Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow

We’ve discovered some commonalities among the answers to last week’s questions, enough that there are some things we can definitely say about speculative poetry, but how much deeper can we dig?

Today superhero multiverses are everywhere, but back in 1961 we didn’t even have the concept. That is until one strange little tale changed everything: Flash #123, entitled The Flash of Two Worlds.

Explore the streets of old Seattle, buried underground after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

The Freebies Lounge is looking for book donations, party suites may be requested, hotel room availability updates, announcing the Con-Verse blog column with Brandon O’Brien, membership rate increases, how to unsubscribe from the newsletter, writing contest submissions close soon, and Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding award nominations open soon!

What better place to start this blog, then, by trying to ask and answer the one question that comes up often from people outside the space: what is a “speculative” poem?

One of the most interesting phenomena to emerge from the German-language speculative fiction universe is the internationally popular Perry Rhodan space opera series. Created in 1961 by Walter Ernsting and Karl-Herbert Scheer, this ongoing saga of a spaceman continues into the present day, in much the same manner as Doctor Who in the Anglophone world.

In Seattle, “Eat a bag of Dick’s” isn’t an insult—it’s a helpful suggestion for how to end a fun night of bar hopping, or make it to your next appointment when you don’t really have time to stop for lunch.

The Russian-born French author Nathalie Henneberg collaborated with her husband Charles for years on works of fantasy and science fiction, but after his death in 1959, Nathalie continued to write and make a name for herself. Her 1960 story, “The Blind Pilot,” included in David G. Hartwell’s wide-ranging anthology The World Treasury of Science Fiction, is a prime example of the author’s extraordinary prose.

Seattle’s geekiest bookstore is so much more than a place to buy books.

Depressed because your favorite genre has vanished from the shelves? There is room for hope… as long as you are patient.

Bane of children but a delight to adults, Aplets & Cotlets are a Washington state original and often feature in corporate holiday gift baskets in the area. Originally sold at roadside stands, the treats gained slightly wider popularity as a result of the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle.

In 1961, Clifford Simak published his sixth novel, Time is the Simplest Thing. When mankind reaches for space and misses, humans instead discover within themselves a paranormal alternative to the science that failed them. But when left to contend with the implications of that alternative, it leaves their society a frightened, stratified mirror of our own.

Explore Archie McPhee in Seattle for unique gag gifts, quirky treasures, and the fun Rubber Chicken Museum. It’s a delight for anyone seeking whimsy and laughter!

Applications are open for fan tables, dealers’ room, and art show; site selection bids are being accepted; make sure your registration is current; community fund applications and donations are open; the single pattern contest is announced; fun crafty projects for you; our group costume theme; and the business meeting moves online.

Good ideas can persist in science fiction for generations. Take, for example, Judith Merril’s approach to anthologies of the best science fiction, which has inspired at least one modern descendant, anthologies by Rich Horton, and may have inspired two other anthology series as well, those by Lester del Rey and Gardner Dozois.

Popular among the sports fan and late-night bar crowds, the Seattle Dog became commonplace during the grunge scene of the ’90s, sold mostly by street vendors and bars.

In many ways, the Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow blog is a time machine, taking us back into the history of the genre and showing how that past is connected to the present and future. In 1960, a movie adaptation of H.G. Wells’ 1895 novel The Time Machine brought the story out of the past and into the present of that decade with aesthetics that looked both back to the Victorian era and forward to the turn of the millennium.

Have you ever wondered about or wanted to participate in how the rules that govern the Worldcon, the Hugo Awards, and other aspects of WSFS get made? We are excited to announce that this year we have developed a new process for the business meeting: a series of pre-convention, virtual meetings!

Step into a science fiction and fantasy hall of fame packed with memorabilia from legendary franchises.

In 1960 we were still three years away from Doctor Who’s premiere—however, producer Sydney Newman was already hard at work creating family-oriented science fiction television at the independent network Associated British Corporation (ABC Television). Between 1960–1961, U.K.’s ABC ran four serials, Target Luna, Pathfinders in Space, Pathfinders to Mars, and Pathfinders to Venus, and the U.K. was enchanted with journeys to Earth’s nearest neighbors.

The Pacific Northwest is home to a lot of great food products, some of which you may have seen elsewhere. In addition to the vibrant wine, cider, beer, and spirit makers in the region, we’re home base for some fun foods—Jones Soda, Brown & Haley candy, Oh Boy! Oberto, Almond Roca, a bunch of chocolatiers, and Tim’s Cascade Chips, to name just a tiny fraction. Find many of these in local shops, including the Bartell Drugs store at 5th and Olive, while you’re at the convention.

The year 1961 brought Anglophonic readers three fascinating works of speculative fiction in translation, two of which were by Jewish authors. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Other Stories, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s The Spinoza of Market Street, and Witold Gombrowicz’s Ferdydurke are concerned with the world lurking beneath what we see as reality. Dark fantasy, the occult, magic, and the grotesque come together to make these texts unsettling forays into an alternate way of seeing the world.

