79 Typewritten letters, signed (TLsS), dated from 9 January 1988 to 16 September 1998, totaling 169 pages (1 letter dated 12 April 1994 missing the second page), most to Robert "Buck" Coulson, but a few to Juanita Coulson. Accompanied by 3 postcards, 1 unsigned; a copy of a letter Wolfe wrote to his mother in 1953; a promotional flyer for the publication of Michael Andre-Driussi’s LEXICON URTHUS (1994), a concordance for THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN; a copy of a review by Wolfe of Michael Bishop’s AT THE CITY LIMITS OF FATE (1996) for SF EYE; and photocopies of two advertisements for gun ammunition. Robert "Buck" Coulson (1928-1999) was a well-known science fiction fan who, with his wife Juanita, edited YANDRO, which was nominated for the Hugo Award for best fanzine for 10 years in row. In addition to being a bookseller, Coulson wrote several novels and short stories, including two MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. novels published in 1967 under the pseudonym "Thomas Stratton." Wolfe's ten-year correspondence with Coulson indicates the close nature of their friendship. The letters are filled with accounts of personal matters, including Rosemary Wolfe's and Coulson's declining health, books that Wolfe and Coulson are reading, their various writing projects, and life in Barrington, Illinois, where the Wolfes live. Wolfe discusses his conservative political views a good bit, particularly his views on elections, gun control (which he is rabidly against), and media figures like Dan Rather, all of whom Wolfe considers "hyenas." Wolfe also discusses acts of terrorism that occur during this period, most notably the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Unabomber. A recurring topic among these letters is the mutual love that Wolfe and Coulson share for firearms, especially handguns, and an extensive amount of the correspondence is devoted to Wolfe’s own guns, guns he hopes to buy, and various kinds of pistol grips and ammunition. He writes about how much he enjoys Shomer-Tec catalogues, a company that manufactures police equipment, and at one point, Wolfe notes that he's reading a book on how to build his own submachine gun at a home. Wolfe's letters are filed with brief remarks about films he's enjoyed, including WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988), BATMAN (1989), GROUNDHOG DAY (1993, and PULP FICTION (1994). He admits he is very fond of crackpot news stories about paranormal phenomena, such as UFOS and cryptid sightings, as reported in magazines like FATE and STRANGE. The numerous authors and books Wolfe notes that he's enjoyed reading include the Craig Rice mysteries, James Hogg’s PRIVATE MEMOIRS AND CONFESSIONS OF A JUSTIFIED SINNER (1824), A. Merritt's THE FACE IN THE ABYSS (1931), L. Ron Hubbard's THE SLAVES OF SLEEP (1948), Alfred Coppel's THE BURNING MOUNTAIN (1983), and supernatural writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, M. R. James, and Oliver Onions. Wolfe's accounts of various science fiction conventions are lengthy and focus on primarily whom he eats dinner and has drinks with. He is very candid in his remarks about his fellow writers. He likes Harlan Ellison a great deal, but he mentions how he considers Ellison a "notorious drag ass." Wolfe believes that "[Ursula K.] Le Guin used to be nice but has become a feminist, so now she's only nice to women, maybe," and he considers researcher and critic Thomas Clareson "a lovely phony" but notes that Clareson still knows more about science fiction than "people who seem legitimate." With regards to awards, Wolfe is fine with RED MARS (1992) beating NIGHTSIDE OF THE LONG SUN (1993) for the Nebula Award, and he likes Kim Stanley Robinson. Some of Wolfe's remarks on conventions and other writers, however, will strike readers as distasteful; for example, he often talks about how attractive certain authors' girlfriends are, and he describes WisCon, which he has never attended as "extremely homosexual and feminist." While Wolfe discusses his writing throughout his letters to Coulson, he often does not go into more detail than just a sentence or two about a story or novel he's working on. He talks briefly about reprint rights and pay rates. For instance, he does not want to let Pulphouse Publishing do an edition of "Hero as Werewolf" because they have only offered him a $100, which is slightly less than his standard 2 cents per word. Wolfe describes about how David Hartwell gets him to write an introduction for one of the volumes of THE COMPLETE STORIES OF THEODORE STURGEON (1995-2010) for Paul Williams for North Atlantic Books since Stephen King would not write one. He mentions getting a fan letter from Joanna Russ after she reads NIGHTSIDE OF THE LONG SUN. When he's proofing galleys for the Tor 2-volume trade paperback edition of THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN (1994), he realizes that the series is a much better work overall that he had thought, and that the quality of the books does not decline with THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH (1983) despite what he's been led to believe from others. He also feels that he was a much better writer in the late 70s and 80s than he once thought. The most substantial letter about his own work involves him being labeled a misogynist by PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY and others because his female characters "are either saints or whores." Wolfe take great issue with this and discusses a number of female characters from his novels who cannot be so easily categorized as one or the other. There are occasional remarks about petty matters among writers and publishers, such as Borderlands Press scuttling a proposed signed limited edition of Poppy Z. Brite's anthology of erotic vampire stories LOVE IN VEIN (1994) because one male writer will not sign the limitation sheets. Wolfe's sharp wit and sense of humor are on display throughout the correspondence. At one point, he is making a list of "bizarre books" (all imaginary) that he'd like to own, including VIRTUAL REALITY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE BRA, REUSING OLD GRAVES, and BIG AND VERY BIG HOLE DRILLING. He describes writing a letter to Miss Manners asking "how the hell you’re supposed to eat that salsa they bring you in little dishes without a spoon in Mexican restaurants." He is also very happy when he gets a custom-made MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY athletic jacket for Christmas; he notes that the imaginary university's colors are red and gray, and he includes a school football chant he's made up: "Red and gray! Red and gray! Got to win the Old Ones say!" An interesting and engaging series of letters that provides great insight into Wolfe’s personality and views on a variety of subjects. The archive is in fine condition throughout. (#169786).
Price: $15,000.00
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