Clifford D. Simak: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Personal life: Removed the word “blurb”
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
 
(592 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American science fiction writer (1904–1988)}}
{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
{{Redirect|Simak|the village in Iran|Simak, Iran}}
| name = Clifford D. Simak
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
| image =
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
| caption =
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| pseudonym =
| name = Clifford D. Simak
| birthname =
| image = Clifford Simak.jpg
| birthdate = {{Birth date|1904|8|3}}
| caption =
| birthplace = [[Millville]], [[Wisconsin]]
| pseudonym =
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1988|4|25|1904|8|3}}
| birth_name = Clifford Donald Simak
| deathplace = [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|8|3}}
| occupation = Journalist, novelist, short story author
| genre = [[Science fiction]], [[Fantasy]]
| birth_place = [[Millville, Wisconsin]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|4|25|1904|8|3}}
| movement =
| death_place = [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], U.S.
| notableworks =
| occupation = Journalist, popular writer
| notableworks =
| period = 1931–1986 (fiction)<!-- primarily 1938–1982 -->
| influences =
| genre = Science fiction, fantasy
| influenced =
| subject = [[Popular science]]
| website =
| alma_mater = [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]
| movement =
| notableworks = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Way Station (novel)|Way Station]]''
* ''[[City (novel)|City]]''
* ''[[The Visitors (novel)|The Visitors]]''
}}
}}
| influences =
| influenced =
| website =
}}
[[File:Wonder stories 193112.jpg|thumb|right|Simak's first story, ''The World of the Red Sun'', was listed on the cover of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' in 1931.]]
[[File:Clifford Simak WS 3112.jpg|thumb|right|Simak as pictured in ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' in 1931.]]


'''Clifford Donald Simak''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|m|ə|k}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/qrst/#s|title=NLS: Say How|website=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=December 30, 2017|archive-date=February 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208072737/http://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/qrst/#s|url-status=live}}</ref> August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American [[science fiction]] writer. He won three [[Hugo Award]]s and one [[Nebula Award]].<ref name=SFAwards/><ref name="Obit"/> The [[Science Fiction Writers of America]] made him its third [[SFWA Grand Master]],<ref name=SFWA/> and the [[Horror Writers Association]] made him one of three inaugural winners of the [[Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement]].<ref name=HWA/> He is associated with the [[Pastoral science fiction|pastoral science fiction]] subgenre.<ref>Cokinos, Christopher. "The Pastoral Complexities of Clifford Simak: The Land Ethic and Pulp Lyricism in Time and Again".
'''Clifford Donald Simak''' ([[August 3]], [[1904]] - [[April 25]], [[1988]]) was a major American [[science fiction]] writer. He won three [[Hugo award]]s and one [[Nebula award]], as well as being named the third [[Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award|Grand Master]] by the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America|SFWA]] in 1977.
''Extrapolation'',
Volume 55, Number 2
https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2014.9 </ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==

Clifford Donald Simak was born in [[Millville, Wisconsin]], son of John Lewis and Margaret (Wiseman) Simak. He married Agnes Kuchenberg on [[April 13]], [[1929]] and they had two children, Scott and Shelley. Simak attended the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] and later worked at various [[newspaper]]s in the [[Midwest]]. He began a lifelong association with the ''[[Minneapolis Star and Tribune]]'' ([[Minneapolis, Minnesota]]) in 1939, which continued until his retirement in 1976. He became ''Minneapolis Star'' 's news editor in 1949 and coordinator of ''Minneapolis Tribune'''s ''Science Reading Series'' in 1961. He died in Minneapolis.
===Early life, education, and journalism career===
Simak was born in [[Millville, Wisconsin]] in 1904,<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|title=Science Fiction Novelist Clifford D. Simak, 83|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14578506/clifford_d_simak_19041988/|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=April 29, 1988|page=46|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=October 22, 2017|archive-date=July 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724082248/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14578506/clifford_d_simak_19041988/|url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> son of John Lewis and Margaret (Wiseman) Simak. Simak attended the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] and then taught in the public schools until 1929.<ref name="Obit"/> He later worked at various newspapers in the [[Midwest]]. He began a lifelong association with the ''[[Minneapolis Star and Tribune]]'' (in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]) in 1939, which continued until his retirement in 1976. He became ''Minneapolis Star''{{'}}s news editor in 1949 and coordinator of ''Minneapolis Tribune''{{'}}s ''Science Reading Series'' in 1961.<ref name="Obit"/>

