Tag Archives: Michael Moorcock

Shaving With Stormbringer?

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In a happier April Michael Moorcock’s foolishness would have been the headline. The moderators of Moorcock’s Miscellany claimed —

He [Moorcock] told us in a phone call over Easter that he finally gave in to Linda’s complaints that he steadily reminded her of that Rowling creation “Dumbledore”.

Result: Last Friday Mike shaved his beard! The Moorcocks intend to undergo a trial period of about six months after which they’ll decide on the permanency of this drastic change .

[Thanks for the link to David Klaus, via Ansible Links.]

New Worlds Revival

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Michael Moorcock’s New Worlds magazine will release its first e-edition on November 10. The historic prozine will enter a second life with editorials and guidance from its iconic former editor.

The web magazine will have several original stories by new writers, audio visual content from both the British Library and the Greenwich arts festival and features by well-known figures in sf.

Meanwhile you may enjoy John Parker’s article about the history of New Worlds at Comics Alliance. It’s worthwhile despite a few clangers, such as the line “Michael Moorcock (yes, it’s a very funny name)…” and this howler-filled sentence:

Campbell was the Editor of Amazing Stories, the first sci-fi magazine, with a group of contributors that included Frederik Pohl, Isaac Asimov, and Damon Knight.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Elbow of Macaroni

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Michael Moorcock has once again wielded his mighty weapon, Stealer of Time. Don’t fail to make your Halloween ineffably foul by reading his many trivial gripes and grouches in the Financial Times:

Paris in October tends to be my favourite place and time – though there are specific dangers to someone still on crutches, as I am, not least the special bike lanes. I approve of these but it can be hard trying to hop for safety at the sound of a tinkling bell as a pious two-wheeler comes zooming out of the sun. Golden leaves, picturesque as they are, can cause me a nasty skid. Even pregnant women have apparently less right to the pavement than a stern youngster on a Vélib’ .

After lighting into those darned kids, Moorcock takes out after fat ladies on trains and American provincialism.

Almost lost among the carnage are the valuable things he has to say about the art (yes, art) of Meryn Peake.

[Thanks for the lead to James Bacon, who is otherwise blameless for this post….]

Moorcock Pleads Guilty — To Science Fiction

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After so many obituaries minimized or denied J. G. Ballard’s roots in SF, Moshe Feder was glad to hear from Michael Moorcock, the godfather of the New Wave, that he still unashamedly identifies himself with the field — and that there is video of the late Ballard doing the same:

Mike Moorcock was kind enough to bring this BBC program to my attention. The first 8 minutes of this episode are devoted to Ballard. An interview with his daughter Bea frames clips from David Cronenberg,  Brian Aldiss and Ballard himself. He states unequivocally that he IS a science fiction writer and proud of it. (Take that, Robert Weil!) If you don’t have it, you’ll need to download Real Player to hear this.

Update 05/08/2009: Old dog tries new trick.