Week 4: Science Fiction Double Feature

As part of what my supervisor wants me to do during my internship, I get to curate an exhibit. Last week, I was given plenty of time to begin working on it. The broad topic Becky approved is science fiction. Now, before I go any further, I would just like to get something off my chest:

STAR TREK!!!!!!

Ahem. Okay. So, in case you did not guess, I am rather fond of Star Trek (and, yes, that is an understatement). When I discovered just how large of a collection of Star Trek scripts the Lilly holds, I knew I wanted to do an exhibit that could include at least a few of them. So, I began my exploration of the Lilly's science fiction collections by looking at the scripts for some of my favorite episodes. The sad thing was that, as a huge nerd, I could tell differences between the final scripts and the actual episodes. There is a two-part episode of Star Trek: Voyager from season 4 called "The Killing Game" that my sister and I particularly like. One of our (or at least my) favorite lines is from the doctor, "I'll reattach any severed limbs, just don't misplace them." Naturally I noticed when this line was absent from the script. For some of the scripts, particularly with Voyager, there were also early drafts and technical and research notes on the scripts. Since large parts of "The Killing Game" take place in Nazi-occupied France, many of the notes discussed the historical accuracy of the things mentioned in the dialogue.

Of course, there is more to the wide world of science fiction than just Star Trek. There are many great sci-fi authors, especially from back before I was born, like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, you get the idea. Now, the Lilly has many of their great books (some in first editions). But, beyond that, there is correspondence. Most importantly, there is a collection known as the White mss. These are the papers of a man who is most familiar by his pseudonym Anthony Boucher. He was a mystery writer (which is why the mystery convention Bouchercon is named after him). He was also a critic of science fiction and fantasy writing. Because of this he corresponded with some of the big sci-fi authors of his day (sometimes a great deal). I have only read through a portion of the correspondence so far, but I've read enough to know that these men wrote letters as well as they wrote novels and short stories. They often discussed their families (the Bradbury's apparently had perpetual trouble find good, long term babysitters). But they also wrote a lot about their work. One of the most fascinating aspects of the correspondence is reading Boucher's letters to them when they're available. He was completely honest with them about his opinions on their works. His praise was usually effusive and exuberant. But if he did not like something, he would tell the author. He would do it kindly and apologetically, but he didn't sugarcoat things. The wonderful part is how gracious the authors were about receiving this criticism. Bradbury's letter in response to one from Boucher which rather ripped Fahrenheit 451 to shreds was very kind.

Just because I've started on my exhibit doesn't mean that I haven't done other things as well. I've continued my reference duties, as well as helping Becky get items ready for classes. Things are still going well, and my internship continues to be a fun, low-stress aspect of my life.