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New Dreams This Morning
Cover art by Richard Powers. This anthology contains: A Master of Babylon by Edgar Pangborn; A Man of Talent by Robert Silverberg; With These Hands by C. M. Kornbluth; The Country of the Kind by Damon Knight; Portrait of the Artist by Harry Harrison; Dreaming is a Private Thing by Isaac Asimov; and A Work of Art; and The Dark Night of the Soul by James Blish.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
51 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
454 books327 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 28, 2025
A short and very boring collection of SF short stories.
Editor / writer James Blish wanted this to be some sort of exploration of SF as it was growing into a more viable genre of literature. Instead it was just a yawner, especially Blish’s own stories.
Editor / writer James Blish wanted this to be some sort of exploration of SF as it was growing into a more viable genre of literature. Instead it was just a yawner, especially Blish’s own stories.
December 1, 2019
James Blish presents a science fiction anthology with an unusual and singular theme—the future of the arts. What will become of creativity in the age of automation, or after the apocalypse, or when humanity migrates to other worlds? These topics are addressed by such master storytellers as Isaac Asimov, Harry Harrison, Damon Knight, C.M. Kornbluth, Edgar Pangborn, Robert Silverberg, and James Blish.
Every story in this gathering was excellent and choosing favorites was next to impossible.
In Isaac Asimov’s “Dreaming is a Private Thing,” corporations hire people whose dreams are so opulent and vivid that they can be recorded and sold for public consumption.
In James Blish’s “A Work of Art” resurrects 19th century German composer Richard Strauss in the year 2161. Repulsed by what he considers the regression of music in this modern age, Strauss sets out to compose an opera based on Christopher Fry’s play, Venus Observed. Although his opera is wildly successful, Strauss comes to realize two awful truths about himself… and his fate.
Blish’s second tale, “The Dark Night of the Soul” takes place at an artist’s retreat on the Jovian moon Callisto. However, it does not take long before the residents realize that a conspiracy is afoot, one that could result in the elimination of the arts from human civilization!
Harry Harrison’s “Portrait of the Artist” shows us what happens when the comic book industry succumbs to automation, leaving artists to do little more than touch up after computers stamp imagery onto the page—but what happens when the machines are upgraded and the artist is no longer needed at all?
In Damon Knight’s “The Country of the Kind,” a pariah wreaks havoc after being shunned by everyone in his community simply for being different. Finally, he tries to create art in a peaceful attempt to connect with another soul like this own.
In C.M. Kornbluth’s “With These Hands,” a sculptor and art instructor struggles to survive in a world where machines can be programmed to create sculptures from plastic in a method similar to today’s 3-D printing.
Edgar Pangborn’s novella, “A Master of Babylon” brings us into the post-apocalyptic life of an aging, eccentric musician living as a hermit for over two decades in what remains of New York’s Museum of Human History. When a teenage couple visit him in search of “Old Ones” to bring back to their village, the musician is thrilled to have an audience for his greatest—and final—performance.
In “A Man of Talent,” Robert Silverberg shows us the fate of a poet who, disgusted with the degradation of poetry on Earth, migrates to the farthest and least populated human colony of Rigel Seven. Hoping to live as a recluse, the poet is invited to adopt a unique role in a society where art is taken for granted.
Every story in this gathering was excellent and choosing favorites was next to impossible.
In Isaac Asimov’s “Dreaming is a Private Thing,” corporations hire people whose dreams are so opulent and vivid that they can be recorded and sold for public consumption.
In James Blish’s “A Work of Art” resurrects 19th century German composer Richard Strauss in the year 2161. Repulsed by what he considers the regression of music in this modern age, Strauss sets out to compose an opera based on Christopher Fry’s play, Venus Observed. Although his opera is wildly successful, Strauss comes to realize two awful truths about himself… and his fate.
Blish’s second tale, “The Dark Night of the Soul” takes place at an artist’s retreat on the Jovian moon Callisto. However, it does not take long before the residents realize that a conspiracy is afoot, one that could result in the elimination of the arts from human civilization!
Harry Harrison’s “Portrait of the Artist” shows us what happens when the comic book industry succumbs to automation, leaving artists to do little more than touch up after computers stamp imagery onto the page—but what happens when the machines are upgraded and the artist is no longer needed at all?
In Damon Knight’s “The Country of the Kind,” a pariah wreaks havoc after being shunned by everyone in his community simply for being different. Finally, he tries to create art in a peaceful attempt to connect with another soul like this own.
In C.M. Kornbluth’s “With These Hands,” a sculptor and art instructor struggles to survive in a world where machines can be programmed to create sculptures from plastic in a method similar to today’s 3-D printing.
Edgar Pangborn’s novella, “A Master of Babylon” brings us into the post-apocalyptic life of an aging, eccentric musician living as a hermit for over two decades in what remains of New York’s Museum of Human History. When a teenage couple visit him in search of “Old Ones” to bring back to their village, the musician is thrilled to have an audience for his greatest—and final—performance.
In “A Man of Talent,” Robert Silverberg shows us the fate of a poet who, disgusted with the degradation of poetry on Earth, migrates to the farthest and least populated human colony of Rigel Seven. Hoping to live as a recluse, the poet is invited to adopt a unique role in a society where art is taken for granted.
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April 5, 2024An anthology on the future of the arts. Although this theme is right up my alley, none of the stories really resonated with me. None of them were bad, but none of them were memorable either.
April 30, 2010
Not a very fulfilling collection of stories "about the future of the Arts." Maybe it's because everyone takes "The Arts" so seriously, these stories become ponderous very quickly. The stories are from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s.
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May 5, 2009New Dreams This Morning by James Blish (1966)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews