Erwin S. Strauss is an American author, science fiction fan, noted member of the MITSFS, and filk musician, born in Washington, D.C. He frequently is known by the nickname "Filthy Pierre".

Science fiction and writing

Strauss has been chairman of a number of science fiction conventions, such as Boskone 3 in 1966 and RailCon in 1975; and a member of the committee for at least one Worldcon, Noreascon 3, in 1989. He was an early (1964) vice president of the

MIT Science Fiction Society The MIT Science Fiction Society (or MITSFS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a student organization which maintains and administers a large publicly accessible library of science fiction, fantasy, and science fantasy books and ma ...

. In addition, he is the author of the monthly "SF Convention Calendar" in '' Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction'' magazine, and his flyer racks ("Filthy boards") are seen at conventions all over the East Coast. He is the author and/or editor of a number of books, articles, and fanzines. He is a frequent Guest of Honor at SF conventions, including Arisia, Boskone, and

Albacon Albacon is the Albany science fiction convention, held each year in the Albany, New York area, also called the Capital District. Albacon is the largest "Con" in upstate New York, United States. It is hosted by LASTSFA, or Latham-Albany-Sche ...

. Strauss is the creator of the

Voodoo board Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vo ...

message board system once used at conventions such as Worldcons, WisCon, and Arisia.

Libertarian publishing

Strauss is most well known in libertarian circles for his longstanding publication of ''The Connection'', an amateur press association (APA). The APA was started under the name ''The Libertarian Connection'' by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw (using pseudonyms) in 1968. Strauss wrote for it as "Filthy Pierre" almost from the beginning, and in 1979 he took over as publisher. Although Strauss dropped the word "libertarian" from the title (to indicate that it was open to all participants), the strong libertarian perspective of the contributors remained. Strauss continued to publish the APA for nearly 30 years and had continued to publish it as of 2012.

Honors

*Magic Carpet Con, 1996 – Co-Filk Guest of Honor *ConChord 2002 – Interfilk guest * Noreascon 4 (2004) – Special Committee Award * Filk Hall of Fame (inducted 1998) *Big Heart Award, 2004., Locus Magazine *

2012 – Fan Guest of Honor * Balticon 2018 - Fan Guest of Honor

Publications

Books

*''Filthy Pierre's Songs of MIT'' *''Filthy Pierre's Songs of Significance'' * ''How to Start Your Own Country''. Loompanics, 1979. *''Basement Nukes: The Consequences of Cheap Weapons of Mass Destruction'' *''Complete Guide to Science Fiction Conventions'' *''The Case Against a Libertarian Political Party''. Loompanics, 1980. *''MIT Science Fiction Society's Index to the S-F Magazines, 1951–1965'', 1966

APAs (amateur press association publications)

*''The Connection'' (OE, 1979– )

Fanzines

*''SF Convention Register (1974–96)'' *''Filthy Pierre's Microfilk (1975–83)''

References

External links

Biography
* ttps://boskoneblog.com/2020/01/17/b57-mini-interviews-with-martha-wells-erwin-s-filthy-pierre-strauss-and-laurence-raphael-brothers/ Brief interview with Strauss at the 2020 Boskone {{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Erwin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American libertarians American non-fiction writers Asimov's Science Fiction people Filkers Science fiction fans