Another fan addresses the same issue, describing first, as head of the K/S Press North American zine library, she gets to hear the enthusiasm and feedback that fans have after borrowing the zines; that second, she goes to the Shoreleave convention every year and enjoys the spending time with old friends and fellow fans, who inspire her to write; and that third, she finds zines have been her place of emotional refuge; that these are the things which have kept her in the fandom for so many years.

The K/S Press 152 (May 2009)

While tidying my zine closet the other day, I came across this story. (This is the main reason I never get very far in my organizational efforts. I constantly stop to reread a stray group of pages or gaze at a particularly delicious illo. My, time does fly when you’re a K/S fan!) Written by the same author who penned Beside the Wells — that controversial slave story of a few years ago — Averages packs the same kind of wallop.

This is not a story for everyone. Perhaps not even the majority of readers. (Terri, move right along. There’s nothing here for you.) It is gritty, realistic and heartbreaking. There, have I given fair warning? It is also anything but ordinary and has enough emotion in its less than three pages to stir the hardest heart. Can this woman write!

The story was written as a response to a newsgroup challenge; write a story where the first line was “Don’t give me any of that bonding crap!” Usually I don’t care for stories that must begin with a given piece of dialog. It always seems forced and artificial. Not here. Put that line into an angry McCoy’s mouth and it feels perfectly natural.

It is after the five-year mission. Spock is once again in pon farr and seeks out Kirk to see if there is a possibility that Kirk would be willing to bond with him—Spock’s greatest desire. All this happens off stage. We don’t get to see it. The story starts after Spock has left for Vulcan. McCoy tracks the captain down in a small bar in Lisbon where he’s taken refuge. Amid the empty shot glasses that line the table in front of him, Kirk tells him what happened.

I think I’ll stop here. You really must read this for yourself to get the full impact. Only one more thing to say: one of our sharpest criticisms of a K/S story is that Kirk and Spock are not ordinary men and should not be portrayed as such. This story falls under the heading of “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.”[2]

  • The editor noting the Reboot movie is about to be released and reviews would be welcome for the Roundtable section.
  • CGA by Ivy: Emancipation
  • Shelley Butler responds to Ivy's question in Issue #150 explaining that her love of K/S ebbs and flows, but that the feeling of excitement is stronger for the rest in between. She describes how though she loves the internet and the way it connects people and all the stories to be found online, but she will always prefer to hold zine in her hands and flick through it.
  • Ivy thanks everyone who responded to her question in Issue #151
  • The editors announce in a new Yahoo Group called Class Trek Creative Fandom

The K/S Press 153 (June 2009)

  • contains 30 pages
As many of you may know, there has been some dissension about "our" K/S versus [reboot] “movie” K/S. The movie has stirred up lots of feelings... pro and con. We here at the KSP want to take out the "versus". We are called "The K/S Press" and our subtitle says "A Forum For All Things K/S".

We mean exactly that. Your KSP is a forum for everything K/S and that includes the new movie. We welcome thoughts, comments, rants and raves, LOCs, and discussions of all thing K/S. Please feel welcome to submit LOCs for new movie stories you've read on the web or in zines and to review any artwork portraying Kirk and Spock from the new movie. Please send links to new movie K/S videos. But please continue sending in all of the above for the Classic characters as well.  :-)

Feel free also to disagree! If you hated – or feel ambivalent about - the movie Kirk and Spock, go ahead and write a Roundtable. We welcome all personal thoughts and feelings no matter the sentiment. Don't forget that we are a K/S family and as in any family there are bound to be disagreements, but this is the place to air them.

This movie has stirred the K/S juices in long-term K/Sers; it has inspired people to return to K/S; it has introduced TOS and K/S to new fans. It has, in short, brought an energy and vitality to this fandom unlike anything else in recent years. There's been an amazing amount of interest in TOS followed closely by a resurgence of interest in K/S, both “Classic” and “Movie”. We need this new blood! K/S needs more writers, artists and readers! This is a good thing.

The main thing we want to stress is that all your feelings on the subject are welcome. This is your forum. This is your KSP.

