QOTD

[randy_byers]

FLINT, HOMER EON (born FLINDT, 1892-1924)
American (California) writer for the pulp magazines. His death remains a mystery; perhaps executed by gangsters. In many ways the outstanding writer of s-f in the Munsey pulp magazines.

-- Everett F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Flint's granddaughter wrote about his life and death for Strange Horizons a while ago.

She indicates that it seems he may have stolen a car from a gangster at gunpoint and was killed when he wrecked the car

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, the gangster claimed that Flint took control of the car at gunpoint, but it's more than possible that he was lying. There was also a briefcase full of money in the car, which may have been from a bank robbery, which may have been committed by the gangster. Nobody really knows what happened. Whatever it was, it changed the course of scientifiction!

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

And according to John Clute in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, "HEF is remembered in part for the mystery of his death (having picked up a hitchhiker - who turned out to have a criminal record - he was found dead in his crashed car)."

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Clute seems to have gotten things backward. Flint was the hitchhiker, and the car belonged to the gangster, at least according to the granddaughter's account, which is corroborated by the newspaper account of the day.

[kim-huett.livejournal.com]

In The Acolyte #10 (spring 1945) is printed a letter by F. Lee Baldwin all about an article he was apparently writing. According to Baldwin:

'It was to consider, dispassionately, the deaths and disappearances of various fantasy authors with a view to accumulating any evidence which might indicate that they had not so much "died" as "been removed" by unknown powers because they "knew too much".'

Unfortunately the letter doesn't give any clue as to just who Lee Baldwin was planning to investigate but I think it likely that Flint was on his list. Neither do I know if the proposed article was ever written and published. I would think probably not however as it wouldn't take that much research to prove such an article not worth writing due to insufficient fact.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

That's awesome. "Knew too much" about the future, one supposes. So the killers were obviously timelords.

[kim-huett.livejournal.com]

More likely they were suppose to know too much about how the world was run and who really controlled our fates. In which case the supposed killers were most likely Deros or the Illuminati.

[grytpype-thynne.livejournal.com]

Why aren't we producing science fiction writers like that any more?

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this younger breed just isn't willing to take a hit for the cause.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

It would be interesting to trace his last day. Castro Valley is built up, and I-580 goes through Dublin Canyon, but there still is a Dublin Canyon Road and there are many smaller roads through the hills. Sunol is a tiny hamlet in a big valley that is still mostly farmland. It's quite pretty -- the Sunol water temple is nearby in the middle of the fields. Whoever was driving may have gone down Palomares Road to Niles Canyon Road. There are lots of roads around Sunol that would be a good place to wreck a car. You know, of course, that Niles was a big movie town.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that about Niles. Flint actually wrote scenarios for silent movies in the Teens before he tried his hand at writing for the pulps. Anyway, it would be fun to drive around in that area. How much of a trip is it from Sunnyvale? (I'm thinking of Corflu.)

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

Niles is about 40 minutes by car. You would want to hit the film museum. Driving around the area could easily take a couple of hours. There are lots of back roads, and there are places where we'd want to stop and look around. Nearby Sunol Regional Wilderness is the very best of the excellent East Bay Regional Parks. We'd also have to stop somewhere for lunch. Too bad there's going to be a science fiction convention over the weekend.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I thought it might be something to do on the Thursday before, but who knows.

[spikeiowa.livejournal.com]

Road trip!

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Twist my arm!