Trap Door Spiders
The Trap Door Spiders (English for, trapdoor spiders ') were established in 1944 a literary circle in New York City. The all-male membership was recruited initially particularly from the periphery of known science fiction authors. The name referred to the behavior of the authentics trapdoor spiders that this close after entering their construction with a lid. [A 1 ] [C 1]
Prehistory
Fletcher Pratt responded with the club was founded on the marriage of his friend John D. Clark with soprano Mildred Baldwin in June 1943. The new Mrs. Clark was rather unpopular with friends of her husband and Pratt took the club as an excuse Clark without his wife to be able to meet. Pratt's wife, however, was "One Best" been involved with the wedding as maid of honor and Lyon Sprague de Camp as Clarks. [C 1] [A 2]
The managing committee of the club rotated among the members and asked for help align a meal in a restaurant and to invite a guest. The guest was asked this more or less sharp and so fertilized the conversation for the evening. The survey was usually started by the host, often with the question " How do you justify your existence " or " Why do you exist." Jack Coggins recalls that an editor of Reader 's Digest after such survey (English " barbecue " ), weeping left the round.
In 1976 the club met regularly on a Friday night a month and had about thirteen members.
The club existed at least until January, 1990, the 70th birthday of Isaac Asimov. The members met at the publisher Doubleday organized for Asimov party at Tavern on the Green in New York City. [A 3] According to L. Sprague de Camp, the club was still active in the 1990s.
Membership
Member you with the adoption of an invitation to do so; who moved away, died or no longer attended regularly for other reasons, the round left again. Known members included:
- Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) [A 2]
- Don Bensen (1927-1997), editor of [A 4]
- Gilbert Cant (1909-1982), editor of [A 4]
- Lin Carter (1930-1988), author of [A 4]
- Lionel Casson (1914-2009), archaeologist [A 5]
- John D. Clark (1907-1988), Chemist [A 1]
- Jack Coggins (1911-2006), artist, author
- L. Sprague de Camp (1907-2000), author [A 1]
- Lester del Rey (1915-1993), author and journalist [A 1]
- Kenneth Franklin (1923-2007), astronomer [A 4]
- Martin Gardner (1914-2010), science journalist [A 4]
- Richard Edes Harrison, cartographer [A 1]
- Charles King, novelist
- Caleb Barrett Laning (1906-1991), officer and author
- Willy Ley (1906-1969), author [C 2 ]
- Jean Le Corbeiller (1937-2010), mathematician [A 1 ] [C 3]
- Frederik Pohl (1919-2013), author. [ I 1]
- Fletcher Pratt (1897-1956), author [A 1]
- James Randi ( born 1928 ), magician [I 2]
- George H. Scithers (1929-2010), author
- Roper Shamhart, preacher [A 1] [C 2 ]
- George O. Smith (1911-1981), author [ I 3 ]
- Harrison Smith, publicist [C 1]
- John Silver bag publicist
- Donald Wilde, actor
- Robert Zicklin, lawyer [A 6]
After Isaac Asimov was the core of the group from Bensen, Cant, Carter, Clark, de Camp, del Rey and Asimov himself [A 4] He has the group in the Black Widowers, a series of detective short stories, immortalized. Here, the mystery of the evening [A 7] is usually solved by the waiter Henry, who alludes to the fictional Reginald Jeeves.