Suicide

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

The ethics of suicide came up for considerable discussion at the time of the pseuicide. In a high-strung bunch like fans are, it's not surprising that suicide has reportedly been contemplated by some fans, causing some worry to their friends, but the actual deed is probably rarer than among most introverts. Joseph Hatch and Robert E. Howard, weirdists, killed themselves during the 30s; Robert Barlow and an unknown Detroit fan suicided in the 40s. The most shocking suicides, tho, were those of Kent Moomaw and Bill Courval, who, as told under The Year of the Jackpot, apparently killed themselves (1958-9) in despondency over their draft status and joblessness. Unlike others they had made themselves pretty widely known in fandom and were looked on as promising BNFs.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

The ethics of suicide came up for considerable discussion at the time of the pseuicide. In a high-strung bunch like fans are, it is not surprising that suicide is reported to have been contemplated at times by certain fans, and caused some worry to their friends, but the nearest things to a fan ending it all were the suicides of Joseph Hatch, wierdist, in 1936, and author Robert E. Howard.

Suicides, unfortunately, were more frequent subsequently, and opinions shifted. In 2019, sudden consternation over Alice Sheldon’s 1987 death at her own hand, after first shooting her husband as part of a suicide pact over their declining health, caused the renaming of the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award, given annually in her honor, that apparently wasn’t an issue from 1991, when the award was created, up until then.

Other sf community suicides include:

• Thomas M. Disch (2008)
• Thomas S. Gardner (1963)
• John B. Michel (1968)
• Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1996)
• H. Beam Piper (1964)
• Lindy Sears (2020)
• James Tiptree, Jr. (1987)
• Wally Wood (1981)

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