Volume 0310


The Many Worlds of

"The master of imaginative fantasy adventure...
...the creator of Tarzan and...
...the 'grandfather of science-fiction'"

A FAN FARE ISSUE
Spotlighting ERB Fan Tom Lindgren

AN ODE TO EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
By Tom Lindgren

The Master of Adventure had a tough start,
A middle age man with a great big heart.
Military career, cowboy, and policeman he was not,
Giving up to poverty he said “No way to that.”
A manuscript to Metcalf that he signed Normal Bean
Was a dream beginning that was soon to be seen.

The zeal for success continued to grow
The Outlaw of Torn did his pen next flow.
It was not accepted as his first story did succeed.
No time to brood his family had a great need.
Little did he know that his immortality was soon to be,
For the Apeman Tarzan was the success no one could foresee.

A story so fine this Tarzan that his mind so molded,
Metcalf’s eyes widened as the story unfolded.
From infant so frail to a Lord of nature sun and sea,
The success of Tarzan was his ticket to be free.
The money was good, his writing so extra fine,
The demand so great for this man that swings from the vine.

With security finally established dear Ed now saw,
His full-time writing had hardly a flaw.
The heroes and heroines were so carefully chosen,
In setting so varied – jungles, deserts, and arctics so frozen
The stories so believable it is easy to see,
“Give us more Edgar Rice Burroughs!” was the pulp fan’s plea.

Tarzan in fiction is sure to last,
This hero being is unequaled near and past.
From teenager to grandfather his appeal knows no end,
The man Edgar Rice Burroughs had created a great friend.
The Apeman’s appeal was so universally spread,
That throughout his good life fans asked “More Tarzan dear Ed?”

With respect for his writing hard to find,
The grammar teachers and scholars did not appreciate his great mind.
After his death the literates finally had to agree,
His merit in storytelling was something special to see.
We miss this very special man us fans all know,
Our fondness of his stories seem always to grow.

Thanks ERB…

Copyright 1987 & 2000 ~ Tom Lindgren

BARSOOM CHRONICLES Editor: Tom Lindgren First appeared in ERB APA ~ Spring 1987

It all started for me in the ‘60s era with Ace’s fantastic Edgar Rice Burroughs books with Frazetta and Krenkel art. My father, an avid ERB reader, had most copies of the ERB books in paperback  and a few in wartime G&D editions. He regularly toted a paperback to the steelmill with him to read during his lunch hour. One day I spotted a copy of Tarzan at the Earth’s Core next to his lunch box and curiously eyeballed the Frazetta drawing. My father proceeded to explain to me about Pellucidar. I was intrigued and that week read my first ERB story. I was hooked. That Minnesota winter I read most of the Tarzan books and some of the SF Burroughs stories. I was a very active reader as a kid, and still am, with 3 or 4 novels devoured per week. At the time of my introduction to Burroughs stories I was reading the Whitman cellophane books, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, The Lone Ranger, and many more. Nothing that I had read so far had been so real and interesting as Barsoom and Pellucidar. Reflecting back to those days, it may have been the romance with beautiful Dejah Thoris or Dian the Beautiful, that made those books so special to my growing up years.
With school completed, military service behind me, and a young family started, I reread the novels of ERB I had copies of and started collecting titles I didn’t have. Religiously I attended flea markets and bookstores picking up ERB related items whenever I could. Being a frugal person with other things for greenbacks to be used for, diapers, cribs, and auto repairs, I limited my purchases to new reading material. Over an extended period of time all the titles were gathered for my reading collection.

One day I got the urge to write the fan magazine editors that I spotted on the front cover of some of the Ace editions of ERB books. I had no idea what went on with these fanzines. I soon heard from Vern Coriell and got the scoop on the Burroughs Bulletins and jumped at the chance to join. Needless to say, I wished I had done it sooner. I was really impressed with Vern’s wonderful workmanship on his product and his sincere love of Ed’s works. Since that time I’ve been actively involved in “heavier” collecting and associating with others similarly hooked.

Tom and Linda Lindgren