  • The editors ask if any readers saw the article about K/S in Newsweek, Where No Man Has Gone Before, which included an interview with K/S artist and KSP editor Shelley Butler.
  • CGA by Ivy: Contrast
  • Editors thank Lemli, Barbara W., Audrey A. and T’Marii for their generous donations to The K/S Press
  • Liz's Episode Commentaries: The Ultimate Computer
  • In the Roundtable Bersahki responds to Ivy's question in Issue #150 regarding belonging to K/S fandom, describing her lifelong interest in the show, and how it had such groundbreaking plot-lines, focusing on political issues of the day in a way no other show was able to. She looks at the policies of the Obama administration and says "Roddenberry's fictional universe, feel[s] very much in step with current events" in terms of a foreign policy that is a cross-cultural exchange that is "very much in sync with the Federation's Prime Directive, which stipulates that humanity should observe but never interfere with alien cultures (no Iraq-style invasions, in other words)..." Although she hasn't yet seen the new movie, she believes that being "built to celebrate diversity, understanding and hope is definitely audacious" and is excited that a new audience will be introduced to the Star Trek universe and its tenets.
  • Carolyn S comments on the review of Desert Heat that "holds a very special place in my heart" in the first K/S zine she bought and also mentions Courts of Honor and how she believes it is one of the best portrayals of Kirk she had read.
  • Kathy R describes how the previous month, with the release of the new movie, she's been immersed in Star Trek, how she feels about it and how she believes it will effect Star Trek fandom:
Wow! I’ve spent the month of May in total Trek immersion. Between Yahoo Groups, private emails, the kirkspock LiveJournal community, personal conversations, phone conversations, plus attending MediaWest convention and going to Trek panels, hosting a Trek party, and talking to many acquaintances, both old and brand new, in the hotel halls, rooms, restaurants and function spaces, it’s been all Trek all the time. (Well, except for RL, but that, of course, is why they call it Real Life.) I haven’t had a fannish experience like this in I can’t remember when.

Some of it has felt like a scary rollercoaster. Here are a couple of email examples I received on the same day: - Person A (long-term fan): “I love the new movie and have seen it 10 times already.” - Person B (another long-term fan): “I hate the concept of the movie and refuse to see it.”

For the record, I loved the movie, I thought Quinto, Pine, Urban and the rest of the cast were perfectly cast, and as of the date of publication of this issue I’ve seen it five times. From my experience, most of the people I know personally or have been in touch with during this past month enjoyed the movie. Other people’s mileage will definitely vary.

My enjoyment of the new movie does not mean I’ve lost my love for Classic K/S; what it does mean is that I can enjoy my fandom in “two places” at once.

What it means to me so far:

I’m very much enjoying all the meta discussion I’ve been reading on the various Yahoo lists about all the permutations and implications of the new storyline. One of the main points of controversy is, obviously, how people interpret the “reboot”. One one side some people feel the movie destroyed the TOS timeline – on another side some people interpret the entire movie, including Spock Prime, as AU, with absolutely no point of contact with the TOS universe. And then there’s all kinds of wriggle room in the middle ground between.

Personally, I’m not a linear thinker (the way I write stories by writing scenes at random and then putting them all together later on freaks some people out!) and so I have no problems visualizing multiple realities at once. [...]

As for my fanac: I’m enjoying reading movie fic.

As of now I probably will not write movie fic as all my plot bunnies and WIPs are TOS bunnies. It’s been years since I had any mental space for fic in other fandoms; that may will continue to be the case regarding movie fic ideas.

As for my fanzines, after reading the pro-and-con discussions on combo zines on various Yahoo groups, I intend to keep “T’hy’la” and “Dark Fire” classic, keeping in mind that there will be some grey areas. I am definitely open to the idea of doing a zine for moviefic; I have been considering potential titles. I will be sure all my zines are properly labeled, both in the advertising and in the Table of Contents/Editorial section.

Much of the fears and discussions have been that the new movie K/S will wipe out original K/S. IMO, nothing could be further from the truth.

