[OT]Isaac Asimov Misnomer in LOCUS

[Rayston]

I post this at the general Request of Harlan Ellison ( a writer and friend of the Late Isaac Asimov and his Widow) that he posted on the visitor Forums Boards over at Ellison Webderland to warn any of you that may read LOCUS of a (what I and I am sure many others consider) SERIOUS mistake in an article they wrote about the late great Isaac Asimov. I apologize in advance to any of you that consider this SPAM but I figured there was a pretty large percentage of people who would visit this site and also be Isaac Asimov fans.

Here is the Entire Post as Posted on the Visitor Forums of Ellison Webderland by Ellison himself.

http://harlanellison.com/

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, April 2 2002 14:30:39
RED ALERT! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!

MUSTER THE GOOMBAHS!

LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR!

A CALL TO ARMS!!!!!

A few minutes ago I received a phone call from Isaac Asimov's widow, Dr. Janet Jeppson. She was more distraught than I've heard her manifest at any time since Isaac's passing. She was calling from New York City to report that in the current issue of LOCUS, Charlie Brown (or whoever) has published a belated article reprising the epilogue of Isaac's memoir (as edited by Janet), IT'S BEEN A GOOD LIFE, in which it was revealed--by Janet--that at the time of his death, Isaac had developed AIDS from a tainted blood transfusion during his heart surgery in the '80s.

But Charlie--or whoever wrote the piece--clearly had not READ the epilogue, and proceeds to state that (I'm paraphrasing, from Janet's precis; I don't get LOCUS) Isaac wanted to reveal his malaise, but was "talked out of it by his wife, Janet Jeppson."

From Janet's lips to my ear to you: "That is clearly, absolutely, hurtfully UNTRUE!"

Janet is TERRIBLY UPSET at this egregious misreading of history, and she called Charlie Brown, who said he'd run a correction . . . next issue. A month from now.

Janet does not want this to stand unchallenged for a month. She has asked me to help her spread the word. So I ASK YOU to go everywhere you post, in every nook and cranny of the web, on every site you can contact, and CORRECT this slovenly fan-babble error before it gains any coin. LOCUS is hardly The New York Times, and the level of its checking and vetting is somewhere close to nonexistent. A "correction" will probably appear in a small box on the indicia page: Charlie doesn't like to have to recant.

So fly, my blue monkeys; fly fly fly!!!

Every village and hamlet and waystation . . . let the voice of TRUTH ring out. If you loved Isaac, and if you loved him one-fifth as much as he loved Janet . . . honor his memory by serving this tiny favor she has asked of me, and you by extension.

Thank you. Yr. pal, Harlan

 

[hong]

You misspelled "lose". Hope this helps!


Hong "not to mention 'definately'" Ooi

 

[Wormwood]

Okay, now I'm confused.

What is the error Mr. Ellison is ranting about:

1. Azimov had AIDS, or
2. His widow wanted it hushed up, or
3. Both.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I'm a big fan of both Asimov and Ellison (read Ellison's book that has the script for City On the Edge of Forever, the Star Trek episode Ellsion wrote. The early versions of the script are fantastic reading, and Ellison's ranting essay - which takes up a huge chunk of the rest of the book - is brilliantly, savagely funny.

Anyway, I, too, am confused - which was the part that was untrue about Locus' article? I'm guessing both the AIDS part and the cover-up part, but it's tough to tell for sure.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

You misspelled "lose". Hope this helps!

The "dogs of war" includes the word "loose," not "lose," as in "I'm gonna set my dog loose on you," which is far more threatening than "I'm gonna lose my dog, but boy, when I find him, you're in for a world of hurt!"

Besides, Ellison wrote that, and I very much doubt he's reading this message board.

 

[trancejeremy]

As a big Asimov fan, I'd like to help, but I'm baffled as to what exactly the problem is?

(I guess this is why I'm not a Harlan Ellison fan- his stuff always seemed muddled to me)



N.B. As a general rule, ignore Hong when he seems wrong. He likes to troll/be silly...

 

[spacecrime.com]

> I'm baffled as to what
> exactly the problem is?

Unless I'm confused, the problem is this:

1. Locus reported that Dr. Asimov wanted to publicly reveal the exact cause of his death, and that his wife, Dr. Janet Jeppson, talked him out of doing so.

2. Dr. Jeppson says that this is untrue. She is distressed by what Locus reported, and does not want to wait a month for a correction.

3. Ellison is concerned for her feelings, and worried that Locus editor Charles Brown will sweep the whole thing under the rug. So he's putting the word out and asking other fans and friends of Asimov to help spread it.

Obviously, this is a situation that could quickly devolve into he said / she said / he said. However, I'm more inclined to trust Ellison's and Jeppson's version of events than the editorial skill and integrity of Locus. I'm not going to be running around waving signs -- I don't have many contacts in the SF fan community -- but I'm certainly going to keep the existence of two versions in mind should I be asked about this in my role of friendly neighborhood bookstore owner.

yours,

 

[Mark]

Thanks, Rayston (and Chris) for helping to set the record straight. As an Asimov fan, who doesn't read Locus, I'm sure I would have gotten some obfusticated version of this further down the line and wondered what the hell it was all about. Seems the internet can be used to get the correct information across when organized in this way by well-meaning and concerned individuals.

 

[Aitch Eye]

Just so it's clear, the part about Asimov having AIDS being revealed in the epilogue had been widely reported some time ago, and didn't originate with the Locus article. As Ellison says, it was "belated."

I can see how people might have gotten confused on first reading if they hadn't seen the previous reports, but I think it's fairly clear what he meant if you look at the first two paragraphs closely.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

So, did Asimov have AIDS or not? I thought he died of cancer, and this is the first I've heard of him having AIDS. Not that it matters, since the loss caused by his death is of paramount importance, but I hadn't heard this before.