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Armorfiend

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
before 1950? Preferably well before ;)

They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
so inviting...

Thank you all very much!

GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)

JOHN McDONALD

unread,
Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
Try the following
Robert A. Heinlein - 1st published in 1939
Isaac Asimov - 1st published in 1939
John Campbell 1st published in 1936, also wrote as "Don A. Stuart"
Stanley Weinbaum - 1st published in 1938
Hope these names help. When is the paper due? With more information I can
probably suggest some sources for you.
John

Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...

rcgreen

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
Armorfiend wrote:
>
> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>
> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> so inviting...

If all thier publishing has to be before 1950, I can't help. Otherwise,
go with Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell and Robert Heinlein.

> Thank you all very much!
>
> GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)

--
rcg...@esl.tamu.edu

Wombat Woman

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
The nefarious Armorfiend spake thusly:

>
> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>
> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> so inviting...
>
> Thank you all very much!
>
> GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)

I recommend "Science Fiction in the 20th Century" by Edward James (ISBN
0192892444)(copyright 1994), a reasonably concise book covering the
evolution of sci-fi authors from 1895 on. He's pretty good about
listing the nationality of the various authors. Also try (title
approximate) the "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction," a (if memory serves)
dark blue, Oxford English Dictionary-sized tome with lots of useful info
in it. Our local Borders usually has it on the shelf at any given time.

I just checked my copy of James' book; it has a selected bibliography in
the back. Here goes:

Jack London: "The Iron Heel" (1907) "Scarlet Plague" (1915)
Hugo Gernsback: "Ralph 124C 41+" (1911)
Garrett P. Serviss: "The Second Deluge" (1912)
George Allen England: "Darkness & Dawn" (1914)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "Herland" (1917)
Edgar Rice Burroughs: 'A Princess of Mars' (1917)
Ray Cummings: "The Girl in the Golden Atom" (1922)
E.E. Smith: "The Skylark of Space" (1928)
Jack Williamson: 'The Metal Man' (1928)
John W. Campbell, jr: 'The Black Star Passes' (1930)
Nat Shachner: 'Ancestral Voices' (1933)
Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer: "When Worlds Collide" (1933)
Stanley G. Weinbaum: 'A Martian Odyssey' (1934)
H. P. Lovecraft: 'At the Mountains of Madness' (1936)
Lester del Rey: 'Helen O'Loy' (1938)
A.E. Van Vogt: 'Black Destroyer' (1939)
Robert Heinlein: 'The Roads Must Roll' (1940)
L. Ron Hubbard: "Final Blackout" (1940)
Henry Kuttner and C.L. Mooreis Padgett: 'Mimsy Were the Borogroves'
(1943)
Groff Conklin (ed.): "The Best of Science Fiction" (anthology 1946)
Judith Merril: 'That Only a Mother' (1948)
Everett Bleiler and T.E. Dikty (eds.): "The Best Science Fiction
Stories" (anthology 1949)
George Stewart: "Earth Abides" (1949)

James lists all of these folks as being US writers. It's worth trying
to find his book; he has an entire chapter titled "The Victory of
American SF" that might prove useful. I haven't read the book in a
while, but I do remember finding it interesting & pretty quick to read
through.

Good luck.

Wombat Woman

Armorfiend

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
cas...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
<snip>
rcg...@esl.tamu.edu wrote:
<snip>
Wombat Woman wrote:
<snip>
Kate Collins wrote:
<snip>
JOHN McDONALD wrote:
<snip>

Thank you all very very much! <:)
I'll now go familiarize myself with these authors <GGG>
The paper is going to be one (now that I can prove it can be _done_ <G>)
in which I argue that science fiction be included in the teaching of
American Literature <EGGG>

GTG (thanking everyone who helped)

Dwight E. Howell

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to

Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...
>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>
>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>so inviting...
>
>Thank you all very much!
>
>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)

You might check out E. E. "Doc" Smith and the Lensmen series.

I don't recall who wrote Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (sp) the guy who wrote Tarzan also turned out a ton of
the stuff. I know he was American.

I've read a bunch of it. Some of it very good fiction but that seems to be
about all the authors names that ring bells.

Wombat Woman

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to

Keep us updated. I for one would like to hear how it turns out.