Over two years ago I created the LiveJournal community kirkspock. The new movie had been announced, and I wanted K/S to have a home on LJ, and to be in place once new fans discovered the fandom. Fandom, to state the obvious, has changed tremendously in the past 40 years. Many new fans have their first fannish experience on LiveJournal; I wanted K/S to be a visible presence there. (I want to take a moment to thank MyHappyFace for her invaluable help in redesiging the community, and to Blacklily for creating the banner. I also used Blacklily’s banner on a print flyer I produced for MediaWest listing K/S resources available to new fans.)

Membership in the community jumped from a couple of hundred to over 800 people in just a few weeks. And I’m please to see that many new members are TOS fans and are posting TOS fic, art, and vid links.

One of the first things I did once the movie came out is post a list of “essential Trek” episodes to the kirkspock community. I knew there would be new K/S fans on LJ who had never seen TOS, and I wanted to be sure that when they did check out the series, they didn’t start with “Spock’s Brain”...!

I chose a number of episodes that I felt were crucial watching for new fans. I highly encourage anyone here who is also a LJ member (or plans to become one) to post their own “essential Trek” lists – and please do go into far more detail than I did. I could have easily written books on some of these episodes, but I only had the time that evening to write an inadequate sentence or two about each episode.

I have been enjoying the comments from brand new TOS viewers, especially their reaction to the backrub scene in “Shore Leave”. There’s been commentary on other episodes, as well. One woman said, after seeing the way K&S interact in "Tribbles" was something like "They are SO married!"

Other people have jumped in with their own recs and comments. So if you’re on LJ, please join the party. And if you’re not on LJ and would like information on how to join, feel free to email me.

Well, that’s about all I can think of to say except this: I love K/S; I love Shatner and Nimoy’s portrayals, and I will always be a Classic Trek fan. I have been a K/S fan since 1976, the majority of my life. This fandom is my “home”. I may have added on a room or two (smile), but the heart of my home will always be TOS.

The K/S Press 154 (July 2009)

  • the editor writes:
    Fandom has become extremely public in recently years -- the recent NEWSWEEK article on K/S being one of the more recent manifest ions. There's been a lot going on in fandom as a whole in recent years as fans react to this new public awareness. One of the more interesting develops is The Organization for Transformative Works. I don't believe I've mentioned this group in The KSP before, but it's a project that I think would be of interest to any fan in any fandom. They recently announced The Fan Culture Preservation Project, which proved to be instantly controversial in discussions on Yahoo groups. I'm including their entire announcement in my Roundtable in this issue, along with a bit more background on their organization.

  • a fan has some concern's about the new movie's impact:
    there is the topic of the new movie and how it will influence K/S. I wasn't surprised to see that the K/S Press will be accepting reviews for movie based stories, but it does concern me somewhat because of what I've seen happen in the past to commercial publications. I distinctly remember the old Star Trek magazines and even Starlog being delightfully filled with things about TOS, and then as new series came out having to carefully turn every page in hopes of finding some scrap about "my" Star Trek. I don't want to see that happen here, but I suppose whether it does or not is up to me and everyone else who is a contributor to the Press. If we read and write about stories based on the original series and characters as portrayed by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, then the pages will be filled with exactly that. These are the characters who will forever "be" Kirk and Spock to me. I hope and believe there are others who hold the same sentiment.

  • a fan sees the new movie as a revitalizing agent -- for the old series:
    Strangely enough, the new movie has been a factor in my K/S obsession returning, but not for the reasons you might expect. Not because I've seen the movie and loved it, because I haven't seen it. Not out of stubbornness. Circumstances didn't allow me to see it at first and the more I read on KSC and other places, the more weary of it I became and the more eager to see Kirk and Spock as I have always seen them. I bought the book and read just past halfway and quit. I couldn't even get interested. But I kept seeing that gorgeous Spock of of TOS in my mind, and the light in TOS Kirk's eyes when he looks at Spock, and that glorious smile. And I wanted to see them back. I didn't want to look at any more images of Quinto as Spock or Pine as Kirk. I wanted to see them as I've always loved them. Some think the new movie will revive a lagging interest in K/S but I'm sure they believe actually seeing the movie is what will accomplish this. In my case it was just AOS overload that did it. Way too much input!

