Michael R. Page
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039652
- eISBN:
- 9780252097744
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039652.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter focuses on Frederik Pohl's literary output during the period 1988–2013, including two novels that would mark a transition in his career: Chernobyl and The Annals of the Heechee. The ...
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This chapter focuses on Frederik Pohl's literary output during the period 1988–2013, including two novels that would mark a transition in his career: Chernobyl and The Annals of the Heechee. The books that follow Chernobyl and The Annals of the Heechee focus less on the Cold War and more on new, pressing issues facing the contemporary world, such as The Voices of Heaven (1994), Homegoing (1989), Outnumbering the Dead (1990), and Mining the Oort (1992). Another novel, Narabedla Ltd., was a work of lighthearted fun that demonstrated Pohl's love of music. But the work that caps Pohl's career as science fiction's most eminent Swiftian satirist was All the Lives He Led. While completing All the Lives He Led, Pohl began blogging in January 2009 on his Hugo Award–winning website The Way the Future Blogs. In celebration of his ninetieth birthday, his wife Betty prepared a Festschrift anthology, titled Gateways and published by Tor, which included new stories by old friends.Less
This chapter focuses on Frederik Pohl's literary output during the period 1988–2013, including two novels that would mark a transition in his career: Chernobyl and The Annals of the Heechee. The books that follow Chernobyl and The Annals of the Heechee focus less on the Cold War and more on new, pressing issues facing the contemporary world, such as The Voices of Heaven (1994), Homegoing (1989), Outnumbering the Dead (1990), and Mining the Oort (1992). Another novel, Narabedla Ltd., was a work of lighthearted fun that demonstrated Pohl's love of music. But the work that caps Pohl's career as science fiction's most eminent Swiftian satirist was All the Lives He Led. While completing All the Lives He Led, Pohl began blogging in January 2009 on his Hugo Award–winning website The Way the Future Blogs. In celebration of his ninetieth birthday, his wife Betty prepared a Festschrift anthology, titled Gateways and published by Tor, which included new stories by old friends.
Michael R. Page
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039652
- eISBN:
- 9780252097744
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039652.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This book chronicles the work of Frederik Pohl, one of the leading figures in the field of science fiction (SF). Pohl's literary output spans nine decades from his poem “Elegy to a Dead Planet: ...
More
This book chronicles the work of Frederik Pohl, one of the leading figures in the field of science fiction (SF). Pohl's literary output spans nine decades from his poem “Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna,” published in 1937, to his final book, All the Lives He Led, and The Way the Future Blogs. In between he wrote novels, short stories, story collections, and nonfiction books; edited anthologies and SF magazine issues; and wrote countless essays, editorials, and reviews. The book examines how Pohl's publishing activity and his work as a literary agent in the late 1940s and early 1950s shaped the SF field. It also considers the role played by Pohl in the development of SF as a more or less respectable area of academic study and in the creation and development of SF fandom.Less
This book chronicles the work of Frederik Pohl, one of the leading figures in the field of science fiction (SF). Pohl's literary output spans nine decades from his poem “Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna,” published in 1937, to his final book, All the Lives He Led, and The Way the Future Blogs. In between he wrote novels, short stories, story collections, and nonfiction books; edited anthologies and SF magazine issues; and wrote countless essays, editorials, and reviews. The book examines how Pohl's publishing activity and his work as a literary agent in the late 1940s and early 1950s shaped the SF field. It also considers the role played by Pohl in the development of SF as a more or less respectable area of academic study and in the creation and development of SF fandom.
Michael R. Page
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039652
- eISBN:
- 9780252097744
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
One of science fiction's undisputed grandmasters, Frederik Pohl built an astonishing career that spanned more than seven decades. In publishing novels, short stories, and essays, Pohl won millions of ...
More
One of science fiction's undisputed grandmasters, Frederik Pohl built an astonishing career that spanned more than seven decades. In publishing novels, short stories, and essays, Pohl won millions of readers and seemingly as many awards while leaving a lasting mark on the genre. This book traces Pohl's extraordinary journey from discovering books as a boy at the Brooklyn Public Library to publishing the novel All the Lives He Led at age 91. A first-of-its-kind study, the book delves into the iconic works of fiction like The Space Merchants, Jem, and the tales of the Gateway universe, as well as Pohl's creative alliances with the likes of C. M. Kornbluth, Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov. But the book also examines Pohl's as-essential contributions in other areas. He represented many of the major science fiction writers as a literary agent in the 1940s and 1950s. He helped professionalize the field by midwifing science fiction publishing at Ballantine and Ace Books. Finally, while working at Galaxy and If, he aided countless careers as, in Gardner Dozois' words, “quite probably the best SF magazine editor who ever lived.”Less
One of science fiction's undisputed grandmasters, Frederik Pohl built an astonishing career that spanned more than seven decades. In publishing novels, short stories, and essays, Pohl won millions of readers and seemingly as many awards while leaving a lasting mark on the genre. This book traces Pohl's extraordinary journey from discovering books as a boy at the Brooklyn Public Library to publishing the novel All the Lives He Led at age 91. A first-of-its-kind study, the book delves into the iconic works of fiction like The Space Merchants, Jem, and the tales of the Gateway universe, as well as Pohl's creative alliances with the likes of C. M. Kornbluth, Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov. But the book also examines Pohl's as-essential contributions in other areas. He represented many of the major science fiction writers as a literary agent in the 1940s and 1950s. He helped professionalize the field by midwifing science fiction publishing at Ballantine and Ace Books. Finally, while working at Galaxy and If, he aided countless careers as, in Gardner Dozois' words, “quite probably the best SF magazine editor who ever lived.”