Wombat Woman

Wombat Woman

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
Kate Collins wrote:

>
> On Mon, 26 Oct 1998 20:00:50 -0400, Wombat Woman <dawo...@icx.net>
> wrote:
>
> >The nefarious Armorfiend spake thusly:
> >>
> >> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> >> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> >> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
> >>
> >> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> >> so inviting...
> >>
> >> Thank you all very much!
> >>
> >> GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)

> >>---snip

> >
> >Good luck.
> >
> >Wombat Woman
>
> Well. I considered playing, but Wombat Woman's list was comprehensive
> enough that I am left without an author to stand on - other than
> perhaps Issac Asimov and some of the stable that Campbell sheparded in
> the '30's.
>
> K-----

<bows elaborately>
Why, thank you, Kate. But I must admit it's just a result of having too
much access to books.

Wombat Woman

(Don't send books. Send _bookshelves_.)

j.cresswell

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to

>Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...

>>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>>
>>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>>so inviting...
>>
>>Thank you all very much!
>>
>>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
>


From "the Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" ...great book..


I think these are American but some may not be. Title is their first
published story.

Murray Leinster (1919) 'The Runaway Skyscraper"
E.E. Smith (1928 publication) 'The Skylark of Space'
H.P. Lovecraft (1923) 'Dagon'
Edgar Rice Burroughs (1913) 'The Gods of Mars'
Hugo Gernsback (1911) 'Ralph 144C41+'
Phil Nowlan (1928) 'Armageddon 2419AD' (Buck Rodgers)
John W. Campbell (1930) 'Piracy Preferred'
Clifford D. Simak (1931) 'The World of the Red Sun'
Donald A Wollheim (1934) 'The Man From Ariel"
Jack Williamson (1934) 'The Legion of Space'
Forrest J. Ackerman (1936) 'Earth's Lucky Day'
Eric Frank Russel (1937) 'The Saga of Pelican West'
L. Sprague de Camp (1937) 'The Isolinguals'
Fredrik Pohl (1937) 'Elgy to a Dead Satellite: Luna' poem
Lester Del Ray (1938) 'The Faithful'
Henry Kuttner (1938) 'Hollywood on the Moon'
L. Ron Hubbard (1938) 'The Dangerous Dimension'
Isaac Asimov (1939) 'Marooned Off Vesta'
A.E. Van Vogt (1939) 'Black Destroyer'
Robert A. Heinlein (1939) 'Life-Line'
Froitz Leiber (1939) 'Two Sought Adventure'
Theodore Sturgeon (1939) 'Ether Breather'


Hope these help...

Jonathan C


The Offog

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Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/26/98
to
Perry wrote:

> Sorry but in the 20th century before
> 1950 most of the SF was space opera, it was what people were buying.

Hell, what do you think we're buying now? I, for one, enjoy it more.

DAN (Who's not ashamed of space opera.)

cas...@my-dejanews.com

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In article <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>,

Armorfiend <rmrf...@email.unc.edu> wrote:
> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>
> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> so inviting...

I guess that eliminates Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

Casey

>
> Thank you all very much!
>
> GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
>

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

Kate Collins

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
On Mon, 26 Oct 1998 20:00:50 -0400, Wombat Woman <dawo...@icx.net>
wrote:

>The nefarious Armorfiend spake thusly:
>>

>> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>>
>> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>> so inviting...
>>

>> Thank you all very much!
>>
>> GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
>

Perry

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
On Mon, 26 Oct 1998 19:22:21 -0600, "Dwight E. Howell"
<deo...@usit.net> wrote:

>
>Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...

>>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>>
>>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>>so inviting...
>>
>>Thank you all very much!
>>
>>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
>

>You might check out E. E. "Doc" Smith and the Lensmen series.
>
>I don't recall who wrote Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
>
>Edgar Rice Burroughs (sp) the guy who wrote Tarzan also turned out a ton of
>the stuff. I know he was American.
>
>I've read a bunch of it. Some of it very good fiction but that seems to be
>about all the authors names that ring bells.
>

was Edmund Hamilton an American? I allways thought so. Then there is
Lester Dent I think was his real name but he wrote before the 50's as
Kenneth Robeson (Doc Savage) Sorry but in the 20th century before


1950 most of the SF was space opera, it was what people were buying.