  • a fan writes:
    I fully support the decision of the editors to welcome art reviews, LOC's and vid links related to the new movie. I think we should make fans of the new movie feel welcome at the KSP. I participate in several Yahoo groups devoted to K/S and have read some of the K/S Live Journal communities, so I've seen first hand what Kathy discussed in the last KSP - how the movie has energized the fandom, rekindled the interest of former K/S fans, reawakened dormant K/S writers to start writing again, and brought MANY new fans into the fandom. A lot of the new fans have expressed interest in TOS, and asked for recommendations for which episodes and movies to watch. It's been so much fun to read about their enthusiasm as they discover various scenes that just screamed K/S to us years ago, and scream K/S to them now. Some of the younger new fans also discussed that they had thought Star Trek was campy and dated, and that they associated it with their parent's generation. But they are discovering that they love watching Classic Trek TV episodes, and the movies. The new fans are also very interested in recommendations for K/S stories, so we've pointed them to the the K/S archive; rec'd favorite stories, and introduced them to zines. All of this energy and excitement can only be good for the future of K/S.

  • Kathy Resch writes:
    Here's an issue that's a bit more serious that we usually talk about in The K/S Press -- what happens to fan collections when their owners pass away? Many of us have heard horror stories of a fan's family dumpstering their collections after a fan passes away. A recent panel at MediaWest addressed this issue. One of the options is donating your zines to a special collections department at a university. [Rebecca T] detailed her search for a good home for her zines in her article "Zines find a good home!" in The K/S Press # 147. Rebecca donated her fanzine collection to the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Utopian Literature collection at the University of California Riverside. Rebecca also chaired a panel at KiScon 2008 entitled "Universities, Libraries, and Archives: What academics will learn from us 50 years from now."... The Organization for Transformative Works is offering a similar option.

The K/S Press 155 (August 2009)

  • contains 37 pages
  • this issue has a con report for Shore Leave, see that page
  • has LoCs for the fiction The Human Factor, The Price, A Moment's Surrender, Sojourns, Apsides, Two is Company, That Which Lies Within, For Today, Of Duty and Honor, This is What Love Is, Blink, Rekindling Fire, see those pages
  • a fan writes about A 2009 Interview with Shelley Butler, and the Newsweek article it represented:
    Having read the very abbreviated version of Shelley‘s Newsweek interview, I was extremely pleased to be able to see the entire thing, which would have been an amazing tribute to K/S had it been run in its entirety. You represented us well, Shelley, in either adaptation! I love that you explained so well that it isn‘t just the sexual aspect of a relationship between Kirk and Spock that attracts us and keeps us hooked for decades. It‘s the love, the romance and strong emotional ties between them that has kept K/S alive and well for so long. It was great to read your unwavering conviction that K/S was written into the series. I hadn‘t read that quote from Gene Roddenberry where he said they never suggested physical love in the series but the affection was sufficient for that and there were love overtones. Deep love. I won‘t argue with that; I‘ve held that belief for some time. As you also told the reporter, many women came up with K/S totally on their own without having ever heard of its existence. That‘s proof enough for me.

  • a fan is appreciative of another's organizational skills and generosity:
    Every once in awhile I want to read and can‘t decide where to start. I need to remind myself of the wealth of reviews and recommendations in the KSP. I have them all on file, so there‘s no excuse. Gilda has also updated her tremendously helpful Zine List (on the Yahoo group kirkspockcentral). It‘s an amazing resource and another place to go and look for stories that suit your current fancy. I‘ve used it extensively since she first posted it several years ago. Gilda, thank you so much for this incomparable tool for us K/Sers! I‘d be lost without it.

The K/S Press 156 (September 2009)

The K/S Press 157 (October 2009)

The K/S Press 158 (November 2009)

The K/S Press 159 (December 2009)

The K/S Press 160 (January 2010)

References

  1. ^ Probably a reference to the original series episode "Miri"
  2. ^ By Carolyn S in K/S Press
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