Leslie Fish
Encyclopedia
Leslie Fish is a filk music
ian, author, and anarchist
political activist
.
", a comic song parodying Star Trek
which has since spawned over 80 variants and parodies. These two albums (originally on vinyl
) have recently been put back into print on joint CD
, entitled Folk Songs for Solar Sailors. She recorded the comic song "Carmen Miranda
's Ghost", which was the source for the short story
anthology
Carmen Miranda's Ghost Is Haunting Space Station Three, edited by Don Sakers (in which she has one story and the notes on the song). Her song "Hope Eyrie" is regarded by some as being as close to the anthem
of science fiction fandom
as is possible in such a disparate group.
Fish often weaves Pagan
and anarchist themes into her music. She has also set to music many poems by Rudyard Kipling
. She is a popular guest at science fiction conventions, and she can often be seen at the large filksings with her distinctive 12-string guitar, "Monster", which Leslie says plays best when given good Scotch whisky
.
, and is a long time member of the Industrial Workers of the World
, a fact referred to in several of her songs (e.g., "Wobblies From Space", "Leslie's Filks"). She is also well known as a gun-rights activist, and has asserted that private gun ownership is the only true protection of individual freedom (a topic touched on in several of her songs). Because of her distrust of the stability of modern society, she has in the past worked to organize groups for carrying on civilization after what she (at one time at least) considered the imminent collapse of the current society. Her album Firestorm was in large part meant as a set of instructions for surviving a nuclear war, on the reasoning that it would be easier to recall them if they were in lyric form.
On anarchism, Fish says: "What sort of anarchist future would I like to see? There's no reason for a government-free society to be nothing but agrarian, no reason at all that it couldn't be industrial and space-faring."
The character "Jenny Trout" in the science fiction novel Fallen Angels
is clearly meant to be Fish.
fan community for her works of fan fiction
, which include "Shelter" (1976), one of the first Kirk/Spock
stories ever published, and the fan-published Star Trek novel
The Weight. "In Textual Poachers, his landmark study of fan communities, MIT's Henry Jenkins
described Fish's anarchist-feminist Star Trek
novel The Weight as a 'compelling narrative' that's 'remarkable in the scope and complexity of its conception, the precision of its execution, and the explicitness of its political orientation.'" She has also written original novels and short stories, both alone and in collaboration with C. J. Cherryh
and others. Her song, "Carmen Miranda
's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three," inspired a collection of short stories with the same title, edited by Don Sakers and featuring stories by Anne McCaffrey and C. J. Cherryh.
She is an avid roleplaying gamer, especially in regard to LARPing. She has also been a member in the Society for Creative Anachronism
since the 1970s. In recent years, she has been the driving force behind in the establishment of Fan Haven, a 230 acre (0.9307778 km²) private park in Arizona meant to serve as a safe space for LARPers, Pagans, naturists, SCAdians, and other marginalized groups associated with fandom. However, the Federal government has disputed the validity of the mining claim that she proposed to use to establish ownership.
While Fish rarely discusses her private life, she had been in a romantic relationship with anarchist political activist Mary Frohman "from the late '60s through the early '80s." She has often asserted that bisexuality is the human norm, and that the pervasive sexual repression she sees in current society causes many of the current social ills. She briefly worked as a dominatrix
in San Francisco during the 1980s, and has since been (at times) a defender of the rights of sex worker
s. She was recently married to long-time friend, Robert "Rasty Bob" Ralston.
One of Fish's more unusual personal projects is an on-going attempt to breed domestic cats for intelligence and other traits, including polydactyly
. She claims that her cats are about as intelligent as a six-year-old human child, except in regards to symbolic language.
[Fish appears as singer, player, composer and/or lyricist on most of the Off Centaur anthology tapes (including A Wolfrider's Reflections, reissued by Richard & Wendy Pini on their own label, also OOP), on many of the Firebird Mercedes Lackey anthology albums, and on a number of convention live albums from Conglomeration, DAG, Off Centaur, Wail Songs and others; she also appears on the anthology The Pegasus Winners [Love Songs] [OOP].]
series of science fiction books. The series was edited by C. J. Cherryh
.