Perry


jti...@my-dejanews.com

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".

Good Luck.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

In article <36352C...@icx.net>,

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------

David G. Bell

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In article <363529B9...@email.unc.edu>
rmrf...@email.unc.edu "Armorfiend" writes:

> cas...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> <snip>
> rcg...@esl.tamu.edu wrote:
> <snip>
> Wombat Woman wrote:
> <snip>
> Kate Collins wrote:
> <snip>
> JOHN McDONALD wrote:
> <snip>
>
> Thank you all very very much! <:)
> I'll now go familiarize myself with these authors <GGG>
> The paper is going to be one (now that I can prove it can be _done_ <G>)
> in which I argue that science fiction be included in the teaching of
> American Literature <EGGG>

It is at least as valid a part of American Literature as the 'hard-
boiled' detective story and the western. And, like both of those, it
really exploded onto the scene as genre fiction, in the pulp magazines.
A lot of the authors listed might be dismissed on that ground. They
certainly didn't have the same sort of publishing history as H.G. Wells.

Another useful source for SF/literature is "Trillion Year Spree", which
has quite a bit of discussion of the literary nature of SF. Brian
Aldiss argues that SF is a mode, rather than a genre.


--
David G. Bell -- Farmer, SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.


Kate Collins

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
On Mon, 26 Oct 1998 23:42:10 -0500, The Offog <drc...@pitt.edu>
wrote:

>Perry wrote:
>
>> Sorry but in the 20th century before
>> 1950 most of the SF was space opera, it was what people were buying.
>

> Hell, what do you think we're buying now? I, for one, enjoy it more.
>
>DAN (Who's not ashamed of space opera.)
>
>

Yes, but you have elevated tastes. I think Armorfiend is going to
have a difficult "sell". You see, American Sci Fi / space opera is
not generally considered highbrow enough to teach in the Ivory Towers.

You see, while Doc Smith was addressing the questions of Good and
Evil, he neglected to do so in a fashion that made his message
obscure. Thus, he is not for the Hallowed Halls of Acadamia.

Do I sound slightly cynical? I have been looking over my daughter's
high school required reading and I am coming to understand why a lot
of our teens had rather play video games . . . Mike suggests that
school is trying to innoculate our children against "Reading for
Pleasure", since that has been known to stimulate thinking *gasp*

K---- in Black.

J. Baughman

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Armorfiend wrote in message <363529B9...@email.unc.edu>...

>cas...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
><snip>
>rcg...@esl.tamu.edu wrote:
><snip>
>Wombat Woman wrote:
><snip>
>Kate Collins wrote:
><snip>
>JOHN McDONALD wrote:
><snip>
>
>Thank you all very very much! <:)
>I'll now go familiarize myself with these authors <GGG>
>The paper is going to be one (now that I can prove it can be _done_ <G>)
>in which I argue that science fiction be included in the teaching of
>American Literature <EGGG>


I am *extremely* interested; please, definitely keep us informed.

Just as an offhand question, tho: What are you considering 'science
fiction'? Are you looking at strictly 'hard' science fiction (i.e. Asimov,
Heinlein, Campbell) or do you also plan to bring some of the fantasy/horror
elements into play (i.e. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch)? The
reason I ask is that you *might* be able to go all the way back to Poe as a
foundation for modern science fiction and fantasy in the US. And since Poe
is *already* taught in most American Lit classes, you have a basis for
including more science fiction.

Jennifer
--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress
depends on the unreasonable man."
--George Bernard Shaw

Remove the squid-headed one from my email address to reply.


Robert Sneddon

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In article <714gcr$8uh$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, jti...@my-dejanews.com
writes

>Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
>teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".

I think you meant Rudyard Kipling, Anglo-Indian and Nobel Laureate (but
not, unfortunately for the purposes of this thread, American).

--
To reply by email, send to nojay (at) public (period) antipope (dot) org

Robert Sneddon

Mary Creasey

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Kate Collins wrote:
> [snip...]