Visit one of the most famous icons of the beautiful Pacific Northwest and get away from it all.

On October 2, 1959, television entered the science fiction age with the debut of The Twilight Zone. From Jordan Peele’s revival to SF anthology shows like Black Mirror and Love, Death, and Robots, Rod Serling’s creation still leaves a heavy footprint. What keys to the imagination unlocked the door to the fifth dimension? Read on!

First documented in the early 1950s, the Nanaimo Bar (named after Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver island) is a three-layer, no-bake dessert. Best dessert—or best dessert EVER?

Announcing our custom fabric patterns; our hotel blocks are open and filling fast; we will not be awarding Retro Hugo Awards; fan table, dealers’ room, and art show applications will open soon; the academic track is soliciting proposals; find us at GeekGirlCon and GeekCraft Expo; and we’re looking for more volunteers!

Frederik Pohl’s 1953 Star Science Fiction anthology was not just the first of a string of noteworthy anthologies. His series inspired other editors to assemble similar series. The latest such work was released close to half a century after Pohl’s first anthology was published.

Ride between some of Seattle’s premier tourism sites in space-age style.

With Seattle Worldcon 2025 coming up and Marvel films still in fashion, let’s look back on the premiere of one of the most important comics ever published. Fantastic Four #1 was released to newsstands just weeks before Seattle’s last Worldcon in 1961. This comic heralded Marvel’s emergence as the most popular line of comics in the world.

Ivar’s Acres of Clams has been a local waterfront institution in downtown Seattle since 1938. The regionally famous clam chowder is also available in local grocery stores. As they say at Ivar’s—Keep Clam.

Visitors to Seattle’s first Worldcon, in 1961, would have been voting in one of six Hugo Award categories for the best dramatic presentation of 1960. With Halloween on the way, why not get in the mood with one of the year’s strong contenders: Village of the Damned, an adaptation of John Wyndham’s chilling novel The Midwich Cuckoos. The movie brings the story to cinematic life through believable performances and clever special effects.

Olympic National Park offers an otherworldly natural oasis not too far from Seattle.

Polish author Stanisław Lem, one of the greatest science fiction writers of the 20th and possibly any other century, wrote three important novels in 1961: Solaris, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, and Return from the Stars.

Teriyaki is everywhere in Seattle, but it’s not quite like the teriyaki you get elsewhere. Invented and popularized by Toshi Kasahara at Toshi’s Teriyaki, Seattle teriyaki has been a favorite locally since the 1970s. Plenty of recipes are available online, but for a special Seattle twist, add a little pineapple juice to the marinade.

Announcing our short story writing contest, advertising rates for the souvenir program book, membership rates will increase Oct. 21st, and we’re looking for more volunteers!

Science fiction often begins with a question of “what if”? And in 1960, Poul Anderson asked just such a question: What if aliens attempting to invade the Earth encountered a troop of medieval knights? And what if the knights won the ensuing struggle and took to the stars? This is the premise of The High Crusade, one of the most offbeat and entertaining science fiction novels of the early 1960s…

The flagship branch of the Seattle Public Library system is a futuristic crystal palace designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas.

In 2005 I was scrambling to find new—never mind excellent—science fiction titles for young adults. In 2010 my book The Inter-Galactic Playground was nominated for a Hugo. It was already out of date. In 2024 I can’t keep up.

Where is young adult science fiction? Is science fiction doomed to gradual extinction as its writers and readers age and die without replacement? Or is there a simple, easily implemented solution?

Developed and grown in Eastern Washington, the Walla Walla Sweet onion is exceptionally sweet, very large, and the Washington state vegetable.

The early years of the 1960s brought a number of French science fiction stories into English, thanks in a big way to the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This kicked off decades of French science fiction in English, including several Pierre Boulle novels (like Planet of the Apes), that in turn inspired major films, introducing American readers to a more expansive view of SF.

A National Park Service museum introducing visitors to Seattle’s involvement in the Klondike Gold Rush, when it was an important stop for prospectors outfitting themselves for the gold fields.

By the 1950s, Amazing Stories and its sister magazine Fantastic were deep in the doldrums. But all that changed when a young Vassar graduate named Cele Goldsmith found herself at the helm of both magazines and turned their fortunes around. In only seven years, she discovered many new writers who went on to great careers, helped to revive the all-but dead Sword and Sorcery genre, and won a Hugo, too.

Ah, the lure of freshly-baked refined white flour, slathered with butter and raspberry jam. If it’s fall in the Northwest, it’s time for the Washington State Fair, and buying Fisher Fair Scones by the dozen.

