The Silverback of Type A Personalities
Apr 30, 2008 at 09:48AM This here is a link to a rant by Harlan Ellison, surely one of the most pugnacious writers ever to have lived. Nobody can spew ire like this man.
It's almost better to hear/watch him carry on than it is to read one of his stories. He writes "speculative fiction," what most of us call science fiction, but he'll shit in his hands and sling it at you if you use that term. I could label it "Upside Your Head Fiction" because his best stories hit you with a thud.
Sometime this spring or summer a documentary about him is supposed to be released. I'm looking forward to that. In high school my devotion to Harlan's writing equaled my love of The Doors. Alas, what can a teen girl do when a bitter, obnoxious author and a dead, asshole rock star are her role models? It was a difficult time.
Harlan's not one of those introverted, quiet, geeky writer types. Oh hell no. Man's done some hard living, though not in the drug and alcohol sense. His best stories are the true ones he's written about his life, like "When I Was A Hired Gun" from Love Ain't Nothing But Sex Misspelled and a preface to one of his stories in Stalking The Nightmare, where he tells of a time he saw somebody murdered in a movie theater for talking during the show.
Now I'm feeling down because I just checked and both of those books appear to be out of print, though they can be purchased used.
Though he's famous for being a dickhead, I have to say Harlan was nice to me when I met him before a reading at UNCG's Aycock auditorium in 1987. I can't remember what we talked about in our brief chat as he signed my program, but it was pleasant. I was thrilled to meet him, but I remember being stunned by how short he was. Somebody that takes up that much of your respect and admiration should be bigger than you are at least. I was really pleased that we had both worn the same outfit to his reading: tan pants, cream colored shirt, black jacket. I hoped it looked like we'd gotten together on the phone beforehand to coordinate our outfits.
If anybody out there knows more about when/where this documentary, "Dreams of Sharp Teeth," is going to be released and wants to do a road trip to go see it, let me know.
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Reader Comments (3)
I'd hate trying to explain to him why I didn't do my writing assignment the night before.
Grammar correction. I'd hate "to try" to explain to him why I didn't do my writing assignment the night before. :)
I'd sooner have an intentional bike accident in order to have an excuse not to go to class. I've heard he makes students in his workshop classes (who pay a lot of money to study with him) cry.