Zeor Forum

Zeor Forum is a Sime~Gen letterzine. In 1979, the editor of "Zeor Forum" was Katie Filipowicz.Acknowledgements. First Channel by Jean Lorrah and Jacqueline Lichtenberg (Berkley, 1986) p. 5-6. From the publisher: "Zeor Forum was a zine for fans of Jacqueline Lichtenberg's Sime~Gen(tm) universe back in the early 1980's. It included fan fiction, out-takes from the novels, material from Jean Lorrah, and round robin discussions on burning issues in the universe."
==Comparing and Contrasting "Zeor Forum" and "A Companion in Zeor"==
A fan explains the differences between "Zeor Forum" and its sister zine, A Companion in Zeor: 
==The Zine As a Writing Workshop: Disclaimers and Permissions, and the Round Robin Letters==
From the second issue and onwards: 
 
Jean Lorrah and Lichtenberg also used their at least two of their fanzines, A Companion in Zeor and this one as a place to gather fan opinion, to brainstorm, to investigate their literary and psychological ideas on the "open stage" before incorporating things in their pro books. They stated that this was a form of a treat for fans, and that people looking back on the formation of these books' place in literary history would be grateful for the glimpses into formation. 
"Zeor Forum" was a zine heavy with philosophical discussion: 
Not everyone was a fan of Lorrah and Lichtenberg's writing workshop idea, or the heavy discussion:
Both writers also shared rough drafts and "out-takes" of fiction as well as alternate versions of their work with fans in these zines. Some fans disliked the "sneak preview" of possible upcoming books: 
Some fans enjoyed the peek into the world of writing: 
==Issue 1==
Zeor Forum 1 was published in January 1980 and contains 68 pages.
On the cover: "Transfer for Ancients."
The art is by Virginia Lee Smith, Pat Munson. Other illos were "adapted from Pollack, Pam, comp. Humor, Wit & Fantasy. Hart, 1976."
This issue contains two reviews (one by Linda Frankel and one by Barbara Tennison) of Diane Duane's "The Door Into Fire." Both reviews were detailed in their criticism but also in their praise. These reviews were sent to Duane by Linda Frankel who wrote in issue #2: "I hope you don't mind." Duane responded with a long, long reply (mostly centered on Frankel's dismissal of David Gerrold's introduction to the book). At the end of Duane's letter, the editor added her apology to any "hurt" the review had caused. This exchange is one example of who reviews are for, the reader or the author? Did it cross a line to send fans' comments to Duane without their permission? Did this have a chilling effect on future opinion? Was "Zeor Forum" considered a public forum and fair game for response, or was it meant to be a more private conversation among fans?
 
* Give Grace, fiction by Deborah J. Laymon (2)
* How I Met... by Leslie Warstler ("I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of all these "how I met Jacqueline"stories. I mean, enough is enough! (I even did it myself — see CZ4) I propose a change. Have we all forgotten the Sectuib's beloved gofer and Companion, not to mention editor of this zlne? Here then is my tale of how I met... KATIE FILIPOWICZ!! I'll certainly never forget the first time I met Katie. It was in January of '79, at a con In Columbus, Ohio. I had just been asked by JLs Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah if I wanted to read the manuscript of First Channel (also see CZ #4). As you can well imagine, I jumped at the chance! Once in Jacqueline's room, I noticed a rather short blonde girl with glasses puttering about in the background. After seeing me settled in, JL left. I'll always remember, and cherish, the words Katie spoke to me then: "You can't smoke in here." And that, gentle reader, is how I met Katie Filipowicz") (5)
* Distect vs. Tecton, part II (continuation of the discussion begun in A Companion in Zeor #4; there are many letters - this is an excerpt by Jean Lorrah: "The round robin question is how did the Distect and the Tecton get that way? Hee hee hee — I'm going to play Jacqueline! Mostly, I'm going to tell you that your perfectly valid assumptions are wrong, because I have knowledge you don't have yet. However, the one point that everyone seemed to miss — and one that should have been obvious to regular readewof A2, CZ, and all the stuff that gets xeroxed to chose who show enough interest to get pulled into a rr — is that the Tecton and the Distect are not really outgrowths of two groups or committees or governments. They ultimately stem from two different individual personalities: Klyd Farris and Hugh Valleroy. A Sime and a Gen, a Farris and a non-Farris.") (6)
* What is the House of Zeor? by Katie Filipowicz (17)
* Changeover, fiction by Mary Frances Zambreno (continuation of a story by Zambreno that was printed in A Companion in Zeor #4) (18)
* What to Do Until Klyd Farris Grows Back, poem by Jill Stone (32)
* What Do You Mean, Gens Can’t Learn Simelan by Jean Lorrah, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, C.J. Cherryh (32)
* Dragons and Dorsai, article by Terry Madden (comparisons between the writing of Gordon Dickson and Jacqueline Lichtenberg) (45)
* Conventions by Lynn Gibbs; Jean Airey (con report of Westercon 32 by Gibbs, con report of T'Con by Airey) (46)
* Are You Sime or Gen? (50)
* Reviews by Stella Nemeth, Linda Frankel, Anne Golar, Leslie Warstler, Charlotte Dickens, Barbara T, Mary M. Schmidt of Arthur C. Clarke's "The Fountains of Paradise," Marshak and Culbreath's The Fate of the Phoenix (see that page), Jacqueline Susann's "Yargo," two reviews of Diane Duane's "The Door Into Fire," Tim Power's "Drawing of the Dark," Jane Gaskell's "King's Daughter," Linda E. Bushyager's "Master of Hawks") (52)
* Reading the Ambient (59)
* News and Notes (67)
 
