So back at World Fantasy in San Jose, I picked up a bookmark for a science fiction club in the Washington DC area, WSFA. I figured that since I was headed out there, I should check it out. Last night, I went to my first meeting.
Getting there was quite an adventure. The meeting was in Maryland, at a member’s house–I had to go to the end of the green line, then cross over the beltway and walk nearly three miles to get there. The sidewalks were still covered in snow, so I had to keep to the street, which was a little unnerving on the overpass–but I made it.
I didn’t know anybody there and had no idea what to expect, but the people were friendly and I soon felt like I fit in. It was a little bit like a cross between Quark and Bimbos of the Death Sun, which is a pretty awesome mix. The meeting was called to order and people started discussing some pretty interesting projects, like publishing a special edition Jeff Vandermeer novella for Capclave in October and getting various things for the con squared away.
A couple of things about the club surprised me: one, the members were all middle aged and older; and two, how extremely liberal everyone was, politically. I say I was surprised, but really, I could easily have seen this coming. The east coast is very different from the inter-mountain west, so it stands to reason that there would be differences. Not that I minded.
I’m not sure how many people in the club are writers, but like any good sf&f community, everyone seems to be an avid reader. I was surprised that so few people had heard of World Fantasy, but when I told them I wanted to break into publishing, they all told me that I should come to Capclave, the DC area con that happens in October. Will I be in the area for that? Not sure yet.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to walk back to the metro; one of the regulars was heading to Arlington and gave me a ride. We had an interesting conversation on the way back–he’s from Philly, drove a cab for a few years, and has quite a colorful vocabulary.
We were talking about fandom in general, though, and he made the comment “this is my culture; this is my community.” That’s exactly the sense that I got from the meeting–that these fans have built a community around science fiction and fantasy that transcends fandom and stretches into all other aspects of their life. It’s similar in some ways to the sense of community that you feel in the LDS church–even when you move to a new place, you’re not a stranger.
Am I going to keep coming to WSFA meetings, or become a member? I don’t know. A lot of it depends on what I do in April. I’ll probably come to a few more meetings, though–these are my people.