>
> Do I sound slightly cynical? I have been looking over my daughter's
> high school required reading and I am coming to understand why a lot
> of our teens had rather play video games . . . Mike suggests that
> school is trying to innoculate our children against "Reading for
> Pleasure", since that has been known to stimulate thinking *gasp*

Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?

(I remember getting to choose between _Huckleberry Finn_ and _House
of the Seven Gables_ for a book report [which I loathed--not the
reading, the writing]; I read both and chose HF.)

My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
he's been hitting Star Wars books.

Mary the Filker

Mary Creasey

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
j.cresswell wrote:
>
> >Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...
> >>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> >>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> >>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
> >>
> >>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> >>so inviting...
> >>
> >>Thank you all very much!
> >>
> >>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
> >
>

And of this list, some are still alive--Van Vogt,
Williamson, Pohl & Ackerman I know of for certain
(I saw Van Vogt at WorldCon).

Mary the Filker

aRJay

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In an article using recycled electrons j.cresswell wrote :-

>
>
>>Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...
>>>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>>>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>>>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>>>
>>>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>>>so inviting...
>>>
>>>Thank you all very much!
>>>
>>>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
>>
>
>
>From "the Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" ...great book..
>
>

Eric Frank Russell isn't valid he was British.


>Eric Frank Russel (1937) 'The Saga of Pelican West'

--
aRJay

jti...@my-dejanews.com

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In article <pdF9zNAt...@ibfs.demon.co.uk>,

You're absolutely right. There is a Mark Twain story though... which my brain
refuses to retrieve. Oh well.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

Chuck Fisher

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
aRJay wrote:

Off the top of my head...

Robert Heinlein
John W. Campbell
E. E. Smith
George O. Smith
Ron Hubbard (admittedly, his writing has improved since his death)

I believe the following wrote pre-1950 (I know the previous people did)

A. E. Van Vogt
Issac Asimov
Theodore Sturgeon
Ted Brown

No, I'm not actually old enough to remember this. But the U of Ky library was
apparently much more
likely to purchase SF back then...


David G. Bell

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
In article <714gcr$8uh$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com> jti...@my-dejanews.com writes:

> Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
> teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".

I thought that was Rudyard Kipling, with the sequel "As Easy As A.B.C.".
Was there another story with that title?

(Do a web search for "Forbidden Futures"--there's a role-playing game
which uses that setting.)

Bard Kesnit

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
On 27 Oct 1998 16:37:42 GMT, Mary Creasey <cre...@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

>Kate Collins wrote:
>> [snip...]
>>
>> Do I sound slightly cynical? I have been looking over my daughter's
>> high school required reading and I am coming to understand why a lot
>> of our teens had rather play video games . . . Mike suggests that
>> school is trying to innoculate our children against "Reading for
>> Pleasure", since that has been known to stimulate thinking *gasp*

That sounds familiar. I remember having a tough time finding
approved books for reports when I was in high school. I ended up going
on a "pseudo-utopia" kick. ("Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley,
"Animal Farm" and "1984" by George Orwell)

I agree that schools seem to be trying to make reading boring.
I thought Shakespeare was dull until I read "Taming of the Shrew" on
my own. I loved it, esp compared to what I had to read for school.
("Hamlet" was good. "Romeo and Juliet" and "Macbeth" weren't bad.
"Julius Ceaser" sucked.)


>My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
>school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
>he's been hitting Star Wars books.

Star Wars, eh? I've considered them, but deicded there were
too many! I didn't want to get trapped into The Series that Never
Ends. (I'm already in 2 of those!)

Emma Sapp Virginia Tech Chemical Engineering
Class of '99

"Female engineers become irresistable at the age of consent and remain
that way until thirty minutes after clinical death. Longer if it's a
warm day."
-- Scott Adams
"The Dilbert Principle"

Garmorn

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
>In article <pdF9zNAt...@ibfs.demon.co.uk>,
> Robert Sneddon <no...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:

wrote:>

>You're absolutely right. There is a Mark Twain story though... which my
>brain
>refuses to retrieve. Oh well.

Try the classic a Yanky in King Aurthors Court. I think that is the one you
want.

Garmorn
Remove Hillsore to repley my e-mail

Armorfiend

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Kate Collins wrote:
> Yes, but you have elevated tastes. I think Armorfiend is going to
> have a difficult "sell". You see, American Sci Fi / space opera is
> not generally considered highbrow enough to teach in the Ivory Towers.