Image:zeorforum1-1.jpg|from issue #1, Virgina Lee Smith
Image:zeorforum1-2.jpg|from issue #1 
Image:zeorforum1-3.jpg|from issue #1 
 
 
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1==
 
==Issue 2==
Zeor Forum 2 was published in May 1980 and contains 65 pages. 
It has art by Lori Tartaglio, June Huxtable, Janet Trautvetter, Virginia Lee Smith, and Barbara Tennison.
From the editorial: 
* Reader's Digen, the "Simelan Edition" perpetrated by Mary Frances Zambreno and Joyce Corrine Peterson (satire) (i) 
* Molt Brother by Jacqueline Lichtenberg ("This is the first section of a series proposal presented to Playboy Press in May 1978. After the first draft of the book was finished last summer, this was changed, somewhat to use as publicity material to give to English publishers during Jacqueline's trip over there. You'll see in the published, version (early 1981) that some emphases have changed from what you read here, the 1979 version") (1)
* The Case of the One-Armed Donor by Jean Lorrah ("Where do you get those crazy ideas?" By now, all of you have certainly heard Jacqueline or me reply, "You have to beat them off with a stick!" A writer's problem is never the original idea, but how to develop it." It also contains comments on the origins of Savage Empire and other publications.) (5)
* Two—As One, a Zeor Children's Bedtime Story for Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Katie Filipowicz, translated from Simelan by T'Pat (7)
* Complications, poem by Leigh Motooka (13)
* What Do You Mean, Gens Can't Learn Sinelan? (1979 letters by many fans (with interjections by Lichtenberg) about language, perception, and culture, also several letters that are conversations between Lorrah and Lichtenberg) (14)
* Two Unusual Fantasies by Joyce Corrine Peterson (reviews of "The God Beneath the Sun" and "The Golden Shadow" by Garfield and Blishen, three books by Peter Dickinson: "The Devil's Children," "Heartsense," and "The Weathermonger") (24)
* Conventions by Kerry Schaefer (con report for Future Party) (26)
* Imil's Spring Catalogue by Janet Trautvetter (29)
* Haiku by Carrie Brennan (30)
* The Interview by Rayna Daughtry (fictional interview with Rydel) (31)
* Householding List (three short descriptions of tiny fan clubs/groups) (32)
* Distect vs. Tecton, part IV (continuing discussion among fans via a round robin letter exchange) (33)
* Reviews by Terry Jo Madden, Susan M. Shwartz, Linda Frankel, Judith Z. Segal, P. W. Duncan (Gordon Dickson's "Home from the Shore," and "The Space Swimmers," Fletcher Pratt's "The Well of the Unicorn," Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Falcons of Narabedla," Fred Saberhagen's "Holmes-Dracula File," Loren D. Estleman's "Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula," Joe Haldeman's "Infinite Dreams," Richard C. Meredith's "At the Narrow Passage," and Philip Jose Faremer's "The Image of the Beast" and "Blown") (44)
* Reading the Ambient. general letters of comment (50)
 
