Bob Leman
(May 22, 1922 – August 8, 2006)
Robert Joseph Leman was from Pennsylvania, and lived in the West in Colorado and Wyoming. He was an active letterhack in the days of the pulps.
In November 1957, he published his first fanzine, the American Journal of Oculenteratology. "Oculenteratology," he said, was "an etymologically imperfect coinage of mine, meaning (or intending to mean) 'the study of bug-eyed monsters.'" With the second issue (January 1958), he renamed it Vinegar Worm, for 16 more issues, through November 1969, as he moved from Denver to Rawlings, Wyoming, and finally to Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. It became a FAPAzine partway through. Bob also published the apazine Nematode (for SAPS).
In Vinegar Worm 4, Leman launched the Bagby Hoax. He had two pieces selected for The Best of Fandom 1958.
In FANAC #1 (February 1958), he described his introduction to fanwriting:
What happened was this: a little over a year ago, I saw an ad in ASF which caused me to write to Fantasy Times for a sample. Ron Smith had an ad in one of the early issues I received, and I subscribed to Inside & SFA. (I use the old titles of both.) I found Inside an interesting publication, and sent Ron an article, which was published in the last Inside. That involved me in a certain amount of correspondence, a segment of which got me into the NFFF. It also brought me a number of fanzines, which inspired me to tackle one of my own. Comment on that brought me a lot of names and information about FAPA, SAPS et al. In a little while I published a second issue, a copy of which you received. And here am, a neo of neos.
During the ’60s through the ’80s, he published several weird stories in F&SF, later collected in Feesters in the Lake and Other Stories (2002).
In mundane life, Leman worked in the oil and gas industry. In 1947, he married Margaret Anne Longacre (1926–2012); they had two daughters.
- Bibliography at ISFDB.
- Obituary.
- Entry at Lesser-Known Writers.
- 101 Weird Writers profile.
- “Loob” by Bob Leman.
- Bulletin of the Dorcas Bagby Society
- An Inquiry into Certain Little-Known Consequences of the Berlin-Bagdad Pact (1957)
- Nematode (for SAPS, 1958–60)
- Vinegar Worm (for FAPA, 1957–68)
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1981 — Nebula nomination for “Window”
| Person | 1922—2006 |
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