Other short stories
Fanzine article
Writing as F. Sigmund Mead, "A Summary of the Physiological Roots of Andorian Culture" (Journal of Xenoanthropology, June 2341), edited by Leslie Fish. Fictional article on Andorian culture first published in Sehlat's Roar #2, a Star Trek fanzine of the 1970s, published by Randy Ash.
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
ian, author, and anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
.
Music
Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet. Her second recording, Solar Sailors (1977) included the song "Banned from ArgoBanned From Argo
"Banned From Argo" is a filk song written and originally recorded by Leslie Fish, released in 1977 on the album Solar Sailors, and later as part of various compilations "Banned From Argo" is a filk song written and originally recorded by Leslie Fish, released in 1977 on the album Solar Sailors, and...
", a comic song parodying Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
which has since spawned over 80 variants and parodies. These two albums (originally on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
) have recently been put back into print on joint CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, entitled Folk Songs for Solar Sailors. She recorded the comic song "Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
's Ghost", which was the source for the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Carmen Miranda's Ghost Is Haunting Space Station Three, edited by Don Sakers (in which she has one story and the notes on the song). Her song "Hope Eyrie" is regarded by some as being as close to the anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
of science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
as is possible in such a disparate group.
Fish often weaves Pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
and anarchist themes into her music. She has also set to music many poems by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
. She is a popular guest at science fiction conventions, and she can often be seen at the large filksings with her distinctive 12-string guitar, "Monster", which Leslie says plays best when given good Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
.
Film
She sings (and makes several appearances) in the film Finding the Future: A Science Fiction Conversation, which makes extensive use of her music.Political activism
Fish has been involved with numerous political causes, most notably anti-war activism during the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and is a long time member of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, a fact referred to in several of her songs (e.g., "Wobblies From Space", "Leslie's Filks"). She is also well known as a gun-rights activist, and has asserted that private gun ownership is the only true protection of individual freedom (a topic touched on in several of her songs). Because of her distrust of the stability of modern society, she has in the past worked to organize groups for carrying on civilization after what she (at one time at least) considered the imminent collapse of the current society. Her album Firestorm was in large part meant as a set of instructions for surviving a nuclear war, on the reasoning that it would be easier to recall them if they were in lyric form.
On anarchism, Fish says: "What sort of anarchist future would I like to see? There's no reason for a government-free society to be nothing but agrarian, no reason at all that it couldn't be industrial and space-faring."
The character "Jenny Trout" in the science fiction novel Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels (science fiction novel)
Fallen Angels is a Prometheus Award-winning novel by science fiction authors Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn published by Jim Baen. The novel was written as a tribute to science fiction fandom, and includes many of its well-known figures, legends, and practices...
is clearly meant to be Fish.
Other activities
In addition to her work as a filk artist, Fish is also well-known within the Star TrekStar Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fan community for her works of fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
, which include "Shelter" (1976), one of the first Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock, also commonly referred to as "K/S" and referring to James T. Kirk and Spock from Star Trek, is a pairing popular in slash fiction, possibly the first slash pairing according to Henry Jenkins. Early on, a few fan writers started speculating about the possibility of a sexual relationship...
stories ever published, and the fan-published Star Trek novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Weight. "In Textual Poachers, his landmark study of fan communities, MIT's Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins III is an American media scholar and currently a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
described Fish's anarchist-feminist Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
novel The Weight as a 'compelling narrative' that's 'remarkable in the scope and complexity of its conception, the precision of its execution, and the explicitness of its political orientation.'" She has also written original novels and short stories, both alone and in collaboration with C. J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
and others. Her song, "Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three," inspired a collection of short stories with the same title, edited by Don Sakers and featuring stories by Anne McCaffrey and C. J. Cherryh.
