The Life and Works of John M Ford Panel at Anticipation

[papersky.livejournal.com]

It went very well. We had quite a big room that was absolutely packed, standing room only, and people were standing. Teresa talked about editing Mike, and moderated and kept everything moving splendidly. Guest of Honour David Hartwell talked about Mike's early career and how he was to work with -- I'd never heard that he lost a finger making a deadline, or that he and S.P. Somtow worked at Asimov's at the same time. He also talked about The Dragon Waiting and what a splendid tour de force it is. Neil Gaiman, also a Guest of Honor, talked about Mike as a friend and a colleague, how Mike could make him laugh until he cried and how he used to send his work to Mike who could always see what was wrong with it. (If the room was packed with people who had come to see Neil, I think they got to see him at his best, and I'm sure they went away filled with an urge to read John M. Ford.) Patrick also talked about editing Mike and read some lovely bits from Making Light -- the Casablanca Seuss parody ("So hit the ivories, Sam-I-Am") and the Against Entropy sonnet. Harriet talked about how important Mike was to her and to her late husband Jim (Robert Jordan), and about how she edited Scholars of Night and inspired the story "Scrabble With God". I talked about how I asked Mike if I could use the word "skazlorls" from that in a novel I was writing at the time, and how he said it was using a twenty ton hammer to crack a very small walnut, but that I was welcome. I also talked a little about his importance to the gaming world, about his work for Paranoia and GURPS and Traveller. A Klingon from the audience gave a moving tribute. Beth Meacham, another of Mike's editors, stole the show by reading two of the unpublished "Aspects" sonnets.

I'd taken my copies of all his books, and we put them on the table as a display and waved them around at the appropriate points. David mentioned how innovative Web of Angels and Princes of the Air were, Neil read his song from How Much For Just the Planet -- I think all the books and poetry collections were mentioned. We also talked a little about Elise, and how she kept Mike alive for years longer than he would otherwise have managed. (Get well soon, Elise, we missed you at the panel!)

At the end, Jon Singer asked from the audience if anyone could tell Mike's bar joke. Nobody on the panel felt confident that they could, so my husband Emmet came up from the audience and told it into the microphone.

Heisenberg, Goedel and Chomsky walk into a bar. Heisenberg says "This is very odd and improbably, and I wonder if we might be in a joke, but I can't be certain." Goedel says "Well, if we were outside the joke we would know, but since we're inside the joke, there's no way of determining whether or not we're in a joke." And Chomsky says "Of course this is a joke, but you're telling it wrong!"

The audience erupted in delighted laughter. I remember Mike telling us that joke in a Minicon some years ago, and it's been one of Emmet's favourite jokes ever since. It's so characteristic of Mike -- it assumes background knowledge from more than one field to really get it, but for those who do get it the payoff is delicious.

I think the panel went about as well as it could have.