Today, November 26, is Frederik Pohl’s birthday.

Pohl pretty much did everything in the field a person could do except art.  I’m not aware of him engaging in any visually artistic activities.  He was a fan (member of the Futurians), editor of both pulps and books, agent, and writer.

I grew up reading Pohl.  The Best of Frederik Pohl was one of the first books I bought when I joined the Science Fiction Book Club the summer before I started high school.  Most of his other collections were out of print at the time but easily available in second hand bookstores.  Ah, those were the days.

I always preferred Pohl’s short fiction to his novels, but he was excellent at all lengths.  If you haven’t read Gateway, you should.  I’ll raise a glass in his memory tonight and try to work in a short story if I can.