Clarion

Clarion #1

by Robin Scott Wilson (Editor / Contributor), Kate Wilhelm (Contributor), Damon Knight (Contributor)

An anthology of speculative fiction and criticism from the Clarion Writers' Workshop edited by Robin Scott Wilson featuring Samual R. Delany, Harlan Ellison, Damon Knight, Fritz Leiber, Frederik Pohl, Joanna Russ, Kare Wilhelm, Joe Wehrle, Jr. and including NAL Prizewinning stories by Robert Thurston, Gerard F. Conway and Steve Herbst--and more.

Contents:

Something Happens by Kate Wilhelm
What About Us Grils? by Mel Gilden
Only at Night by Vonda McIntyre
The Soft Blue Bunny Rabbit Story by Ed Bryant
Dreamers on the Barricades by Harlan Ellison
Wheels by Robert Thurston
Trouble Follows by Geo. Alec Effinger
The Game-Playing Literature by Frederik Pohl
Just Dead Enough by C. Davis Belcher
Sending the Very Best by Ed Bryant
Charting Utopia by Damon Knight
A Free Pass to the Carnival by Geo. Alec Effinger
The Beholder's Eye by Amy Hutton
Chains by Dave Skal
Fantasy: Many Mansions and Hovels by Fritz Leiber
Anaconda by Robert Thurston
Crossover by Octavia Estelle Butler
Norman: Friends and Other Strangers by Lynnda Stevenson
Reading Between the Words by Samuel R. Delany
Silent Hands by Gerard F. Conway
An Uneven Evening by Steve Herbst
The Inspector by Evelyn Lief
Genre by Joanna Russ
The Last Desperate Hour by Robert Thurston
"The Westfield Heights Mall Monster" by Geo. Alec Effinger
The Terrific Play of Forces Natural and Human by Robin Scott Wilson
Song from a Forgotten Hill by Glen Cook
The Secret by Maggie Nadler
The Bandemar by Joe Wehrle, Jr.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first of three anthologies showcasing and celebrating the Clarion science fiction writing workshops founded by Wilson, Damon Knight, and Kate Wilhelm that grew out of the famed Milford writing conferences. It's a nice mix of (mostly very) short stories by the students and essays by the instructors, who include Harlan Ellison, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, and Samuel R. Delany, as well as the aforementioned Knight, Wilhelm, and Wilson. The young writers include Ed Bryant, Vonda McIntyre, Mel Gilden, Glen Cook, Gerald F. Conway, Octavia Estelle Butler, Robert Thurston, and others, many of whom went on to have significant careers in the genre. My favorite is the trio of stories by George Alec Effinger.

[Edward Amato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of short SF stories especially appreciating it being a product of its time. Published in 1971 the term, "Can you dig it," was used several times. I really liked Frederk Pohl's chapter on the purpose of Sci Fi.

[Scott Golden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays from the instructors, and stories from the students, of the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop is a wonderful document for fans and writers, though of significantly less interest for a general readership. Also, while well-written, some of the stories are slight or (at this point in time) dated. Still, worth a read if you're a SF fan/writer.

[Ed]

ISFDB 7271.