Last Homely Hearth
Last Homely Hearth is the occasional (well, o.k., rarely occasional) newsletter of the Rivendell Group. From the last issue, 3-4 years ago:
In the interim a lot has happened. The C.S. Lewis Society is presently moribund, but from the ashes a fire might be woken, if perhaps just one more enthusiastic volunteer was to emerge. Eleanor Arnason has published several books, winning the Mythopoeic Society’s 1992 Fantasy Award for Adult Fiction for a book we’ve heard sections from at our December readings meetings over the past decade or so-A Woman of the Iron People.. She also won the new Tiptree Award for the same book, which is our November topic, by the way, and just out in paperback (2 volumes, alas). Caroline Stevermer has published several novels, most recently the set-in-post-holocaust Minnesota River Rats, on a steam boat on the Mississippt, yet! Mike Levy published a book about Natalie Babbitt. Meanwhile Ruth Berman, Joan Verba, Peg Kerr Ihinger, Terry Garey, Donna White, Darla Baker, and even yours truly, have produced articles, poetry, short stories, and a few theses-Pat Hodgell also finished her PhD thesis, and has now about finished the latest manuscript in the God Stalk series. Locally, the Minnesota fantasy scene has exploded, thanks especially to the Scribblies, but also to such other writers as Joel Rosenberg, Phil Jennings and Bruce Bethke, not to mention Gordy Dickson or the previously mentioned Rivendellers.
Eric M. Heideman, story writer, editor, reviewer-critic and SF activist probably deserves his own paragraph. Besides starting up the SF lecture series that Rivendell co-sponsored for several years, publishing his own things, playing critical roles in programming at Minicon, Minn-Con, and moderating Second Foundation, as well as co-facilitating MIFWA, he’s now involved in starting up a new “umbrella” SF organization called SF Minnesota, and a new ‘con, Diversicon. More on this elsewhere. And he’s the editor of a fine, Minn-STF-produced national, semi-prozine, Tales of the Unanticipated, available in fine stores like Uncle Hugo’s, and Dreamhaven in Minneapolis, and The Hungry Mind in St. Paul. Hurry to get the current issue, as the new one will be out later this fall (you won’t want to miss that one, either-after all, I have a poem in it-I only mention that in the interest of full disclosure.).
More LHH files:
LHH #11: The Paper Grail, by James P. Blaylock, some reflections by David Lenander
LHH #10: Dissertation Abstract for Suspending Disbelief
LHH #10 : Dissertation Abstract for The Transformations of Oberon
LHH #10: Rivendell Group Topics, 1980-85, compiled by Marianne Hageman
LHH #10: Second Foundation, an introduction by Eric M. Heideman
LHH #10: Discussion Reports from Rivendell meetings, ’77, ’80, ’84:
Lloyd Alexander
Phyllis Eisenstein
C. S. Lewis
LHH #8: a brief article by Ruth Berman, about Eleanor Arnason’s writing
LHH #8: an excerpt from a report on a Rivendell Group discussion appears in Tolkien Thoughts for Mythlore.
LHH #7: an excerpt from a report on a Rivendell Group discussion of A Woman of the Iron People appears in Rusty Thoughts, by David Lenander
