gafia n. 2

the state of having quit fandom (cf. earlier gafia n. 1); cf. gafiation n.

[< getting away from it all]

SF Fandom

  • 1950 A. H. Rapp Timber! in Spacewarp (#37) Apr. page image Arthur H. Rapp

    Just a minor siege of GAFIA, from which, eventually, I will once again develop an enthusiasm for stf. At least I hope so.

  • 1953 B. Venable Treatment & Prevention of Gafia in Tyrann (#5) Jan. 16 page image Bill Venable

    Scientific medicine has taken a new step forward with the development and revelation of a complete understanding of that dread disease peculiar to fandom, Gafia.

  • 1968 B. Pelz Ivory Hoard in Ankus (#21) May (unpaged) page image Bruce Pelz

    The teenagers who took up science fiction and science fiction fandom in their earliest stages have now reached middle age, and although gafia has winnowed the ranks, enough of them are still active that fandom is going to notice their loss in increasing numbers as the years pass.

  • 1977 L. E. Bushyager Karass (#33) Sept. 2 page image Linda E. Bushyager

    So it seems especially ironic that at the same time Iโ€™ve found my fannish enthusiasm dwindling to a 10-year low. So low, in fact, that I seriously contemplated gafia[.] Although Iโ€™ve decided Iโ€™m not quite depressed enough for that drastic step, I have decided to fold Karass.

  • 1985 B. Gibson Letter in Flash Point (#7) Oct. 7 page image William Gibson

    [T]he sacred waters of Not Writing Count Zero Any More flow over me like the grace of the living God. This is to mere gafia as Peruvian flake is to lookalike diet pills.

  • 1994 J. Berry Letter in Habakkuk (#3.3) Spring 33/1 page image John Berry

    What a wonderful surprise to receive HABAKKUK and realize that after all these years you have shaken off the dreaded hanging shrouds of gafia and produced such a beautifully written and illustrated fanzine, as if the years of non-activity have been a sort of pregnancy, metaphorically speaking, of course, and this wonderful thing has burst out to surprise and amaze the fannish world.

  • 2013 Committee in Readercon 13 Souvenir Book 64 page image

    Nevenah Smith has left New York for a life of (mostly) gafia among the magnolias and alligators of New Orleans, where she can be found second-lining at Tipitinaโ€™s, eating crawfish, and amassing an enormous collection of Mardi Gras beads.

  • 2020 L. Edmonds Note on Merv Binns in iOTA (#17) June 1 page image Leigh Edmonds

    Only a months [sic] or so ago Merv Binns committed the ultimate act of gafia. His health had been on the decline for several years and I was pleased to be able to catch up with him for one final time [...]


Research requirements

antedating 1950

Earliest cite

Arthur H. Rapp, โ€˜Timber!โ€™

Research History
Most cites submitted by Bee Ostrowsky.

Last modified 2022-11-16 15:21:39
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.