David A. Kyle (February 14, 1919 – September 18, 2016) was an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer and member of

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

Professional career

Kyle served as a reporter in the Air Force Reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel, writing

civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

material, while working at radio station WPDM in

Potsdam, New York Potsdam is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. When the State University of New York at Potsdam and Clarkson University are in sess ...

. With Martin Greenberg, Kyle founded

Gnome Press Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company active 1948 – 1962 and primarily known for fantasy and science fiction, many later regarded as classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 ...

in 1948. He wrote two pictorial histories of science fiction (''A Pictorial History of Science Fiction'' and ''The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Ideas and Dreams'') and three licensed novels set in the Lensman universe (''The Dragon Lensman'', ''Lensman from Rigel'' and ''Z-Lensman''). He appeared with

Paul Levinson Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American media theorist, novelist, singer-songwriter, and short story writer. He currently serves as professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His novels, sh ...

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of Interstellar_war, galactic conflict (''The Forge of God, Forge of God'' books), parallel universes (''The Way (Greg Bear ...

and many others on the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

's 2002

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''Fantastic Voyage: Evolution of Science Fiction''. He died at the age of 97 on September 18, 2016.

Fandom

Kyle, an active fan since the earliest days of organized

, was an original member of New York's

Futurians The Futurians were a group of science fiction fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom in the ...

. In 1936, he published ''The Fantasy World'', possibly the first

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

fanzine. He attended the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Worldcon Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...

, and both wrote and printed the " Yellow Pamphlet" condemning the organizers. The

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

led chairman

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

to ban several prominent members of the Futurians from that convention. Kyle chaired the 1956 14th World Science Fiction Convention (NyCon II), an incident at which inspired the fan

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Dave Kyle says you can't sit here." He was created a Knight of The Order of Saint Fantony in 1961, and was awarded the Big Heart Award in 1973. Kyle was also Fan Guest of Honor at ConStellation, the 41st World Science Fiction Convention, in 1983. In addition, he wrote hundreds of articles for various

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

s, including regular articles for Richard and Nicki Lynch's ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and ...

''. Kyle married another fan, Ruth Evelyn Landis (whom he had met through fandom), on August 31, 1957; for their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

they flew to England for the 1957 Worldcon there, together with 53 friends and in-laws, on a specially

chartered flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

. They remained married until her death on January 5, 2011. They had a son Arthur and a daughter Kerry."Obituaries: Ruth Evelyn Kyle, 81, formerly of Potsdam"
''NorthCountryNow.com'', January 6, 2011.

References

External links

* ttp://www.redjacketpress.com/books/dragon_lensman.html Information on Kyle's three authorized "Second Stage Lensman" novels
Articles about Futurians and old Fandom by David Kyle
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, David 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American publishers (people) American science fiction writers Futurians People from St. Lawrence County, New York American science fiction editors 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)