Tag Archives: birthday

Rembering Merritt

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Today is January 20, which means it’s the birthday of Abraham Merritt (1884-1943).

Merrit isn’t as well known as he once was, and certainly not as well as he should be. He was a pioneer in the fantasy genre. He once had a fantasy pulp named after him. He was an influence on a number of writers, including Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, and Edmond Hamilton.

Most of his work was at novel length with only enough short fiction to fill a small collection. Part of the reason he didn’t write more was because he was a magazine editor.

I’ve been slammed today, so I haven’t had a chance to read anything he wrote. But I didn’t want this day to past without a post in his honor.

Honoring Poe

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Today, January 19, is the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).

One of the forerunners of gothic, weird, and horror fiction, Poe also wrote early detective and science fiction stories.

His writing style might be a bit challenging to modern readers, but he is worth the work and effort. His influence his still being felt today. Lovecraft and Bradbury both list him among the writers they admired.  Richard Matheson adapted a number of his stories to screenplays that were filmed by Roger Corman. Vincent Price stared in most if not all of them.

A numbre of years ago, i reviewed a book with  the title In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe. The premise of the book was that a number of writers who followed in his footsteps have been forgotten because they worked in his shadow. While the premise might be accurate, and the anthology was definitely worth reading, it speaks to the power of Poe’s work.

Poe’s death is shrouded in mystery. I have several Poe biographies on the shelf. One of the reading projects for this year is to read at least one of them.

And to read more of his work. I’ve got  his collected works in audiobook. I’ll be dipping into it over the next semester as i drive back and forth to work.

What is your favorite Poe story, especially if it isn’t as well-known as some of the others? Let us know in the comments.

George Alec Effinger and Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson

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May 10, today as I’m writing this, is the birthday of George Alec Effinger (1947-2002). George was a regular at Armadillcon for a number of years back in the nineties. He was very easy to approach and talk to.

He has faded into obscurity these days. He wrote a handful of stand-alone novels, but one (Nightmare Blue) in collaboration with Gardner Dozois and one (The Red Tape War) in collaboration with Mike Resnick and Jack Chalker.

He was working a cyberpunk series featuring a character named Maurid Audran, who lived in an Arab ghetto called the Budayeen. He didn’t live to finish the series, but the three novels (start with When Gravity Fails) and the collection from Golden Gryphon press are worth seeking out.

But I want to highlight a series of short stories and novelettes Effinger wrote through the eighties and nineties. They were collected in Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson in 1993. another three stories were written later and not included in this volume. These were a series of tongue-in-cheek tales that palyed with the tropes of classic pulp adventure. Continue reading →

Algis Budrys

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Today, January 9, is the birthday of Algis Budrys (1931-2008). Budrys did most of  his writing in the 1950s and first half of the sixities. He wrote seven novels plus a composite novell, Michaelmas.

Budrys was intrumental in setablishing teh Writers of the Future Program and was a guidng figure there until his death. He was a regular attendee at Constoga for the last few years of his life. I met him several times at those conventions. At the time, he was working  as an agent.

Budrys wrote a substantial body of short fiction. Sadly, much of it was never collected, and most of what was is long out of print. He was a well-known writer in the late fifities and early sixties. His novels Who? and Rogue Moon were finalists for the Hugo Award in 1959 and 1961, respectively.

He is long overdue for a retrospective collection, but it probably isn’t going to happen. Not enough people know his work, and the financial return on such a project would probably make the project a money loser.

Ramsey Campbell

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I don’t normally do birthday posts for writers who are still living, but I do make the occasional exception. Ramsey Campbell (b. 1946) is eighty years old today (January 4).

Happy birthday, sir!

He began writing at an early age and was published while still in his teens. He’s been going for over six decades and shows no signs of stopping.

Ramsey is his middle name. His first name is John, but back in the 1960s, there was already a John Campell. I think going witht he middle name worked out well for him, don’t you?

He writes at all lenghts, from short stories to novels. He’s British, so not all of his work is available in the US, but some is.

So, Happy Birthday, Mr. Campbell. May you continue to write for many more years to come.

Tolkien on Audio

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Today, as I write this, it’s January 3, which means it’s the birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973). I  doubt I could say anything I haven’t said before. I’ve not read any Tolkien in a while, so that well has run a little dry.

But The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion are available in audiobook format. Given that I’m going to be spending a great deal of time in the car over the next few months, listening to them on audiobook would be a good way to pass the time. I’ve already downloaded The Silmarillion.

I’ve read The Lord of the Rings more than once. I’ve not read The Silmarillion yet.

I do think Tolkien is one of the greatest writers the English language has produced. He was from an earlier time, when pacing in stories was different. It was slower, and if the author did his or her job, more immersive than a lot of what is published today.

And there are times I want/need that kind of book.

I’m in the mood for the grand sweep of history, so I’m looking forwards to listening to The Simarillion, starting next week.  And shortly, I’ll be raising a glass in professor Tolkien’s memory.

Happy New Year, Plus Quinn and Manning

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Happy New Year, everyone.

It’s evening as I write this, and if you’ve watched the news today, you know it hasn’t started off well.

But I want to keep things positive and upbeat. So, I’ll wish each of you a Happy New Year.

I’ll give an end fo the year wrap-up on my writing progress tomorrow or the next day, plus lay out some goals for the year.

But since there are some birthdays today, I’ll look at a couple. Continue reading →