Image:zeorforum2-1.jpg|from issue #2, Reader's Digen, the "Simelan Edition"
Image:zeorforum2-2.jpg|from issue #2, June Huxtable
Image:zeorforum2-3.jpg|from issue #2, unknown
Image:zeorforum2-4.jpg|from issue #2, Virginia Lee Smith
Image:zeorforum2-5.jpg|from issue #2, Janet Trautvetter
 
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2==
 
==Issue 3==
Zeor Forum 3 was published in November 1980 and is 59 pages long.
The art is by Janet Trautvetter, Rayna Daughtry, Jean Lorran, and Barbara Tennison.
This issue includes the discussion question: "How do you think the tectonic would react to a homosexual channel?" Fans' replies are in the next issue. One of those replies was part of the 1985 fanwork Post-Syndrome: Considerations on Sexuality in the Sime/Gen Universe, specifically The Great Gay Channel Controversy.
* Grant Kendikot vs. The Tecton, a Play in One Act by Linda Frankel (2)
* Of Wer-Gens and Red Killer Whales by Jean Lorrah (19)
* An Ancient's Pledge to Zeor, poem by Edna Chavez (21)
* Chronology of the Sime/Gen Universe by Katie Filipowicz (22)
* On Writing, Fan and Pro (a series of round robin letters among fans: Ellen Blair, Leslie Fish, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Kerry Schaefer, Mary Frances Sambreno, Deborah Laymon) (25)
* Householdings (31)
* From the Tecton Board of Governors by Jacqueline Lichtenberg (32)
* Order of Reading the Sime Series (fan letters and opinions) (33)
* To an Ancient Enemy, Victorious, poem by Michelle Barney (35)
* The Controller's Obfuscation, logic puzzle by Katie Filipowicz (36)
* So Where Did Simelan Come From? (round robin fan letters about Simes: where did they, and their language, come from?) (37)
* Conventions by Lynn Gibbs (con report for Fantasy Worlds Festival, had a substantial Darkover component) (43)
* Reviews by Linda Frankel, Roberta Mendelson (Alex Comfort's "Tetrarch," Marion Zimmer Bradley's "House Between the Worlds," Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "False Dawn") (44)
* Aspects of Vampirism, article by Linda Frankel ("Simess are/aren't vampires. Choose one proposition and debate. Well, are they? It depends what you mean by "vampire." Recent reading has led me to believe that Dracula movies are only one version of this very complex phenomenon.") (47)
* Reading the Ambient, general letters of comment (49)
 
