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The Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith

Karen L. Hellekson

ISBN 978-0-7864-1149-8
glossary, bibliography, index
166pp. softcover 2001

Description
This critical work concentrates on the science fiction writings of Paul Linebarger, who wrote under the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith, as well as other pseudonyms he created to reflect his different writing styles. His writings give voice to concerns about humanity and personal struggle; his ideas about love, loss, alienation, and psychic pain continue to resonate today.

This work begins with a brief biographical sketch of Cordwainer Smith, linking elements of his past to his writing and focusing on his contributions to science fiction as well as his concern with humanity. Also discussed are Smith’s published and unpublished novel-length non-science fiction, his revision process, the true man-underpeople dichotomy in his published and unpublished short fiction, and his only published novel-length science fiction work Norstrilia.

About the Author
Karen Hellekson is a freelance copy editor and independent scholar. She is coeditor of the open access journal Transformative Works and Cultures and of the quarterly SFRA Review. She lives in Maine. Craig B. Jacobsen teaches at Mesa Community College in Arizona. He is coeditor of the quarterly SFRA Review. Patrick B. Sharp is an associate professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He has written extensively on science fiction. Lisa Yaszek is associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her most recent work was on galactic suburbia.

Other Book(s) by Karen L. Hellekson Available from McFarland:

Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet

Practicing Science Fiction



Table of Contents & Excerpts

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