OFF: Moorcock on sci-fi

[Nick Medford]

In message <200103240010.TAA08586 at listserv.spc.edu>, Douglas Pearson
<ceres at SIRIUS.COM> writes
>On Thu, 22 Mar 2001 15:55:42 GMT, M Holmes <fofp at HOLYROOD.ED.AC.UK>
>wrote:
>>
>>Bizarre, and more than a little dated. It's kinda weird to hear a writer
>>making pro-censorship arguments.
>
>Can you quote me one of the spots in the essay where he makes pro-
>censorship arguments?

I'm sure Mike H. will answer for himself, but I think he was referring to
MM's endorsement of Dworkin (who is famously pro-censorship) rather than
anything in the essay you referenced.

>At worst, I see MM displaying a sort of smugness along the lines
>of, "you think you're some kind of left-wing progressive, yet you don't
>have a clue that your favorite fiction espouses the sort of right-wing
>ideals that you purport to despise".

Well, I think the problem is in the idea that the political views of an author
are the most important thing about his/her writing. I don't buy that at all.
It's entirely possible that HP Lovecraft, say, held racist/supremacist views,
and it's pretty certain that he was a rather sad and disturbed individual-
none of this alters the fact that he wrote some great short stories. It's as
simple as that really. My reading of Moorcock's essay is different from yours-
he doesn't come right out and say 'look, you shouldn't be reading this stuff',
but the implication seems to be there... or maybe I am over-interpreting it.

--
Nick Medford