Roger Elwood and Me (Part 1)

Phoenix rooster and hen by Anjwalker is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Resized from original

In the 1960s a character named Roger Elwood appeared on the SF scene. He had an uncanny ability to convince publishers, including several that until then had shown little interest in the genre, that they could make money publishing original anthologies. And during the next 20 years, Elwood became the dominant anthologist of his time. Then he moved into novels, persuading romance publisher Harlequin to publish a series of original paperback SF novels, all in the same basic format and with usually excellent covers by the late great Kelly Freas.

I don't remember how I first came to submit a story to Elwood; probably he called and asked me to contribute to some pre-sold anthology. But he liked my work, and during the seventies I sold him half-a-dozen stories, each time on request for an original, usually themed, anthology. Elwood paid advances at about the same rate as the better SF magazines, with the possibility of royalty payments if the books sold well (and I did get a few small royalty checks).

According to the reviews and fan critiques of the time, these anthologies varied greatly in quality. I always read all the stories in the ones in which I appeared, but no others; just didn't have the free time. I'm happy to say I thought all those I read were at least good, with some bordering on excellent.  For example:

My story "The Birdlover" appeared in SHOWCASE in 1973. The collection also featured stories by Robert Silverberg, Barry Malzberg, Joe Haldeman, Carol Emshwiller, Gene Wolfe, Joanna Russ, Ray Lafferty and Ben Bova, among others. Elwood had accepted "The Birdlover" with considerable trepidation. But he had asked for it, and so published it without attempting any sort of censorship.  (The story contains no strong language or explicit sex; the controversy stemmed from the basic theme, dominance of a hapless human by an intelligent avian species using sex as a control mechanism.) "The Birdlover" became my most noticed, talked-about (perhaps 'notorious' would serve here) story to that time.

Not that long after SHOWCASE saw print, I was a guest at a Con in Tennessee. At the first dinner Andy Offutt, serving as MC, introduced the 'notables' present. When he got to me Andy said, "And here's my . . . my friend from Florida, Joe Green!"  But I had noticed the hesitation, so as soon as I could I cornered Andy and asked him what he had omitted. Andy replied, "I was going to say, 'And here's my chicken-fuckin' friend from Florida!' But I lost my nerve at the last minute and couldn't say it."

Another of my stories featuring human/alien sex, "Encounter With A Carnivore", appeared in EPOCH in 1975, a massive anthology Elwood co-edited with Robert Silverberg.  I learned later in conversation with Bob Silverberg that he, not Elwood, had selected my story; had, in fact, chosen most if not all the contents. This one included stories by, among others, Lafferty, Malzberg, Wilhelm, R.R. Martin, LeGuin, Pohl, Niven, Aldiss, Simak, Benford and Russ, as well as a short novel by Vance. In my not too humble opinion, EPOCH remains one of the best original anthologies ever published.

The 'Elwood Period' also saw the demise of some fine original series, Silverberg's NEW DIMENSIONS and Damon Knight's ORBIT among them. Some fans and critics laid much of the blame on Elwood, for overselling the market and causing losses on his and other anthologies at many publishing houses.

Elwood also had some personality quirks and apparently sincere beliefs, including devout Christianity, that he let creep into his work. While I never had any problems with attempted censorship, other writers did, and reported same. When the serious attacks on Elwood began, accusing him of being a prude, a censor, a religious bigot, etc., he defended himself thusly: "Whaddaya mean I'm a prude and a bigot! I published Joe Green's 'The Birdlover!'"

(to be continued...)

Why It's Hard To Write SF Today

In late 2013 IBM published an article featuring some interesting forecasts on learning in the future, and other speculations.

If one or all of these come true, they will strongly affect each of us individually, and society as a whole. IBM also says the communications technology gap between developed and undeveloped countries will narrow, with many benefits and some drawbacks for western societies. The fact that cell phones and smart phones are becoming ubiquitous in countries normally thought of as still 'developing' serves as a prime example.

These highly likely upcoming changes make writing realistic and believable science fiction, particularly in the short forms, very difficult. If you ignore all these highly probable changes in stories set in the near future, you are being unfaithful to a basic premise of SF. If you pick winners and losers, and write your story incorporating the results of these choices, half your wordage will be needed to explain the changes and make them seem believable. The result may be good SF, but likely a dull story. And ten years later you'll learn you were wrong anyway.

Starting in the 1930's with Doc Smith, Robert Heinlein, Edmond Hamilton and others, far-future GIGANTIC! science fiction gained popularity. These writers, and those that followed them right up to the present, think nothing of expanding the Roman Empire to galactic dimensions, smashing stars if the local denizens irritate you, or traveling backward in time to see the "big bang" for yourself if your first-choice vacation plans for this year don't work out. These far-flung vistas captured and enthralled teen-age minds everywhere (including mine) for over half a century. And SF was the only place to find them.
Today I turn on my TV and go to the "Science Channel". It features several fine programs, but a favorite is "Through The Wormhole" with Morgan Freeman. In a resonant baritone this excellent speaker (and equally fine actor) conducts you through realms of speculation that would make John W. Campbell reach for the aspirin box, and A.E. van Vogt sit up and say "Why didn't I think of that!" With clear explanations and helpful graphics, this program unabashedly tackles such subjects as alternate dimensions, dark energy and dark matter, the birth and coming death of the whole damn universe, as well as more mundane and immediate subjects such the robots taking over tomorrow  (to discover as usual that they don't really need us any more), and the consequences of everyone living to a healthy 200 (I'm for that!).

I've been writing and selling SF for over half a century now (and am still writing and selling). I had already lost interest in writing the 'Big SF' story before weekly TV exceeded my most far-out speculations, while calling it 'science' and not fiction. And the future is rushing toward us so fast that speculation may become reality between acceptance and printing, and readers think the story shoulda' appeared in "Popular Mechanics" instead of "Analog" or "Asimov's".

Many former primarily SF writers have turned to writing fantasy. Think I'll go there myself (in fact, under one of my pseudonyms, I already have).