How I became interested in the “Pulps”

WHAT IS "PULP"?

The “Pulps” refer to a huge number of magazines published from the late 19^th century 

through the 1950s. The term originates from the use of low-grade paper made from wood pulp rather than from the traditional cotton and linen fibers.  It dries more quickly, turns yellow and becomes brittle – thus, it has a much shorter lifespan.  This lower quality paper, although it might be perceived as less desirable for publishing “artistic" literature, provided an outlet for more experimental writing styles and expanded the market for literature. It allowed literature to become accessible beyond the conservative confines of the upper classes.

Growing up in a working class neighborhood, in a working class city, bookstores were often considered beyond people’s means. Libraries were the primary reading resource. However, libraries have always been subject to their own limitations – public policy and budget restraints for example. So, there is economic filtering of knowledge and ideas.

 The incubation of ideas and the growth of knowledge are held back by a conservative educational system and the limitations that a market economy has to respond to disparate demand. Our social structure is based on a market system that gravitates toward providing the least common denominator, and values education that consolidates knowledge. This limits demand for a broader spectrum of ideas.

Back in the 19^th century, however, the demand for education was growing quickly along with a society that was not defined by mass communication. The country was under pressure to fill up the vast amount of space that was available between the oceans. The push was rapid and chaotic at first, but then began to call out for order. Towns popped up and with them the need for civic responsibility – government and education were treated with great respect. Ideals stemmed from population “melting pots” that had come to rest at a particular location. Local civic values were based on need and those who came forward as leaders did so from a variety of backgrounds.

As this growth occurred, the need for diversion or entertainment was also growing. These experiences provided great tales of adventure and daring that became the focus of an increasing demand for resources both for the purpose of learning and for entertainment. 

The lessons learned from our rapid growth would be the basis for further growth, and the adventures of those who were leading us forward were very compelling tales. So, the demand for magazines that were affordable to a growing reading public seemed to have blossomed from the confluence of population growth, increased literacy, and the promise of a bright future for all. The “American Dream” was taking shape!

THE BRIDGE TO NOW

Imagine, if you will, growing up in a quiet, urban residential neighborhood that is populated by working class families, living on shady tree-lined streets of mixed single and double family dwellings. Windows are open in the summertime allowing the sounds of life to surround you – the calm being interrupted occasionally by street merchants calling out – the ragman, the knife sharpener, bread and milk deliveries. Supermarkets are rare and “mom & pop” markets – green grocers and butcher shops  –  are the common source of food purchases. Streets are populated with children of all ages playing on tricycles, bicycles, scooters, and wagons while older kids are intensely occupied in street games. Traffic is light on these streets and there is very little to threaten the idyllic community. It was sort of like the movie Pleasantville, but less cynical.

This was a simple world for young men like myself. In the late 1940s and the 1950s of 

post-war America, we were not so bombarded with commercial television – we simply did not have TV. When television began to appear in our homes, years went by before there were more than a handful of channels and no color until the 1960s.  Men, who were not sinister, wore fedoras – only boys wore ballcaps, and nobody wore their hat in the house.  We read the newspaper for news. We listened to the radio for sports and entertainment. If we were interested in expanding our horizons, we looked to the library. If we had any pocket money, there was a small sundry store on the corner that sold candy, soda pop, comic books and the dwindling offerings of what was once a booming magazine industry. 

By the late 40s and the 50s, the “pulp” magazine industry was being pushed aside by a growing paperback novel industry. It was a publishing phenomenon that had run its course – from roots that included story sheets to dime novels to magazines with inviting color covers and exciting content. There were still some colorful and alluring covers to be seen on racks of our neighborhood stores but  things change and, by this time, the term “pulps” had become synonymous with western heroes, hard-boiled detectives, bizarre creatures from space, and movie romance.

Well into my teens by the 1960s, I loved sitting with my father at the kitchen table in the evening reading mystery novels together. Mostly we got our books from the library, although a full set of Dickens occupied an honored place in our home.  There were no routine book purchases in our house, but I remember having seen sexy paperback book covers in the houses of friends. Dad had studied literature in college, gone on to a law degree and retained a love of reading all his life. He always subscribed to The Saturday Review of Literature and Norman Cousins was as familiar in our house as any of the sports heroes of the time. Dad was somewhat of a literary elitist but the times were changing.

Years later, after military service, college, and beginning to raise a family, I found myself naturally drawn to the book industry. As a bookseller, publisher’s representative, and marketing professional, there were many paths to inviting distraction yet never enough time to define and explore personal interests.  Now, in retirement, opportunities to explore beyond previous horizons abound. Finding a passion for some of the history of our literary culture is a glorious experience. What was little more than a peripheral familiarity with the magazine industry has become a new-found passion.

The importance of Edgar Allan Poe as the author of the first detective fiction was known, but how did this come about? And, how did it become significant? Ned Buntline’s romantic tales of

the wild-west were fresh in the minds of my parent’s generation. How did Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley get from humble individuals living in the west to international stardom? Elderly neighbors had firsthand stories of Indians that they had known.  There were neighborhood parents, brothers, cousins, and friends with tales of their experiences in World War II and Korea.  How did sports become so important to both our culture and our economy? Reading those detective and mystery yarns alongside my dad and the experience of being in the book

trade during a revitalized look at writings contained in TheBlack Mask magazine have provided me with a sense of nostalgia for this literary tradition.

The passing of the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages followed by the Great Depression created a backdrop for profound cultural change during the early 20^th century.  At the same time, the “Pulps” were experiencing their peak years. This correlation was not an accident. The writing in these magazines, although not always high art, reflected and articulated the era with uncanny accuracy. Each new idea that arises from reading and thinking about this period results in some kind of discovery that seems more profound than it ought to be, and it becomes clearer every day that we have neglected the significance that this part of our literary history has had on our culture.