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2002 Tyler Travis |
http://www.travis-usa.com | Welcome Last Updated: May 5, 2002 |
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Damon Knight died on Monday, April 15 at a hospital
in Eugene, Oregon. He was 79 years old. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New York Times
April 17, 2002, Wednesday Mr. Knight was part of the first wave of literary-minded science fiction writers. Born in Baker, Ore., he moved to New York in the early 1940's and joined a group of budding writers called the Futurians. Their ranks included Isaac Asimov, Donald A. Wollheim and Frederick Pohl, who went on to be some of the most influential writers and editors in the field. Mr. Knight's memoir of the group, ''The Futurians,'' was published in 1977. In his writing, Mr. Knight played with the standard themes of science fiction: aliens, apocalyptic wars, robots and space. But his work stood out for its sharp wit. ''To Serve Man,'' first published in 1950 and faithfully adapted for ''The Twilight Zone'' in 1962, is a perfectly representative Damon Knight story, full of dark humor and wordplay. In it, a race of giant aliens appears on earth and promises to end hunger and war. But soon the aliens' guidebook, '' To Serve Man,'' is decoded, and found to be a cookbook -- the aliens mean to ''serve'' humans as food. The twist in the story's tail was ideal for ''The Twilight Zone,'' and the episode's closing scene, in which the aliens' cookbook stratagem is breathlessly revealed, is one of early television's classic moments. ''Not With a Bang,'' another story from 1950, is an Adam-and-Eve tale about the last man and woman alive after a war. While in the bathroom, the man has a heart attack and dies with the realization that the woman will never save him -- she's too prudish to intrude. Mr. Knight wrote 11 novels, often with elaborate concepts. His most recent, ''Humpty Dumpty: An Oval'' (Tor/Tom Doherty, 1996), has been interpreted as the last thoughts of a man who has just been shot in the head. He also edited many science fiction anthologies and publications, including Orbit, the original anthology series that ran from 1966 to 1980. Mr. Knight and his second wife, Kate Wilhelm, who is also a writer of science fiction and fantasy novels, taught for 27 years at the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, originally at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania and now at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Mr. Knight published his last book on the Internet, in 2000, an art history work called ''Will the Real Hieronymus Bosch Please Stand Up?'' (http://fictionwise.com/knight/). In addition to Ms. Wilhelm and their son, Jonathan Knight of Eugene, he is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Valerie Knight of Eugene, Christopher Knight of Los Angeles, and Leslie Knight of Portland, Ore.; two stepsons; and four grandchildren. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Los Angeles Times;
Damon Knight, an award-winning science fiction author, editor and literary critic who pioneered the
serious analysis of science fiction works, has died. He was 79.
Knight, whose short story "To Serve Man" was turned into a memorable episode of the TV series
"The Twilight Zone," died Monday of age-related causes in a hospital in Eugene, Ore., according
to family members.
"He was a fine writer and much appreciated and won several awards," said Patrick Nielsen Hayden,
who edited Knight's last two novels at Tor Books.
"But he was best known as a provocateur, an organizer, a critic and a teacher."
Hayden said Knight "was the first person to take the serious trouble of reviewing contemporary
science fiction and hold it up to the standards of intelligent mainstream fiction in various magazines
in the late '40s and early '50s."
The bulk of Knight's most important reviews were collected in a 1956 book, "In Search of Wonder:
Essays on Modern Science Fiction," which is still in print and is considered one of the important
works of science fiction criticism.
The same year the book came out, Knight won a Hugo Award at the World Science Fiction Convention
for best-science fiction criticism.
Knight also was known as a tireless organizer on behalf of fellow writers. In 1965, he founded
Science Fiction Writers of America, the professional advocacy group for science fiction and fantasy
writers, which sponsors the Nebula Awards.
In the mid 1950s, Knight, along with James Blish and Judith Merril, co-founded the Milford Science
Fiction Writers' Conference in Pennsylvania. That led to the highly regarded Clarion Science Fiction
and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, now held at Michigan State University.
For 27 years, Knight and his second wife, writer Kate Wilhelm, taught at the workshop, whose graduates
include Kim Stanley Robinson, Luscious Shepard and Vonda McIntyre.
"He taught thousands of people, either through Clarion or his book, 'Creating Short Fiction,'
which is a great primer for any fiction writer; it tells you everything," said Leslie What of
Eugene, a Nebula Award-winning author who first met Knight at the workshop in 1976 and became a
friend.
In recent years, she said, Knight taught writing workshops over the Internet. He and his wife
also conducted a monthly workshop in their home in Eugene.
"He was a tough critic as far as being a teacher and had very high expectations," What said.
To one Nebula Award-winning writer, Knight once said: "I don't know why you wrote this story.
I wish you hadn't."
"There are 36 ways to tell this story," he told another writer. "And all of them are disgusting."
Knight was born in Baker City, Ore. At 19, he hitchhiked to New York City, where he joined a writers'
group called the Futurians. Knight wrote about the group, whose members included Isaac Asimov,
Donald A. Wollheim and Frederik Pohl, in his 1977 memoir, "The Futurians."
While living in a cold-water flat in 1941, Knight sold his first short story. He went on to write
more than 100 short stories and 13 novels, beginning with "Hell's Pavement," published in 1955.
Knight's best-known short story is "To Serve Man," which was published in 1950 and turned into an
episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1962.
"In terms of his work and influence in the [science fiction] world, it's a minor but very good story,"
Hayden said.
The story deals with the arrival on Earth of giant aliens who promise to end hunger and war.
But their true intentions are made known when their guidebook, "To Serve Man," is finally decoded:
It's a cookbook.
Dark humor was an ongoing ingredient of Knight's fiction, Hayden said, "but there are other things
that can be said about his work."
"He had a wry but not entirely pessimistic view of human nature. I don't think anybody that works
that hard to get other people to do better work is fundamentally a pessimist."
Family members say Knight was especially proud of "To Serve Man." Last Christmas, he had the original
story printed on linen paper, encased it in a plastic spine, and gave signed and numbered copies to
17 family members.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Valerie Olney of Eugene and Leslie
Saulsbury of Portland; two sons, Chris Knight of Los Angeles and Jonathan Knight of Eugene;
two stepsons, Richard Wilhelm of Portland and Douglas Wilhelm of Hilton, N.Y.; and seven
grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held today at Musgrove Funeral Chapel, 1152 Olive St., in Eugene.
[Reference]
Message No: 27559
[Illustration]
Credit: TIMES STAFF WRITER
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