A Rediscovery of Clifford D. Simak - A Reading Challenge

[Hugh]

"The Whistling Well" is one of his best stories. I'm told he got the idea for the story when he saw a well in a field and thought "Suppose that whistled. It might if the wind came into it in a certain way."

And strangely "The Whistling Well" is one of the few Simak stories that I'm not that keen on.

I seem to remember that the actual well was on the ridge, on or near his family's farm.

 

[Hugh]

And if there's anyone here from the yahoo Simak group (that occasionally springs into life) I haven't been able to post on that for some days. I suspect yahoo is struggling.

 

[Extollager]

And strangely "The Whistling Well" is one of the few Simak stories that I'm not that keen on.

I seem to remember that the actual well was on the ridge, on or near his family's farm.

A well on a ridge. Having a little trouble with that idea.

 

[Hugh]

A well on a ridge. Having a little trouble with that idea.

I don't count on my memory to be accurate. If I remember rightly, Simak's grandfather's farm and his father's was on top of the bluff above the Wisconsin/Mississipi Rivers. The photos that I've seen of this are a little disappointing in that I got the impression from his writings (for instance the slightly similar to "The Marathon Photograph", "The Thing in the Stone", one of my favourites) that this bluff was formidably steep but the photos look more like a relatively gentle slope. I seem to remember that the well was further up the road that leads past the Simak farmhouse, but I could well be wrong.

I'm sure that if Dave Wixon takes a look at this thread again that he will know.

 

[2DaveWixon]

"The Whistling Well" is one of his best stories. I'm told he got the idea for the story when he saw a well in a field and thought "Suppose that whistled. It might if the wind came into it in a certain way."

Actually, the way Cliff told it, his grandfather created the whistling well. His farm was high on a ridge above the Wisconsin River, and while there wasn't really a shortage of water (this was late 19th c., and Cliff's grandfather, Edward "Ned" Wiseman, was a Civil War vet known for stubbornness and cantankerousness...), he wanted a well just in case.
As Cliff portrayed it, the local well drillers told his grandfather it would be pretty expensive to do that, because, as high on the ridge as the farm was, it was a long way down to the water table. But he insisted, so they did it.
Cliff's theory was that on the way down, the drill likely passed through one or more caves, or at least some sort of opening that was connected to the open air, lower in the river valley -- there were a lot of caves all along the ridge on the side where the Wisconsin River lay far below -- so that when the wind was right, it set up a sort of whistling effect, rather like a flute...
Cliff heard that all through his boyhood (his father's farm was right next to his grandfather's place), and never forgot it.

I actually found the well, one of the times when I went down there. But it was badly out of repair, and unused. (No whistles; my guess is that a cave-in, or simply an accumulation of debris falling into the well-shaft, might have blocked it.)

 

[Extollager]

Any chance you have a picture from the ridge, Dave, to share?

I liked the sense of place in "Whistling Well." Honestly, I started thinking about retiring to that part of the country.

 

[2DaveWixon]

Any chance you have a picture from the ridge, Dave, to share?

I liked the sense of place in "Whistling Well." Honestly, I started thinking about retiring to that part of the country.

I used to have some pix of that area, but I'm not sure if I still have them, or not (lost some things in a flood a few years back...). I'll look into it.

Yes, the area of SW Wisconsin that Cliff grew up in is quite unusual -- would you happen to have access to Simak Collection 5 ("No Life of Their Own")? I wrote about that area in my introduction to that volume (the intro is entitled "Clifford Simak's Country").

If you can't get it easily, let me know and I'll see if I can make a copy and get it to you...

(By the way, if you liked the sense of place in "Whistling Well," may I recommend "The Thing in the Stone"?)

 

[Tom Hering]

Any chance you have a picture from the ridge, Dave, to share?

I liked the sense of place in "Whistling Well." Honestly, I started thinking about retiring to that part of the country.

I think I've shared this here once before, but this Emmy-winning documentary gives you a good idea of what Simak Country is like. (If you decide to retire in Wisconsin - welcome! I live in the central part of the state, and we Wisconsinites are proud of the natural beauty that can be found everywhere here.)

 

[2DaveWixon]

I think I've shared this here once before, but this Emmy-winning documentary gives you a good idea of what Simak Country is like. (If you decide to retire in Wisconsin - welcome! I live in the central part of the state, and we Wisconsinites are proud of the natural beauty that can be found everywhere here.)

