Letters to the editor:
[email protected]

Pity the Students

As I sat in my office in Korea listening to a Chet Atkins album and reading the latest issue of the Pulse on-line (thanks, Ian!), I was surprised to read this recent bit of controversy surrounding Gibbs High School ["Ear to the Ground," Vol. 9, No. 35], from which I was more than happy to graduate and get as far from as possible 10 years ago. So Jerry Sharp has been demoted to the classroom, eh? I must say that I'm far enough removed from Knoxvegas politics to know very much about Morgan or Charles Lindsey, but I do not hesitate to say that this change is a tremendous mistake. In my days as a student at Gibbs, I was routinely harassed by the principal's office for the very serious crime of being slightly different and not conforming to the cookie cutter mold that Herr...er, uhm, Principal Sharp and his flunkies intended everyone to fit into. To say that Sharp's style as principal was "abrasive" is as much of an understatement as saying that the American educational system is "lacking," or that landing on the moon was "pretty neat." Don't get me wrong: Gibbs was (and I presume is now) a place with some very good teachers and where it is possible to get a good education. Just be careful that no one in any position of authority catches you trying to do it.

The only true victims in this whole story are the students. Sure, most of them are probably far more concerned with where they're going to be able to pick up a six-pack without being carded this Friday night than with the inner workings of the school board, but with this kind of person at the head of their class, who could blame them? As much as I disliked Sharp at the time (and the sands through the hour glass haven't softened those feelings one bit), I can't help but feel that if he MUST be employed in any capacity of education (a questionable prospect, at best), he should indeed be in an administrative position. That way he can sit in his desk, sharpen pencils, drink coffee, and make all the stupid comments he wants. Putting him in a class room is a disservice to every single student whom he will be "teaching." It is terrible that most teachers in American schools are underpaid and unappreciated. It is absolutely criminal that a man like Jerry Sharp will be joining them. He will do absolutely no good for those students whatsoever.

But I guess that the good-old-boys who run things have better things to worry about than that.

Oh, and not to threaten Zippy's job or anything, but if you've never listened to Chet's album with Tommy Emmanuel called The Day the Finger Pickers Took Over the World, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's some great music!

Roger Gray
Chonan, Korea

Word to the Mundanes

While I enjoyed reading Dale Bailey's interview ["More Than Dwarfs" by Adrienne Martini, Vol. 9, No. 35], I was a little distressed with Ms. Martini's implication that it would be odd for any SF/fantasy writer to live and work and write among the "plain" folk of Knoxville, let alone set a story here.

Truth be known, Mr. Bailey is not the only professionally published writer of this field in the area. I, myself, am an Active Member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), a title I have earned through over 10 years of professional publication in various magazines and anthologies. The legendary Andre Norton lives but a few hours from Knoxville. Lowell Cunningham of Men in Black fame still hangs loose here. I could list the names of several pro SF/fantasy writers in the East Tennessee area alone, but many prefer that their privacy remain intact. And since some of us hold down mundane jobs where bosses frown on our profession, we don't often seek local limelight unless we're on our own time.

Be assured, Mr. Bailey is not as unknown as he thinks around here. I've been reading his stories with great pleasure over the years. Knoxville is not a city that ignores SF/fantasy. It has a large SF fan base, holds a yearly con (conference to mundanes) and once hosted its own SF magazine (Infinity Cubed).

So don't make it sound like it's so underground to write SF in Knoxville. It's not. And folks interested in finding it here have only to look.

Laura J. Underwood
Knoxville