Page:Weird Tales Volume 26 Number 03 (1935-09).djvu/125

 ommend our short tales to you. Despite the fact that they are merely "filler" stories in length, they are chosen for publication just as carefully as the longer stories.

T. O. Mabbott, of New York City, in casting his vote for Fitz-James O'Brien's The Wondersmith, our Weird Story Reprint for the July issue, writes: "O'Brien's tale is very fine, though not his best; but voting should be for the new ones, I think. Keep them weird. They Called Him Ghost is your best story in ages Your readers who say things are better than Poe and Verne amuse me, since the old standards remain, but the new perfections are soon forgotten. But some of your short things are really great stuff, which is higher praise than comparison."

Mrs. Virginia Parker, of Merigold, Mississippi, writes: "I have been reading for years and am an avid science-fiction fan, but this is my first letter to the Eyrie. I wish to congratulate you on the fine publication you have. If you don't want my grandchildren to curse you, please continue to publish WT." [We will continue to publish as long as we have the support of you who like to read good weird fiction. You have loyally supported this magazine through the lean years of the Great Depression, and we will strive mightily to keep the magazine worthy of your continued support in the future.—]

A. V. Pershing, of Bloomington, Indiana, writes: "Clothing is a disgrace to the former nudes of the rare artistry of M. Brundage. I had just begun saving the nude covers when she began to put veils about their lovely nakedness—and thereby ruined the splendid covers. How can people be so vulgar as to always see evil and wantonness in such sublime masterpieces of artistry as M. Brundage gives her nudes? Won't you please return them to your covers so I may continue my collection? Take the new July issue. M. Brundage failed to produce complete weirdness because of the green dress draped about the girl. I do hope you change your policy and restore our nudes. We do not want sexy nudes. We want Brundage nudes."

Dwight A. Boyce, of Ludlow, Massachusetts, writes: "Always, without exception, I enjoy the short stories in much in preference to the feature-length stories and serials. The longer fiction is too often obviously written around a formula, too deliberately written to sell. Every author wants to sell his output, of course; but, it seems to me, the shorter tales are more often ingenious and interesting, displaying great inventiveness and a clever faculty for telling a lot in a small space—the most difficult detail of good story-telling."

D. M. Roberts, of Syracuse, New York, writes: "Why don't you reprint some of the older weird tales from your own magazine that have been requested several times, instead of using the 1776 reprints? Nobody cares for the dry, colorless chromos of a century ago. You must realize that there are several thousand unfortunates who have never read your earlier issues, and probably never will be able to do so, as they are out of print. Why not give these people a taste of what used to be? You could even reprint the longer stories and serials, seeing that you reprinted Frankenstein and The Wolf-Leader, both of them eight-part serials. I would suggest that you start in with Volume 1, Number 1, and reprint one story each month until you reach the stories still in print. Anent the cover controversy: Personally I don't care whether you have a naked lady or a Filipino delegate on the cover, as I buy the magazine for the reading matter it contains."

John L. Robson, of Charleston, West Virginia, writes: "Donald Wandrei is my favorite science-fiction author and Seabury Quinn my favorite writer of mysteries But I was thinking the other day that I'd like to read a ghost story. You remember what a ghost was, don't you, one of those white-sheeted things? I should appreciate a resurrection of a few stories in the reprint department, containing some of these rare specimens. In the June and July issues M. Brundage's covers had just the correct el-