Tag Archives: Jack Williamson

Jack Williamson, Master of Science Fiction

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I’m writing this on April 29. It’s the birthday of Jack Williamson (1908-2006). Williamson was one of the first sceince fiction writers I read in middle school when I was transitioning from the kid’s section in the library to the adult section. I found a copy of The Best of Jack Williamson at the flea market in Wichita Falls for a quarter. The cover had been ripped off.

I didn’t realize at the time that it was a stolen book. Bookstores stripped the covers off books when they took them off they sent the covers back to the publisher for credit and supposedly pulped the books. As far as I know, this is still the practice. Some unscrupulous boosellers would then sell the stripped copies, which the publishers consider to be theft.

But I digress. I was blown Continue reading →

Jack Williamson

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Jack Williamson (1908-2006) was born on April 29, which would be etoday as I’m writing this. I wasn’t able to go to the Williamson Lectureship in Portales this year. Instead of living two hours away, it’s more like five. Plus, I didn’t have the cash or the time off from work.

Maybe next year.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in reading some Williamson and singing his praises (figuratively, not literally, nobody wants to hear that) here on the blog. Aplogies if I’ve said some of this before in previous posts.

Jack Williamson was born in Bisbee in Arizona Territory. Yes, kiddies, before Arizona was a state. He came to New Mexico, if I recall correctly, in a covered wagon. He sold his first story, “The Metal Man”, to Amazing Stories in 1928. He was still writing into the 2000s. I don’t know if he was workiing on anything at the time of his death. Stephen Haffner, if you read this and know the answer to that question, please let us know in the comments. Thanks. Continue reading →

A Belated Report on the 2022 Jack Williamson Lectureship

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Things have been crazy this past month, and I’ve been too busy with other projects and/or just wiped out to get this up sooner.

COVID killed the lectureship in 2020. Last year’s was all online. That was better than nothing, but everyone agreed it was less than satisfactory. Fortunately, this year’s event was held in person. It was good to be back in Portales again. I’d attended in 2018 and 2019 and had a fantastic time. Continue reading →

A Trio of Birthdays

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As I write this, there are still a few hours left in April 29, at least in this time zone. Final exams start a week from today, and between trying to get my classes ready and dealing with emails from students who are suddenly concerned about bad lab grades they received months ago (and mostly didn’t bother to read the lab syllabus), I’ve not had time to read anything by these gentlemen. So no close look at any work by these guys. Just a shout-out to bring them some recognition. So in order of their births, here are: Continue reading →

Jack Williamson’s Eleventy-First Birthday

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Jack Williamson

There are a number of birthdays today that I could write about, but I want to focus on three, in no other order than their importance to me.

Legendary science fiction and fantasy author Jack Williamson was born 111 years ago today.  That would be April 29, 1908.  He passed away in 2006.

Williamson got his start in the pulps in the late 1920s with his first story, “The Metal Man”, being published in Amazing Stories.  His final novel, The Stonehenge Gate, was published in 2005.

My project to read and compare the magazine and book versions of Darker Than You Think got sidetracked last year.  I’ll try to get it restarted in the summer.

I’ve written about Williamson’s impact on me several times before, so I’ll keep my comments short.  I came across a stripped copy of The Best of Jack Williamson for a quarter at the flea market in Wichita Falls, Texas, when I was in the seventh grade.  (Stripped means the cover had been stripped off and the book had been reported to the publisher as having been pulped.  It was stolen, IOW, although I didn’t know that then.)  My favorite story in the collection at the time, and still a favorite today, is “With Folded Hands”.  It’s a chilling story about robots who protect us from ourselves, whether we want them to or not.  If you haven’t read it, it’s worth tracking down a copy. Continue reading →

A Visit to the Jack Williamson Lectureship

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Jack Williamson and Your Intrepid Blogger gazing into the future.

Last Friday I made a trek to the Jack Williamson Lectureship at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.  Even though the GoH wasn’t someone I was familiar with (film maker Alex Rivera), I wanted to make sure I went this year.  I’d had an interview at a different university the previous week and felt I had a good shot at the position.  (I learned a few days ago the dean and the provost decided not to fill the position but to split it into two positions next year.Oh, well.  I’m under no pressure to leave where I’m at.  The other position would have put me closer to family, which was the main reason I applied.) Continue reading →

A Visit to the Jack Williamson Lectureship

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So last Friday, April 6, I decided to play hookey take a personal day from work and attend the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales, NM. This was the 42nd annual Lectureship.  Jack Williamson was a Professor of English at Eastern New Mexico University.  The Lectureship was established in 1977, when he retired.

I had always wanted to go, especially since I moved out to this part of Texas.  Portales is just under two hours from my house. I needed the break, so I went.

Boy, am I glad I did. I didn’t realize until i got there just how badly I needed the getaway.  It was like visiting a home I hadn’t realized existed and being united with family I never knew I had.  I will be returning next year.  By the time I left for home, the Williamson Lectureship became second only to Howard Days on my calendar.  (Those who know me will understand the significance of that statement.)

I’d like to thank Betty Williamson, Jack’s niece, for her hospitality and generosity during my visit.  Betty oversees the Lectureship and has done a remarkable job of keeping Jack Williamson’s legacy alive.  Jack was one of the most original and innovative science fiction writers of all time, and much of his work is sadly unavailable these days outside of second hand bookstores. Continue reading →

Jack Williamson’s “Wolves of Darkness”

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“Wolves of Darkness” was published in Strange Tales, probably the most successful of the rivals of Weird Tales, in January 1932.  As you can see, it got the cover.

I read the story years ago, when I was either in high school or an undergraduate.  I was expecting it to be an early version of Williamson’s novel Darker Than You Think.  It’s not. While both deal with lycanthropy, they are very different stories. I remember I enjoyed the story and that it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting. Other than that, I didn’t recall any of the plot when I sat down to reread the story the other day.

The first two things I mentioned above, I enjoyed it and it wasn’t what I was expecting, were still true. While lycanthropy is a theme, this horror tale is more grounded in science fiction than the supernatural. Continue reading →