She is an avid roleplaying gamer, especially in regard to LARPing. She has also been a member in the Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
since the 1970s. In recent years, she has been the driving force behind in the establishment of Fan Haven, a 230 acre (0.9307778 km²) private park in Arizona meant to serve as a safe space for LARPers, Pagans, naturists, SCAdians, and other marginalized groups associated with fandom. However, the Federal government has disputed the validity of the mining claim that she proposed to use to establish ownership.
While Fish rarely discusses her private life, she had been in a romantic relationship with anarchist political activist Mary Frohman "from the late '60s through the early '80s." She has often asserted that bisexuality is the human norm, and that the pervasive sexual repression she sees in current society causes many of the current social ills. She briefly worked as a dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
in San Francisco during the 1980s, and has since been (at times) a defender of the rights of sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
s. She was recently married to long-time friend, Robert "Rasty Bob" Ralston.
One of Fish's more unusual personal projects is an on-going attempt to breed domestic cats for intelligence and other traits, including polydactyly
Polydactyl cat
A polydactyl cat is a cat with a congenital physical anomaly called polydactyly , a type of cat body type genetic mutation that causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws...
. She claims that her cats are about as intelligent as a six-year-old human child, except in regards to symbolic language.
Albums
[All Off Centaur Publications, Firebird Arts & Music and Wail Songs albums are cassettes; all Random Factors albums are CDs except as noted. All Off Centaur albums are out of print as of 1988 unless reissued; all Wail Songs albums are OOP as of ca. 1999. All Fish solo albums from Firebird are OOP as of 1995.]- Minus Ten and CountingMinus Ten and CountingMinus Ten and Counting: Songs of the Space Age is an influential album of filk songs composed and performed by a variety of artists, released as a cassette tape in 1983 by Off Centaur Publications. It was the first anthology of space filk songs, and both inspired a flowering of performance of the...
1983 (contributor) [Off Centaur] [Out Of Print]
[Fish appears as singer, player, composer and/or lyricist on most of the Off Centaur anthology tapes (including A Wolfrider's Reflections, reissued by Richard & Wendy Pini on their own label, also OOP), on many of the Firebird Mercedes Lackey anthology albums, and on a number of convention live albums from Conglomeration, DAG, Off Centaur, Wail Songs and others; she also appears on the anthology The Pegasus Winners [Love Songs] [OOP].]
- Folk Songs For Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet(with Dehorn Crew), 1976 LP [T.J. Phoenix], 1991 tape [Firebird] [both OOP]
- Solar Sailors (with Dehorn Crew), 1977 LP [Bandersnatchi Press], 1989 tape [Firebird] [OOP]
- Folk Songs For Solar Sailors (with Dehorn Crew), 2002 [collection of above two, Random Factors]
- Skybound 1982 [Off Centaur] [OOP], 2005 [Random Factors]
- Cold Iron (Kipling), 1983, 1986 [Off Centaur, OOP], 1991 [Firebird, OOP], 2007 [Random Factors]
- The Undertaker's Horse (Kipling),1985 [Off Centaur], 1990 [Firebird] [both OOP]
- Chickasaw MountainChickasaw MountainChickasaw Mountain is an out-of-print filk album composed and performed by Leslie Fish. It is also the name of a track on that album.The album mostly explored pagan and neo-pagan themes, but also includes story-songs such as "Ferryman" and the humorous "Jack the Slob and the Goddess of Love".This...
, 1986 [Off Centaur], 1991 [Firebird] [OOP] - It's Sister Jenny's Turn to Throw the Bomb, 1987 [Off Centaur], [ca. 1992 Firebird w/1987 date] [OOP]
- Firestorm: Songs of the Third World War, 1989 [Firebird] [two slightly different versions, not noted in liner notes] [OOP]
- Leslie Fish...Live!, 1989 [Firebird] [OOP]
- Our Fathers of Old (with Joe BethancourtJoe BethancourtW.J. Bethancourt III is a traditional American musician , based in Phoenix, Arizona.-Biography:Bethancourt was born in El Paso, Texas. He began learning banjo at age 9, after he heard his maternal grandfather, C. H. Burnett, playing fiddle. His first banjo was given him by his grandfather, and...