That's okay, the teacher and I have had a dialogue about this running
for most of the semester... <G> I keep teasing her about how we haven't
seen any sci-fi yet...


>
> You see, while Doc Smith was addressing the questions of Good and
> Evil, he neglected to do so in a fashion that made his message
> obscure. Thus, he is not for the Hallowed Halls of Acadamia.

True. However, I think, as long as they have Good and Evil, I can
pontificate... Heck, it only has to be 6-8 pages... On a topic that I
_like_ I can churn that out in a few hours <EG>


>
> Do I sound slightly cynical? I have been looking over my daughter's
> high school required reading and I am coming to understand why a lot
> of our teens had rather play video games . . . Mike suggests that
> school is trying to innoculate our children against "Reading for
> Pleasure", since that has been known to stimulate thinking *gasp*

It could be, except that there's no faction of government large enough
to get that consistantly enforced, and the academia depends on students
as a source of future students...
>
> K---- in Black.
<G>

GTG

Armorfiend

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Mary Creasey wrote:
> Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?

Anything before 1950, as long as the author is american.
College... The class is American Literature. The book for the class is
the weighty Norton Anthology of American Literature... (1 volume
edition)


>
> (I remember getting to choose between _Huckleberry Finn_ and _House
> of the Seven Gables_ for a book report [which I loathed--not the
> reading, the writing]; I read both and chose HF.)

<G> Good for you :)


>
> My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
> school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
> he's been hitting Star Wars books.

Amazing! Good for him :)
>
> Mary the Filker
GTG (pleased to see that people are _reading_ <G> Too many of his
generation don't...)

Armorfiend

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Wombat Woman wrote:
> Keep us updated. I for one would like to hear how it turns out.

Sure thing! <:) This is one paper that I'm going to get an early start
on <G>
>
> Wombat Woman
Also, thanks to all the others that I didn't mention earlier; thank you
all for your help :)

GTG (going to go rustle up some books, now <GGG>)

Jim Quinn

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Oct 27, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/27/98
to
Don't forget one of my favorites James H. Schmitz who wrote the Telzey Amberdon
novesls. Also Andre Norton has got to be somewhere in the 50's as well as
Philip K Dick.

Mary Creasey wrote:

> j.cresswell wrote:
> >
> > >Armorfiend wrote in message <3634E1F5...@email.unc.edu>...
> > >>If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
> > >>project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
> > >>before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
> > >>
> > >>They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
> > >>so inviting...
> > >>
> > >>Thank you all very much!
> > >>
> > >>GTG (hopes that he can find at least three authors, to write a paper on)
> > >
> >
> > From "the Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" ...great book..
> >

> > I think these are American but some may not be. Title is their first
> > published story.
> >
> > Murray Leinster (1919) 'The Runaway Skyscraper"
> > E.E. Smith (1928 publication) 'The Skylark of Space'
> > H.P. Lovecraft (1923) 'Dagon'
> > Edgar Rice Burroughs (1913) 'The Gods of Mars'
> > Hugo Gernsback (1911) 'Ralph 144C41+'
> > Phil Nowlan (1928) 'Armageddon 2419AD' (Buck Rodgers)
> > John W. Campbell (1930) 'Piracy Preferred'
> > Clifford D. Simak (1931) 'The World of the Red Sun'
> > Donald A Wollheim (1934) 'The Man From Ariel"
> > Jack Williamson (1934) 'The Legion of Space'
> > Forrest J. Ackerman (1936) 'Earth's Lucky Day'

> > Eric Frank Russel (1937) 'The Saga of Pelican West'

Gwynedd

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
>My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
>school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
>he's been hitting Star Wars books.
>

A friend's 14 yr old daughter brought home a summer "reading" list that
consisted entirely of movies.

--
Gwynedd

mike weber

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
"j.cresswell" <jcre...@netrover.com> is alleged to have said, on Mon,
26 Oct 1998 23:30:31 -0000,
:

>I think these are American but some may not be. Title is their first
>published story.
>

>Eric Frank Russel (1937) 'The Saga of Pelican West'

Russell was british, but wrote in a cnsciously "American"
breezy/tough-guy manner.