Image:zeorforum3-1.jpg|from issue #3, Janet Trautvetter
Image:zeorforum3-2.jpg|from issue #3 
Image:zeorforum3-3.jpg|from issue #3 
Image:zeorforum3-4.jpg|from issue #3, the timeline, one page of four 
Image:zeorforum3-5.jpg|from issue #3, Jean Lorrah
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3==
==Issue 4==
Zeor Forum 4 was published in June 1982 and contains 63 pages. On the cover, "Give to Medical Research... Help Prevent Birth Defects."
It contains no interior art.
From the editorial: 
* Counterpoint, fiction by Mary Frances Zambreno (2)
* Universal Intrusions by Lynn Gibbs (22)
* Empathy, a round robin (the topic: Do Gens have perceptions that Ancients - and Simes -- don't?) (23)
* A Matter of Communication, fiction by Andrea I. Alton (28)
* Conventions by Kerry Schaefer, Lynn Gibbs (con reports for Noreascon II, Octocon III) (31)
* What to Serve When a Sime Comes to Dinner by Jacqueline Lichtenberg (recipe involving fresh rhubarb, tofu, sugar -- all thickened by cornstarch and poured into a mold) (37)
* Ercy Throws a Wing-Ding by Jacqueline Lichtenberg ("This is an excerpt from the first draft of "Mahogany Twinrose" which never reached the final draft. To find where it fits in the printed version, locate the end of Chapter 6--p. 64 of the hardcover. The excerpt replaces the last two paragraphs of that chapter.") (38)
* Down the Trinrose Path, a round robin, the topic is "Does the prologue of "Mahogany Trinrose" fit the book?") (42)
* Reviews by Linda Frankel, Roberta Mendelson (Suzy McKee Charnas' "The Vampire Tapestry," three books by Mary Stewart, Stephen Donaldson's "The Wounded Land") (46)
* The Starred-Cross by Jean Lorrah (a chapter that was cut from the original draft of "First Channel") (49)
* Notes from the Pen of Patricia Demetri (55)
* Reading the Ambient, general letters of comment (56)
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4==
==Issue 5==
Zeor Forum 5 was published in May 1984 and contains 101 pages.
The art is by Michaela Duncan, Lolita Toussaint, and Beth Ann Wempe.
From the editorial: 
From a letter of comment: 
The art is by Michaela Duncan, Lolita Toussaint, and Beth Ann Wempe. 
* Opening Doors, fiction by Andrea I. Alton (2)
* Camiat Comments, letters about "Molt Brother," Lichtenberg's new book (19)
* Herbal Trin Tea, recipe by Cheryl P. Gloger (mix in Tupperware container: Darjeeling tea, peppermint tea, chamomile tea, star anise, orange peel, rose hips, honey) (26)
* Dream-Tower, fiction by Katie Filipowicz (27)
* Reviews by Susan D. Ross, Jacqueline Lichtenberg (Barbara Hambly's "The Time of the Dark," "Walls of Air," and "Armies of Daylight," also short recommendations from Lichtenberg about some books including Mists of Avalon - "Don't miss it, even if you are not into Arthuran legend -- it's about everything MZB ever writers about.") (51)
* What Is A Sectuib? a round robin ("Since HOUSE OF ZEOR first came out in 1974, a number of fans have been so entranced by the Sime/Gen universe concept that they have wanted to "pledge" to Jacqueline as their "Sectuib," This has always disturbed her since she is not a Sectuib and does not wish to be one. We thought a discussion of what a Sectuib really is would be appropriate and sent out a round robin. Note that except for Edna's letter, these were written in 1980 — the writers' personal philosophies may have changed since then. The questions: What is a Sectuib? Would you like to be one? Why would anyone want to be one? Why would a person— Sime, Gen or Ancient — pledge to one? Would you?") (53)
* House-Binding Jacqueline Lichtenberg (It is a "selection from the never-finished first draft of 'RenSime!.' The events and personalities are very different from those you'll see in the published version." (Note: the online version is slightly different from what was published in the zine) (57)
* Conventions by Andrea I. Alton (con report for Denvention 11) (an excerpt: "I went to JL & JL's pro-discussion group where Jean read a letter she'd written to a fan who was complaining that the mental abilities of her Savage Empire were only so much cultism. She replied that one man's cultism sooner or later becomes another man's science. One young man who took an active part in the discussion was wearing a black uniform with silver piping across the chest. The uniform seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it. It wasn't until I was in line to see STAR WARS and I saw him dressed in the armor of an Imperial Storm Trooper that I realized he was wearing the underdress of an IST.") (78)
* Im' Balance, vignette by Susan D. Ross (83)
* Zelerod's Doom by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah (An outline for proposed book: "Jacqueline originally wrote 23 pages of ramblings that included material to fill three books. What you see here is what Jean Lorrah plucked from that, rounded out, and made into a novel outline. ZELEROD'S DOOM (working title) is under contract to DAW, and should be written this spring and summer, it's due to be published after Jean's AMBROV KEON, possibly as early as Dec. 1986. Changes have already been made from this outline--a character added, for instance--but it should give you an idea of what was going on in Sime/Gen history roughly 10-12 years after HoZ. All comments are welcomed. This is the third book in a tetralogy consisting of AMBROV KEON, HOUSE OF ZEOR, ZELEROD'S DOOM, and SHEN THE TECTON.") (85)
* Reading the Ambient, letters of comment (89)
 
Image:zeorforum5-1.jpg|from issue #5, Beth Ann Wempe
Image:zeorforum5-2.jpg|from issue #5, Beth Ann Wempe
Image:zeorforum5-3.jpg|from issue #5, Lolita Toussaint
Image:zeorforum5-4.jpg|from issue #5, Lolita Toussaint
==Issue 6==
Zeor Forum 6 was published in Fall of 1987.
* From The New Editor . . . Chandra Lea Morgan
* Book Reviews Katie Filipowicz
* Registry Of Householdings
* "It Is Later Than You Think!" Maria Elena Cardena
* Letters
* "Hope" Debbie Young
* "Absolution" Lolita Toussaint
* A Review Of Selected Works of Ms. Ann Maxwell Octavene Epps
* Letters
* Book Review: Caught In
* Spider’s Web Terry Jo Madden
* Round Robin: Sime/Gen
* Weapons & Tactics
* Letters
== References ==
Category:Sime~Gen Zines
Category:1980s