Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 16:56:06 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Title: The World Turned Upside Down
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

> samlubell at verizon.net 9/10/04 4:00:18 PM >>>
>> From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
>> Date: 2004/09/10 Fri PM 02:42:39 CDT
>> To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
>> Subject: [WSFA] Re: Title: The World Turned Upside Down
>>
>>Flint, atleast with the Schmitz reissues, seems to be under
>the
>>delusion that unless an editor actually "edits" a collection of
>>previously published stories then . . . well, I'm not too sure
>>what he thinks.
>
>>He'd probably be quite perplexed by Groff Conklin. And by
>Healy &
>>McComas with the classic Adventures in Time & Space.
>Nope, no
>>rewriting there.
>
>>Hmmm . . . .Eric Flint, the Roger Elwood of his generation?
>
>In all fairness to Flint, the alternative to his edited versions of
>Schmitz was not reprinting the "Flint Free Text" but nothing as
>no publisher had reprinted anything of Schmitz in years (save
>a high-priced NESFA edition not generally sold in bookstores).
>Some of the stories (even of the Telzey stories, easily his most
>popular) had *never* been reprinted.

The alternative was to publish the stories as the author wrote them.

>
>Flint (and Baen) are bringing back classic authors that have
>languished out of print for too long and bringing them back to
>mass market paperbacks where they are affordable to general
>readers.

A Good Thing.

 If, in return, it means a little bit of editing (and I do
>object when he rewrites a whole story as happened a couple
>of times) the price is worth it.

A Bad Thing.

The last time I checked, the changes, alterations, rewriting are
nowhere acknowledged in the printed versions (and online "editions"
don't count; how many 5.25 floppies do you have?  Hollerith cards
anyone?).  Check the copyright pages - all list the original story
publication copyrights - so in a sense the reader is being lied to.

These changes would seem to be based upon an assumption that the modern
reader is dumb.  That an editor needs to "fix" things in previously
published stories to make them more palatable to the modern reader.

I would hope that most readers of SF are smart enough to pick up a
collection of stories published in the 1950s (or whenever) and realize
that the 1950s (or whenever) were a different time.

Clute has said something along the lines of "All science fiction,
regardless of when it is set, takes place when it was written."

Meddling with the published writings of a dead author is pretty tacky.
To not acknowledge it is worse.

Harrumph.

mjw