The Lafferty Centennial in JAPAN Kenji Matsuzaki

2014 was Ray’s centennial year, and we Japanese Laffertians celebrated his 100th anniversary. Just

before the birthday, Hayakawa's SF Magazine: The Lafferty Centennial memorial issue was out on

October 25. Celebration event “One at a Time” was held in Tokyo on November 7, his birthday. And

Lafferty fanzine “The Next Rock Continuum” was out on November 24.

*The titles of articles written in Japanese were translated by Kenji Matsuzaki

Hayakawa's SF Magazine: The Lafferty Centennial memorial issue “Happy 100th Birthday, R. A. Lafferty!”

Vol. 55, No. 705, 2014 December

Guest editor: Shinji Maki

Cover illustration: Fumihiko Shiozawa

[Introduction] pp25-28, Shinji Maki

Short stories:

[St. Poleander's Eve, R. A. Lafferty] pp9-24, Trs. Kiichiro Yanashita, Ill. Toshiko Tsuchihashi

[The Only Tune That He Could Play, R. A. Lafferty] pp29-41, Trs. Hiroo Yamagata, Ill. Ryoichi Iso

[Cabrito, R. A. Lafferty] pp42-46, Trs. Kenji Matsuzaki, Ill. Yukiko Arai

Essays:

[Shape of the S. F. Story, R. A. Lafferty] pp47-51, Trs. Nozomi Ohmori

[Lafferty Love, Hisashi Asakura] pp52, Trs. Yoshimichi Furusawa

[Despair and the Duck Lady, Michael Swanwick] pp62-65, Trs. Shinji Maki

Interview:

[An Interview with R. A. Lafferty by Darrell Schweitzer (From “Cranky Old Man from Tulsa, 1990)]

pp53-61, Trs. Teruyuki Hashimoto

Correspondence:

[Correspondence with Lafferty 1979-1993, Hiroshi Inoue] pp66-69

Hiroshi Inoue, Translator

Translation works: “The Devil Is Dead”, Sanrio, 1986; “Past Master”, Seishinsha, 1993; “Serpent's Egg”,

Seishinsha, 2013; “Among The Hairly Earthmen” (Japan original collection, ed. Hiroshi Inoue),

Seishinsha, 1982; “The Last Astronomer and Other Stories (Bequest of Wings)” (Japan original collection,

ed. Hiroshi Inoue), Seishinsha, 2011.

Reviews:

[Translated Novels in Japan] Maki Oono, Toshiya Okamoto, Ryuichiro Nakafuji, Tetsuya Hayashi

pp70-73

Past Master (TH), The Reefs of Earth (TO), Space Chantey (MO), Fourth Mansions (MO), The Devil is

Dead (TH), Arrive at Easterwine (RN), Serpent’s Egg (TO)

[Untranslated Novels in Japan] Hiroshi Inoue pp74-79

Archipelago, Dotty, Okla Hannali , The Fall of Rome, The Flame Is Green, Half a Sky, Not to Mention

Camels, Apocalypses (Where Have You Been, Sandaliotis? /The Three Armageddons of Enniscorthy

Sweeney), Aurelia, The Elliptical Grave, More than Melchisedech, Annals of Klepsis, Sindbad: The

Thirteenth Voyage, East of Laughter, My Heart Leaps Up

[All 106 Translated Short Stories in Japan: And Reading the Flesh Between the Lines] Yuichi

Sakanaga pp80-89

[Recommendations: Untranslated 20 Short Stories in Japan] Kenji Matsuzaki pp90-91

Bubbles When They Burst, All Hollow Though You Be, Great Tom Fool, Flaming Ducks and Giant Bread,

Quiz Ship Loose, In Outraged Stone, Smoe and the Implicit Clay, Tongues of the Matagorda, Royal

Licorice, Magazine Section, The Skinny People of Leptophlebo Street, Oh, Those Trepidatious Eyes!,

Endangered Species, This Boding Itch, Gray Ghost: A Reminiscence, Assault on Fat Mountain, Marsilia

V, Lord Torpedo, Lord Gyroscope, And Walk Now Gently Through the Fire…, Thou Whited Wall

Has anybody seen Junie Moon? (Gene Wolfe’s Lafferty Story)

Columns:

*[About the Neon Genesis Secret Crocodiles: Laffertian News from Overseas] Kenji Matsuzaki

pp92-93

*[The Astigmatic Reader’s Thousand and One Novels: Continued on Next Issue] Tadashi Wakashima

pp94-95, Ill. Ryoichi Iso

*[Hard Facts of Lafferty Stories] Kiichiro Yanashita pp96-97

*[The Voyages of “Archipelago”] Hiroo Yamagata pp98-99

*[Lafferty’s Eschatology] Shinji Maki pp100-101

*[Lafferty’s “Tale”] Masahiro Yamamoto pp102-104

The Next Rock Continuum

R. A. Lafferty Tribute Anthology

Edited by the Harvesters

*[The Next Rock] Yuichi Sakanaga

*[Next Century Modern] Kazuto Funato

*[Nine Hundred Trillion Granddaughters] Yusuke Kurei

*[Garatea Looked Back] Kaeru Shunmin

*[Tinyhands Always Together] Ren Hanna

Illustrations: Yuichi Sakanaga, Kaeru Shunmin, Itachi Shirakata

Takashi Kurata (2nd. edition)

“The Next Rock Continuum” containing 5 Lafferty tribute short stories with essays projected by Yuichi

Sakanaga and was out on November 24. The contributors are members and ex-members of KUSFA

(Kyoto University SF and Fantasy Association).

One at a Time

“One at a Time” is Lafferty’s 100th year birthday celebration event held at “Café Live Wire” in Tokyo on

November 7.

**Shinji Maki and Hiroshi Inoue had a talk show. Kiichiro Yanashita also joined to the discussion. In

Japan, many Lafferty’s works had been published in fanzines. At the event, a lot of fanzines were shown

to the participant.

**Thanks to Dr. Funkenstein for his blog article about the event (in Japanese).

http://funkenstein.hatenablog.com/entry/2014/11/24/005919

“I am TASS.”

by Takashi Kurata