Erwin S. Strauss is an American author,

science fiction fan Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

, noted member of the

MITSFS The MIT Science Fiction Society (or MITSFS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a student organization which maintains and administers a large publicly accessible library of science fiction, fantasy, and science fantasy books and magaz ...

, and filk musician, born in Washington, D.C. He frequently is known by the nickname "Filthy Pierre".

Science fiction and writing

Strauss has been chairman of a number of science fiction conventions, such as Boskone 3 in 1966 and RailCon in 1975; and a member of the committee for at least one Worldcon, Noreascon 3, in 1989. He was an early (1964) vice president of the

MIT Science Fiction Society The MIT Science Fiction Society (or MITSFS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a student organization which maintains and administers a large publicly accessible library of science fiction, fantasy, and science fantasy books and magaz ...

. In addition, he is the author of the monthly "SF Convention Calendar" in '' Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction'' magazine, and his flyer racks ("Filthy boards") are seen at conventions all over the East Coast. He is the author and/or editor of a number of books, articles, and fanzines. He is a frequent Guest of Honor at SF conventions, including Arisia, Boskone, and

Albacon Albacon is the Albany science fiction convention, held each year in the Albany, New York area, also called the Capital District. Albacon is the largest "Con" in upstate New York, United States. It is hosted by LASTSFA, or Latham-Albany-Schene ...

. Strauss is the creator of the Voodoo board message board system once used at conventions such as

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

WisCon WisCon or Wiscon, a Wisconsin science fiction convention, is the oldest, and often called the world's leading, feminist science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, after a group of fans att ...

, and Arisia.

Libertarian publishing

Strauss is most well known in

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

circles for his longstanding publication of ''The Connection'', an

amateur press association An amateur press association (APA) is a group of people who produce individual pages or zines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. History The first APAs were formed by groups of amateur pr ...

(APA). The APA was started under the name ''The Libertarian Connection'' by

Durk Pearson Durk Pearson (born 1943 in Illinois) is a research scientist best known for coauthoring a series of books on longevity, beginning with '' Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach''. Early life While a student at the Massachusetts Instit ...

and Sandy Shaw (using pseudonyms) in 1968. Strauss wrote for it as "Filthy Pierre" almost from the beginning, and in 1979 he took over as publisher. Although Strauss dropped the word "libertarian" from the title (to indicate that it was open to all participants), the strong libertarian perspective of the contributors remained. Strauss continued to publish the APA for nearly 30 years and had continued to publish it as of 2012.

Honors

*Magic Carpet Con, 1996 – Co-Filk Guest of Honor *ConChord 2002 – Interfilk guest *

Noreascon 4 The 62nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Noreascon 4, was held on 2–6 September 2004 at the Hynes Convention Center, Sheraton Boston Hotel and Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. T ...

(2004) – Special Committee Award *

Filk Hall of Fame Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

(inducted 1998) *Big Heart Award, 2004., Locus Magazine *

2012 – Fan Guest of Honor * Balticon 2018 - Fan Guest of Honor

Publications

Books

*''Filthy Pierre's Songs of MIT'' *''Filthy Pierre's Songs of Significance'' * ''How to Start Your Own Country''. Loompanics, 1979. *''Basement Nukes: The Consequences of Cheap Weapons of Mass Destruction'' *''Complete Guide to Science Fiction Conventions'' *''The Case Against a Libertarian Political Party''. Loompanics, 1980. *''MIT Science Fiction Society's Index to the S-F Magazines, 1951–1965'', 1966

APAs (amateur press association publications)

*''The Connection'' (OE, 1979– )

Fanzines

*''SF Convention Register (1974–96)'' *''Filthy Pierre's Microfilk (1975–83)''

References

External links

Biography
* ttps://boskoneblog.com/2020/01/17/b57-mini-interviews-with-martha-wells-erwin-s-filthy-pierre-strauss-and-laurence-raphael-brothers/ Brief interview with Strauss at the 2020 Boskone {{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Erwin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American libertarians American non-fiction writers Asimov's Science Fiction people Filkers Science fiction fans