Yes, Tom, I remember that you gave us that clip before -- I was a little chagrined that you did so about a week after I had turned in my intro on the subject... (my researching could have been so much faster!)

The one thing I'll add is that the clip does not give the true feeling of trying to travel across that country (speaking of the area specific to Cliff's childhood, here...) -- the ups and downs and arounds, the difficulty of avoiding getting lost...and the mysteriousness of the glens, the woods, the small waters, the silences of the evenings and the smell when the fog comes up...

 

[Extollager]

Thanks for the video, Tom.

We lived in Wisconsin for a year but had to move on for employment. We were at the other end of the state, in Racine. I taught at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Campus. Occasionally I'd walk to work (5 or 6 miles, I guess). I remember a rural house with lilac growing up along the side to the height of two stories. The fragrance must have been almost overwhelming at times. ....We liked the next place we lived, too.

I don't think I was aware of the Simak connection to Wisconsin at the time.

 

[Ralf 58]

Hello Dave,

nice, to see you in the forum again. I would be interested in how the release of the "Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak" continues. Will the volumes 10 to 14 appear in 2017?

 

[2DaveWixon]

Hello Dave,

nice, to see you in the forum again. I would be interested in how the release of the "Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak" continues. Will the volumes 10 to 14 appear in 2017?

Hello, Ralf! Good to hear from you!
I do not yet have a date or dates for the next releases in the Simak Collection program, but I can tell you that collections 10, 11, and 12 were turned in to Open Road almost a month ago. Since my editor has not yet buttonholed me about any perceived problems, I would assume the book will likely appear in the summer.
As for the last two volumes: they have not yet given me a deadline for submission, but I've been working on my introductions to both of them, and if I finish (which may be within the next month or two), I will likely just go ahead and sent them along, and let Betsy or her bosses decide when they come out...
(I probably should be pestering her for release dates and so on, but I find that by the time I've gotten a package of three books ready to go, I'm a little burned out, and I just try to move on to other things.)

Oh, there is this to report! Up until now only two of the Simak novels have been put in paper by Open Road, but they're now considering doing 2-3 more in paper -- to the point where they asked me to name three to suggest to them...
(This is all very tricky, here in the middle of the winter, because my editor is spending a few months working from a warm place...envy!)

 

[Ralf 58]

Hello, Ralf! Good to hear from you!
I do not yet have a date or dates for the next releases in the Simak Collection program, but I can tell you that collections 10, 11, and 12 were turned in to Open Road almost a month ago. Since my editor has not yet buttonholed me about any perceived problems, I would assume the book will likely appear in the summer. ....

Oh, there is this to report! Up until now only two of the Simak novels have been put in paper by Open Road, but they're now considering doing 2-3 more in paper -- to the point where they asked me to name three to suggest to them...

Hi Dave, that's good news!
It looks as if it is finally possible to publish all Simak stories in a book series. Francis Lyall and Phil Stephensen-Payne unfortunately did not manage this.

The decision which books you recommend the publisher as print editions is, of course, with you. But maybe some readers would like to make suggestions in the forum.
My suggestions are "Time is the Simplest Thing", "All the Flesh is Grass" and "The Werewolf Principle".

It is certainly only the books to choose, which have already been published as an e-book at Open Road Media. Will the publishing house also publish the remaining novels ("Cosmic Engineers", "Empire", "Ring Around the Sun", "They Walked Like Men", "Why Call Them Back From Heaven?", "Destiny Doll", "Cemetery World", "The Visitors" and " Where the Evil Dwells ")?

(PS: I've just written an e-mail to you)

 

[2DaveWixon]

Hi Dave, that's good news!
It looks as if it is finally possible to publish all Simak stories in a book series. Francis Lyall and Phil Stephensen-Payne unfortunately did not manage this.

The decision which books you recommend the publisher as print editions is, of course, with you. But maybe some readers would like to make suggestions in the forum.
My suggestions are "Time is the Simplest Thing", "All the Flesh is Grass" and "The Werewolf Principle".

It is certainly only the books to choose, which have already been published as an e-book at Open Road Media. Will the publishing house also publish the remaining novels ("Cosmic Engineers", "Empire", "Ring Around the Sun", "They Walked Like Men", "Why Call Them Back From Heaven?", "Destiny Doll", "Cemetery World", "The Visitors" and " Where the Evil Dwells ")?