2024 is a golden age of science fiction in all media. In 1960, matters appeared very different, as Earl Kemp’s Hugo Award-winning study of the state of science fiction made clear.

Seattle’s beloved indie music radio station isn’t just an experience for the airwaves. The KEXP space at Seattle Center is a free community hub for music lovers, complete with café and record store.

Announcing our film festival and calling for submissions, launching our membership registration portal, hotel updates on upcoming reservations including initial party and suite information, asking for your accessibility needs, and we’re looking for volunteers, panelists and presenters, and panel suggestions.

With Seattle Worldcon 2025 coming up, let’s take a look back at a couple of films that attendees at Seattle’s first Worldcon, way back in 1961, might have seen at their local theaters and drive-ins. Grab some popcorn and settle back for a pair of surprisingly good low budget movies from the king of B films, Roger Corman.

Coffee culture is ubiquitous in Seattle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that you can find a coffee shop on almost every corner. Home to Starbucks, Tully’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and a wide range of smaller local roasters and coffee shops, locals are passionate and opinionated about their coffee.

Seattle’s first Worldcon was held on the cusp of humanity’s self-destruction. We dodged the nuclear bullet in 1962, but the atomic genie is restless in the bottle. And with war on Russia’s doorstep edging the cork ever further toward the lip, Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, hailed as the best SF novel of 1961, remains today as compelling and relevant as ever…

Seattle has a Troll under one of its bridges, and it’s a must-see on any trip to Seattle. The funky Fremont Troll, in Seattle’s funky Fremont neighborhood, is a one-of-a-kind piece of public art.

As we ready our jets and look forward to blasting off for the Emerald City’s second Worldcon ever, it’s a great time to blast back to the past, to the time of Seattle’s first Worldcon: 1961. Because on April 12 of that year, one man slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and humanity was forever changed…

In the Northwest, we love our berries. You’ll frequently see pies, syrups, and all manner of desserts featuring not just strawberries and raspberries, but loganberries, marionberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, and others. This recipe for blackberry crisp can be made gluten free and vegan with simple substitutions. It’s a summertime favorite.

With 358 days until the start of Seattle Worldcon 2025, we are excited to announce the launch of our blog, Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow, with weekly features relating to the region and to era- specific speculative fiction. And more surprises to come!

Announcing the Best Poem Special Hugo Award and the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Community Fund, our congratulations to this year’s Hugo Award winners, volunteer opportunities, three creative contests to start planning for, and our thanks to Glasgow for a great Worldcon!

Seattle Worldcon 2025 is excited to announce the appointment of our poet laureate, Brandon O’Brien! For more about Brandon and the rapidly approaching Glasgow 2024, check out our updated newsletter – Dispatches from Yesterday’s Tomorrow.

We are now ready for pre-supporters to upgrade their memberships to attending memberships in the convention (WSFS membership + attending supplement) and complete registration.

Due to a last-minute change in our registration software, our ability to process registrations and upgrades to attending memberships for site selection voters and bid supporters has been delayed past our originally projected date.

My name is Kathy Bond, Chair of this Worldcon, and I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Seattle will have the honor of hosting you all for the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention.

More detailed instructions for site selection voting, a new restaurant has opened at the Seattle Convention Center, and a reminder of our Base 2 Space climb.

We’ll be at Pemmi-Con, this year’s NASFiC, how you can cast your site selection ballot, we have a team for the Base 2 Space Space Needle climb to raise money for cancer research, and we have a Spotify playlist of Seattle musicians.

We are unopposed on the site selection ballot! And the Summit expansion building is open! Some Space Needle history, we’re looking for volunteers, we’re planning for Chengdu, and we were at Boskone and Norwescon and will be at Pemmicon, Chengdu, Orycon, and Loscon.

We’ll be at Norwescon, Westercon, and Pemmi-Con over the coming months.

Triple Shot members can fill out a survey to suggest guests of honor.

Our report from tabling at Chicon, Triple Shot members can suggest guests of honor, we’ve revamped our website, and a recipe for our very popular apple crisp.

A Seattle-themed Spotify playlist to keep you entertained while in line at Chicon!

We’ll be at Chicon, and we could use help at the bid table.

We’ll be at Westercon and Chicon and could use help at the tables, our July volunteer meeting is coming up, we need more volunteers, and a look at what summers in the Seattle area are like.

We’ll be at Balticon and could use some help at the bid table.

Our next volunteer meeting is in May, we’ll be at Marcon and Balticon, our Norwescon bid party was a success, and how you can contribute content for this newsletter.

Our next meeting in April, we’ll be at Norwescon and could use help tabling, and how you can contribute content for this newsletter.

A successful party at Discon, volunteer meetings start in March, we’ll be at Norwescon, Balticon, and Chicon, and we need volunteers!

Ramping up the bid activities, a peek at our amazing location, our bid dates, we’ll be at Discon, and we need volunteers!