--
"History doesn't always repeat itself... sometimes it just
screams 'Why don't you listen when I'm talkingto you?' and
lets fly with a club." JWC,Jr.
<mike weber> <emsh...@aol.com>

mike weber

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
rcgreen <rcg...@esl.tamu.edu> is alleged to have said, on Mon, 26 Oct
1998 16:13:26 -0800,
:

>Armorfiend wrote:
>>
>> If nobody minds, I was hoping you could all help me for an English
>> project... Does anybody know of american sci-fi authors who published
>> before 1950? Preferably well before ;)
>>
>> They do have to be american, though... <sigh> And HG Wells was looking
>> so inviting...
>
>If all thier publishing has to be before 1950, I can't help. Otherwise,
>go with Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell and Robert Heinlein.

>
>> Thank you all very much!

All of whom were first published in the 30's.

mike weber

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
jti...@my-dejanews.com is alleged to have said, on Tue, 27 Oct 1998
13:04:27 GMT,
:
>Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
>teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".
>

Isn't that Kipling?

The Offog

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Armorfiend wrote:

> Mary Creasey wrote:
> > Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?
>
> Anything before 1950, as long as the author is american.
> College... The class is American Literature. The book for the class is
> the weighty Norton Anthology of American Literature... (1 volume
> edition)

Hell, I had that class and (surprise!) that book. We didn't get to
read/write about anything outside of it, though. Does the Puritan stuff
give you as many giggle-fits as it did me? (Yes, I'm ashamed to admit
that I have been known to giggle, from time to time.)

DAN (Who's going to go hide in a corner now and work on being Manly and
Not Giggling.)


Garmorn

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
>
>Mary Creasey wrote:
>> Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?
>
>Anything before 1950, as long as the author is american.
>College... The class is American Literature. The book for the class is
>the weighty Norton Anthology of American Literature... (1 volume
>edition)
>>
>> (I remember getting to choose between _Huckleberry Finn_ and _House
>> of the Seven Gables_ for a book report [which I loathed--not the
>> reading, the writing]; I read both and chose HF.)
>
><G> Good for you :)
>>
>> My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
>> school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
>> he's been hitting Star Wars books.
>
>Amazing! Good for him :)
>>
>> Mary the Filker
>GTG (pleased to see that people are _reading_ <G> Too many of his
>generation don't...)
>

I hope the schools in my area are not that bad. My daughter would be hoping
mad. She is 14 and reading the ALL of the Heralds of Valdarmer books, DW and
any thing else she can get out of our room.

Having to read the books would make her feel like a baby, and she complains
enough about how stuiped school is already.

Kevin Dow

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
mike weber wrote:
>
> jti...@my-dejanews.com is alleged to have said, on Tue, 27 Oct 1998
> 13:04:27 GMT,
> :
> >Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
> >teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".
> >
>
> Isn't that Kipling?

I dunno, never seen him Kiple before.

--
Kevin Dow -- Kd...@home.com
We know what you want, We know what you need, We *know* where you live.
-The Cable Company

Robert Sneddon

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
In article <19981027184603...@ng73.aol.com>, Garmorn
<gar...@aol.comHillsore> writes

>>In article <pdF9zNAt...@ibfs.demon.co.uk>,
>> Robert Sneddon <no...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>wrote:>
>
>>You're absolutely right. There is a Mark Twain story though... which my
>>brain
>>refuses to retrieve. Oh well.
>
>Try the classic a Yanky in King Aurthors Court. I think that is the one you
>want.

There is also Twain's "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven", which is
a sort-of fantasy. The new Robin Williams movie brought it to mind
recently, but Twain's Heaven is a much funnier place...

Another (and in my opinion, overlooked) American SF author who
published in the Thirties is Stanley G. Weinbaum. He died of cancer
before publishing a large number of works, but he was inventive and
literate. Isaac Asimov reckoned he would have been one of the Greats if
he had lived.

