SELECTED LETTERS Dear Leland:

  Vol. 4, No. 2 was excellent, stimulating. Miesel's article on Poul was very enlightening because it put together so many scattered elements. I suppose that I had known it unconsciously, but never realized it consciously until this article, that Poul is a realist in his portrayal of his heroes. I think that the long ago days when Poul was writing Planet Story stories and his viking heroes were riding on horses out of space ships stuck in my mind, even though I should have known better. I also realized that I'm much more of a romanticist, though I can write realism when I'm in the mood. I hope that our somewhat differing attitudes towards the universe have no correlation to our political-economic-psychological outlooks. By attitudes, I'm referring to our protagonists' attitudes, of course.

  "Homo Hydrogenesis" was an illuminating essay. I like to read Ballard, to dig into him, to analyze, if possible, what he is driving at. If Ballard writes geometry, William Burroughs writes algebra. Maybe some day a writer will come along and write an algebra of geometry: thesis (Ballard), antithesis (Burroughs), synthesis (?).

  "Out of Time's Abyss" by Richard Kyle. A remarkably perceptive and insighted article, well developed, with the beautiful lines, Time has a voice. It praises dreamers. And The deeper dreams remain. Kyle doesn't prove anything, of course. That could only be done by asking Mr. Burroughs, and, at present, that is impossible. But he makes for an overwhelming case. And he points out, to forestall objections from people who don't know that Shakespeare borrowed from others, that he is not tearing ERB down. Far from it.

  I'd like to see Poul expand on the statement that he doesn't relieve the actions of Israel vis-a-vis its Arab neighbors are justified.

  I deny the validity of your statement that Her Majesty's distilleries have been practising since 1066. According to the Enc. Britt., the earliest direct account of whiskey making is found in the Scottish exchequer rolls of 1494. However, Albukassen, Arabic alchemist, does describe, in the 10th century, the distillation process. But the English knew nothing of whiskey in 1066 or for a long time thereafter. Undoubtedly, the best Scotch is made in Scotland, and the best Irish whiskey in Ireland, but the best bourbon is made in Kentucky. Of course, you may be privy to knowledge I don't have and can prove that William the Bastard conquered England primarily because he couldn't get good whiskey in Normandy.

  Shalom,
  Philip José Farmer