) [1993 tape {OOP}, 2002 CD [adds bonus tracks with Kristoph Klover] Random Factors] - Serious Steel (with Joe BethancourtJoe BethancourtW.J. Bethancourt III is a traditional American musician , based in Phoenix, Arizona.-Biography:Bethancourt was born in El Paso, Texas. He began learning banjo at age 9, after he heard his maternal grandfather, C. H. Burnett, playing fiddle. His first banjo was given him by his grandfather, and...
), 1995 [tape & CD] [Random Factors] - Smoked Fish And Friends (live, with 4 others), 1996 [Random Factors]
- Not Canned or Frozen, 1996 [Wail Songs] [OOP]
- Lock & Load, 2009 [Random Factors]
Books
- A Dirge for Sabis (with C. J. CherryhC. J. CherryhCarolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
), collected in The Sword of KnowledgeThe Sword of KnowledgeThe Sword of Knowledge is a trilogy of shared world fantasy novels credited to the authors C. J. Cherryh, Leslie Fish, Nancy Asire, and Mercedes Lackey. The three novels in the series were all published by Baen Books in 1989: A Dirge for Sabis , Wizard Spawn , and Reap the Whirlwind...
trilogy - Offensive As Hell: The Joys of Jesus-Freak Bagging, nonfiction
Short stories
The following short stories were produced as part of the Merovingen NightsMerovingen Nights
Merovingen Nights is a series of shared world science fiction books set in writer C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe. There are eight books in the series, a novel by Cherryh, Angel With the Sword, and seven short fiction anthologies which Cherryh edited...
series of science fiction books. The series was edited by C. J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
.
- "First Night Cruise" in Festival Moon
- "Guardian" in Festival Moon
- "War of the Unseen Worlds" in Fever Season
- "Treading the Maze" in Troubled Waters
- "Fair Game" in Smuggler’s Gold
- "Run Silent, Run Cheap" in Divine Right
- "Walking on the Waves" in Flood Tide
Other short stories
- "Janesfort War" with Frank GasperikFrank GasperikFrank Gasperik was an author, songwriter and filksinger.Frank appeared as a character in several science fiction novels including Lucifer's Hammer , Footfall...
, for Jerry PournelleJerry PournelleJerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
's War WorldWar WorldWar World is a series of collaborative science fiction books set in the CoDominium universe of Jerry Pournelle, some novels being co-authored by Larry Niven and S. M. Stirling, as well as John F. Carr and Don Hawthorne. It consists of five short story collections by various authors and two novels...
collection CoDominium: Revolt on War World
Fanzine article
Writing as F. Sigmund Mead, "A Summary of the Physiological Roots of Andorian Culture" (Journal of Xenoanthropology, June 2341), edited by Leslie Fish. Fictional article on Andorian culture first published in Sehlat's Roar #2, a Star Trek fanzine of the 1970s, published by Randy Ash.
Pegasus Awards
- 1984: Best Original Filk Song—"Hope Eyrie"
- 1986: Best Original Filk Song—"Witnesses' Waltz"
- 1986: Best Female Filker
- 1987: Best Writer/Composer
- 1989: Best Fantasy Song—"Wind's Four Quarters" (with Mercedes LackeyMercedes LackeyMercedes "Misty" Lackey is a best-selling American author of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar...
) - 1999: Best Hero Song—"A Toast For Unknown Heroes"
- 2002: Best Song That Tells A Story—"Horsetamer's Daughter"
- 2003: Best Classic Filk Song—"Banned from ArgoBanned From Argo"Banned From Argo" is a filk song written and originally recorded by Leslie Fish, released in 1977 on the album Solar Sailors, and later as part of various compilations "Banned From Argo" is a filk song written and originally recorded by Leslie Fish, released in 1977 on the album Solar Sailors, and...
" - 2005: Best Space Opera Song—"Signy Mallory" (with Mercedes Lackey)
- 2005: Best Sword & Sorcery Song—"Threes" (with Mercedes Lackey)