Robert Sneddon

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
In article <363674E3...@email.unc.edu>, Armorfiend
<rmrf...@email.unc.edu> writes

>Mary Creasey wrote:
>> Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?
>
>Anything before 1950, as long as the author is american.
>College... The class is American Literature. The book for the class is
>the weighty Norton Anthology of American Literature... (1 volume
>edition)

Urrrgh. It has been said that the editor of the Norton Anthology
(Ursula K. Le Guin) had an axe to grind wrt the selection of the stories
in that book, given it was aimed squarely at high school English
classrooms.

There are several other (non-school targeted) anthologies out there
that might be good for a contrast-and-compare exercise. Anything that
mentions "The Golden Age" might be worth a look.

Armorfiend

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
The Offog wrote:
> Hell, I had that class and (surprise!) that book. We didn't get to
> read/write about anything outside of it, though. Does the Puritan stuff
> give you as many giggle-fits as it did me? (Yes, I'm ashamed to admit
> that I have been known to giggle, from time to time.)

Hey, nifty! What version?

Whenever I read a lot of their stuff, I get the feeling that they need
to be infested with practical jokers...


>
> DAN (Who's going to go hide in a corner now and work on being Manly and
> Not Giggling.)

GTG (snickers at the Puritans, instead)

Linda

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Armorfiend wrote:
>
> Mary Creasey wrote:
> > Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?
>
> Anything before 1950, as long as the author is american.
> College... The class is American Literature. The book for the class is
> the weighty Norton Anthology of American Literature... (1 volume
> edition)
-snip-

Armorfiend, if you are in anything over 7th grade, I'm gonna start
crying! I thought my schools were bad, but that was the assigned book
for my 7th grade reading class (circa 1975). I read it in class the
first week of school, then spent the rest of the year hiding my library
books in it so I could read good stuff (at the time, Tolkien!). Good
luck on your book report.

-Linda

Armorfiend

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Garmorn wrote:
> I hope the schools in my area are not that bad. My daughter would be hoping
> mad. She is 14 and reading the ALL of the Heralds of Valdarmer books, DW and
> any thing else she can get out of our room.

<GGG> I wouldn't know about the schools, I was home-schooled. I refer to
those folks I talk to, and they say that they don't really like to read,
etc.


>
> Having to read the books would make her feel like a baby, and she complains
> enough about how stuiped school is already.

;D
>
> Garmorn

GTG

Armorfiend

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Robert Sneddon wrote:
> Urrrgh. It has been said that the editor of the Norton Anthology
> (Ursula K. Le Guin) had an axe to grind wrt the selection of the stories
> in that book, given it was aimed squarely at high school English
> classrooms.

Hmm... If it was for high schools, then why'm I using it in college?


>
> There are several other (non-school targeted) anthologies out there
> that might be good for a contrast-and-compare exercise. Anything that
> mentions "The Golden Age" might be worth a look.

<G> Okay, I'll add it to the extensive list...


>
> --
> To reply by email, send to nojay (at) public (period) antipope (dot) org
>
> Robert Sneddon

GTG

Armorfiend

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Linda wrote:
> Armorfiend, if you are in anything over 7th grade, I'm gonna start
> crying! I thought my schools were bad, but that was the assigned book
> for my 7th grade reading class (circa 1975). I read it in class the
> first week of school, then spent the rest of the year hiding my library
> books in it so I could read good stuff (at the time, Tolkien!). Good
> luck on your book report.
>
> -Linda

Calm, calm... This is the fourth edition, copyright 1995. 2663 pages of
published works. Okay, I suppose, on a good day, I could read the whole
thing, but I do _not_ want to... I wouldn't want to read it in a week, I
can't imagine how you managed it <G>

GTG (in college)

Mary Creasey

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
mike weber wrote:
>
> jti...@my-dejanews.com is alleged to have said, on Tue, 27 Oct 1998
> 13:04:27 GMT,
> :
> >Woof! Fast response. I didn't even have time to put in my favorite English
> >teacher pleaser, Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) "With the Night Mail".
> >
>
> Isn't that Kipling?

Yes, it is, and it's one of the Kipling works that qualifies
him as an SF author (the other one being "As Easy As A.B.C.").
From that latter work comes the poem "MacDonough's Hymn".

Mary the Filker
(who Kipples fairly often, thank you)

The Offog

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
Armorfiend wrote:

> Hey, nifty! What version?

Hell if I can remember; I've done my best to block it out. (And it was
about 2 years ago.)


