User:DoctorWho42/The Rhyme of the SF Ancient Author, or Conventions and Recollections

"The Rhyme of the SF Ancient Author, or Conventions and Recollections" or "The Rime of the Ancient SF Author, or Conventions and Recollections" is a poem by American engineer and author J. R. Pierce. It was first published in the December 1968 issue of Fantastic.

Plot
They cavort in little herds. They crop imagination's plane. They are far from both envy and gain. They are fair writers. I wish I was there. Some write about technology while others philosophy. They drink cans of beer and their appartments drear. Their friends do not see the point as being clear. Editors and wives may seduce them. Can SF survive by checks? The pursuit of money may make SF writers boring clods, but all yearn for the mainstream's allure.

Reception
In 1969, Cosmos: A Science-Fantasy Review's Geoffrey Giles said it was "a pertinent piece." Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact's P. Schuyler Miller called it "an amusing bit of verse."