Science Fiction Resources

Today’s SFSignal Tidbits reminded me that I’ve been intending to point this blog over at the SFRA (Science Fiction Research Association) and their associated AboutSF website.

The Tidbits piece concerns an email discussion posted on Wet Asphalt about literary criticism and their contention that (my take) it’s pointless to begin with and anyways, the SF genre these days is nothing more than a club for self-abusing 50’s wannabes. There’s response to this ‘critique’ over at Essential SF Criticism that explains that Wet Asphalt is all wet and what’s wrong with self-abuse anyways?

But back to SFRA.

I have a ‘literary’ degree, albeit a lowly one. On the other hand, I’m well-primed for the advanced versions should I choose to someday go that route, having learned Anglo-Saxon in order to be able to read certain fantasy/sf precursors in the original (I’d like to hear from any MA or PhD holders who HAVE read Beowulf in the original, just out of curiosity).

Anyway. I was fortunate enough to be getting my education during the first years that actually teaching SF in the classroom became a legal subject and equally, if not more, fortunate to have an academic advisor in college who A: liked me and B: was really into SF.

I was therefore familiar with Professor Gunn almost from the beginning of his efforts to obtain legitimacy for the studying of science fiction as a discipline.

I don’t generally read my SF from an academic point of view; it’s been quite a number of years since I’ve personally had to apply the tools of critical analysis to something I’ve read and I’m rusty – although some of it is coming back.

But it is nice to know that other people still are and that they take it seriously – even if some people think that’s kind of equivalent to it being nice that there are some paleontologists who study dino turds – needed, and REALLY thankful that there’s someone else around who’ll do it.

Fortunately for those of you who have not a shred of interest in Jungian archetypes as applied to Star Trek: TOS or whether or not there’s an historical connection between Beowulf’s Grendel and Frankenstein’s Monster, the folks at SFRA have set up a website that will allow you to benefit from their research without needing to know what the hell I was referencing above.

It is called AboutSF and has a wealth of excellent links to various pieces of information, not the least of which is a Basic SF Library. If you really want to know your SF (not to mention being swift enough to pick up on a lot of the inside references that those self-abusing modern day SF authors are sprinkling through their works), you’ll drop your current reads, start with Adams, Douglas and work your way through to Zelazny, Roger.

There are also links to Youtube videos featuring interesting SF discussions by and with interesting SF personalities, lesson plans, reader’s guides.

There’s also a blog.