> Whenever I read a lot of their stuff, I get the feeling that they need
> to be infested with practical jokers...

Man, you should've seen some of the papers I wrote in that class...my prof
didn't know whether to giggle with me (he was a 70ish year old codger) or
Glare Sternly in reproof.


> GTG (snickers at the Puritans, instead)

I was too busy being sarcastic to take the time to snicker. (Which is why
I had to resort to giggling; it's easier and requires less CPU cycles.)

DAN (Who's disappearing back into this milk carton and bag o' cookies.)


Armorfiend

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
The Offog wrote:
> Hell if I can remember; I've done my best to block it out. (And it was
> about 2 years ago.)

Ahh... I see <GGG>


>
> Man, you should've seen some of the papers I wrote in that class...my prof
> didn't know whether to giggle with me (he was a 70ish year old codger) or
> Glare Sternly in reproof.

<LOL> What sorts of papers were they? Spoofs?


>
> I was too busy being sarcastic to take the time to snicker. (Which is why
> I had to resort to giggling; it's easier and requires less CPU cycles.)

<LOL>


>
> DAN (Who's disappearing back into this milk carton and bag o' cookies.)

GTG (laughing, imagining DAN giggling sarcastically at the puritans)

Kate Collins

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Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
On 27 Oct 1998 16:37:42 GMT, Mary Creasey <cre...@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:


>Curious--what is on the list, and what grade level?
>

>(I remember getting to choose between _Huckleberry Finn_ and _House
>of the Seven Gables_ for a book report [which I loathed--not the
>reading, the writing]; I read both and chose HF.)
>

>My teenager (16, 10th grade) is allowed to read anything for his
>school's silent-reading period (about 15-20 minutes every morning);
>he's been hitting Star Wars books.
>

>Mary the Filker

Mary - and Group -

Sorry to be so long getting back to my reply, but RL - and other
things - has kept me entertained for the past few days.

To be honest, I don't remember now what all was on my daughter's
reading list - I just remember that none of the choices filled me with
excitement and few were those that I remember reading with any
enjoyment. She is in 11th grade English (long story relating to
age/grade level/class levels) and, if I recall correctly, the body of
the semister is devoted to Hawthorne - the only one of whose books I
actually enjoyed was House of Seven Gables. She does not have an
offical "silent-reading" period at school.

However, in defense of my kid, I will say that she reads every chance
she gets. And she still wanders in and asks me to recommend things,
so I know her reading is as varied as I could wish.

The kids I feel sorry for are those whose parents are either not
involved enough to encourage them to read outside the required and
those whose parents do not read. Because where do they get exposed to
the idea that "Reading is Fun!"?

K---- (sadly)

The Offog

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Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
Armorfiend wrote:

> <LOL> What sorts of papers were they? Spoofs?

Sorta/kinda. I just did my best to be a smartass and flay long, bloody strips
from Puritanical thought. (Something comes to mind about the inhumanity of the
Primer and how it was no wonder Puritans were the way they were if they scarred
their children at such a tender age with their teaching materials.)

DAN (Who shoulda gotten up sooner, since he's going to have to abandon the group
for class before he catches up.)


Armorfiend

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Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
The Offog wrote:
>
> Sorta/kinda. I just did my best to be a smartass and flay long, bloody strips
> from Puritanical thought. (Something comes to mind about the inhumanity of the
> Primer and how it was no wonder Puritans were the way they were if they scarred
> their children at such a tender age with their teaching materials.)
>
> DAN (Who shoulda gotten up sooner, since he's going to have to abandon the group
> for class before he catches up.)
<GGG> Ahh.. The teacher brought in a selection from a primer one day...
The alphabet was a treat:

A In _Adam's_ Fall We Sinned All
B Thy Life to Mend This _Book_ Attend
C The _Cat_ doth play And after slay
D A _Dog_ will bite a Thief at night
...
F The Idle _Fool_ Is whipt at School
G As runs the _Glass_ Man's life doth pass
H My _Book_ and _Heart_ Shall never part
J _Job_ feels the Rod Yet blesses GOD
... etc.
Can anyone here say, "Extensive psychological scarring?"

GTG

The Offog

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Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98