This quote from C.L. Moore, one of SFF’s founding women, came across the transom today. In a letter to H.P Lovecraft she defended “romantic” stories:
To me it’s just as pleasant to imagine during the duration of the story that there is a lovely springtime world people exclusively by handsome heroes and exquisite heroines and life is one long romp of adventure with no unpleasant attribtues at all, as it is to believe for the length of the story that time, space and natural law can be elastic enough to permit the existence of a Shambleau or a Cthulhu.
C.L. Moore to H.P. Lovecraft, December 11th, 1935
Moore was a genius of the first caliber who created Northwest Smith, probably the first space rogue and a model for Han Solo, and the fierce French warrior woman Jirel of Joiry. Her eloquent defense of optimistic fantasy stands today as a rejoinder against those who insist on grim darkness as a token of realism.
Wyngraf 
I wholeheartedly agree with this. We have so much grim “realism” in fantasy today. Sometimes we need to read stories that show us that no matter what we face, at the end of the day there really can be hope and happiness and that good truly can win out. Optimistic fantasy is medicine for the soul, and I’m quite excited to see a magazine willing to pursue it!
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