(PS: I've just written an e-mail to you)

You named two of the three titles I suggested to Open Road -- very good! ("Great minds think alike.")
As for the novels that Open Road has not published: I don't foresee them ever doing EMPIRE, for various reasons. The others might be possible if their Simak program remains strong, but they haven't been ready to make that leap yet.
I'll keep trying to get them moving in that direction, I assure you (although my top priorities are first to get all of the collections out, and then to get them into paper editions...the novels are a bit of a lower priority for me, simply because there have been paper editions of them in the past, that are generally available to prospective readers, if only as used books).
And at all times, I keep my eyes open for other publishers who might be interested in taking part in the Simak program, in some way...

Always looking for suggestions from the loyal readers, I assure you!

 

[Hugh]

Hi Dave, that's good news!

My suggestions are "Time is the Simplest Thing", "All the Flesh is Grass" and "The Werewolf Principle".

It is certainly only the books to choose, which have already been published as an e-book at Open Road Media. Will the publishing house also publish the remaining novels ("Cosmic Engineers", "Empire", "Ring Around the Sun", "They Walked Like Men", "Why Call Them Back From Heaven?", "Destiny Doll", "Cemetery World", "The Visitors" and " Where the Evil Dwells ")?

Of those named here, for me the strongest candidates are:"Time is the Simplest Thing", "All the Flesh is Grass" and "The Werewolf Principle". (as suggested by Ralph), along with "Ring Around the Sun" and "Destiny Doll", but I'm really not bothered: it's just great to see enough interest to merit paper editions.

 

[Hugh]

On an allied subject:

Can someone please help me with the location of Simak's grandfather's farm. It's been a while since I checked it out.

At one time I really enjoyed looking at the territory around there on Google Earth, but I'm trying to find it now and I just get lost. I'd thought there was a bridge across the river not far from Millville and that the road leading to the farm was fairly easy to recognise. Clearly I'm mistaken. I'm having problems with yahoo and so cannot access the simak-fan group for the details.

 

[2DaveWixon]

On an allied subject:

Can someone please help me with the location of Simak's grandfather's farm. It's been a while since I checked it out.

At one time I really enjoyed looking at the territory around there on Google Earth, but I'm trying to find it now and I just get lost. I'd thought there was a bridge across the river not far from Millville and that the road leading to the farm was fairly easy to recognise. Clearly I'm mistaken. I'm having problems with yahoo and so cannot access the simak-fan group for the details.

Hugh, I'm not all that familiar with Google Earth, so cannot really help you -- I hope someone else can! -- but perhaps I can offer one suggestion: rather than trying to start from Millville side, I would suggest that you move to the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. Just to the east of that is a bridge that crosses the Wisconsin as it heads north to Prairie de Chien.
Don't go north, though -- look east from the bridge, along the Wisconsin, and the south side of the river will soon become the ridge on which the farm is/was located, just a mile or two. (Also, the little town of Bridgeport, which is featured in TIME AND AGAIN, along with Cliff himself, will be on the north side of the River, just past the bridge...)
Keep in mind that much of that deep, skinny river valley is very overgrown; I'm not sure how much can be seen from overhead...

 

[Extollager]

Does anyone have a scan he or she could post of the dustjacket of the Putnam hardcover edition of The Goblin Reservation? I'm trying to confirm a memory of this book -- a memory that probably dates to about 1969. I don't find any reproductions of this online, just a bunch of paperback editions, but they are not what I want.

 

[Hugh]

Does anyone have a scan he or she could post of the dustjacket of the Putnam hardcover edition of The Goblin Reservation? I'm trying to confirm a memory of this book -- a memory that probably dates to about 1969. I don't find any reproductions of this online, just a bunch of paperback editions, but they are not what I want.

Take a look at Ralf's "Clifford D. Simak-The International Bibliography"

Clifford D. Simak - The International Bibliography

It may have it.

And edit: yes, I think it does! There's a 1968 Putnam hardcover with cover art by Richard Powers.

 

[Extollager]

None of those covers, Hugh, look at all like what I think I remember from a hardcover copy of The Goblin Reservation from the Coos Bay, Oregon, public library. My memory may be at fault. What I seem to remember is a very dark cover design. I'm wondering now if this memory is tangling with a memory from about the same time of L. P. Davies' Psychogeist.