===Personal life===
He married Agnes Kuchenberg on April 13, 1929, and they had two children, Richard "Dick" Scott (1947–2012) and Shelley Ellen. In his novel, ''Time and Again'' he wrote, "I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty three years and have two children. My favorite recreation is fishing (the lazy way, lying in a boat and letting them come to me). Hobbies: Chess, stamp collecting, growing roses." He dedicated the book to his wife Kay, "without whom I'd never have written a line". He was well liked by many of his science fiction-writing friends, especially [[Isaac Asimov]].

===Death===
He died in Minneapolis on April 25, 1988.<ref name="Obit"/><ref name=bramscher/><ref>{{cite news |date=April 28, 1988 |title= Clifford D. Simak, 83, Journalist And Science-Fiction Writer, Dies |newspaper=The New York Times |page=D27 }}</ref>


==Writing career==
==Writing career==
[[File:Time Quarry 5Simak novel) - Galaxy Science Fiction Novels .jpg|thumb|right|The first installment of Simak's ''Time Quarry'' was the cover story in the debut issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' in 1950.]]
Simak became interested in science fiction after reading the works of [[H. G. Wells]] as a child. He started writing for science fiction [[pulp magazines]] in 1931, but dropped out of the field by 1933. The only science-fiction piece that he published between 1933 and 1937 was ''[[The Creator (novelette)|The Creator]]'' (''[[Marvel Tales]]'' #4, March-April 1935), a notable story with [[religious]] implications, which was at the time a rarity in the [[genre]] of science fiction.
[[File:Galaxy 195902.jpg|thumb|right|Simak's novelette "Installment Plan" was the cover story in the February 1959 issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]''.]]


Simak became interested in science fiction after reading the works of [[H. G. Wells]] as a child. His first contribution to the literature was "The World of the Red Sun", published by [[Hugo Gernsback]] in the December 1931 issue of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' with one opening illustration by [[Frank R. Paul]].<ref name=isfdb/> Within a year, he placed three more stories in Gernsback's [[pulp magazines]] and one in ''[[Astounding Stories]]'', then edited by [[Harry Bates (writer)|Harry Bates]].<ref name=isfdb/> But his only science fiction publication between 1932 and 1938 was "[[The Creator (novelette)|The Creator]]" (''[[Marvel Tales (1934 magazine)|Marvel Tales]]'' #4, March–April 1935), a story with religious implications, which was then rare in the genre.
Once [[John W. Campbell]] began redefining the field in late 1937, Simak returned to science fiction and was a regular contributor to ''[[Astounding Stories]]'' throughout the [[Golden Age of Science Fiction]] (1938–1950). His first publications, such as ''Cosmic Engineers'' (1939), were in the traditions of the earlier [[superscience]] subgenre perfected by [[E. E. Smith|E. E. "Doc" Smith]], but he soon developed his own style, which is usually described as gentle and [[pastoral]]. A typical Simak [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] is much more likely to be seen sitting on a porch in rural Wisconsin drinking beer with the protagonist than [[alien invasion|invading]] Earth. During this period, Simak also published a number of war and [[western fiction|western]] stories in pulp magazines. His best known novel may be ''[[City (Clifford D. Simak novel)|City]]'', a collection of short stories with a common theme of mankind's eventual exodus from Earth.


Once [[John W. Campbell]], at the helm of ''Astounding'' from October 1937,<ref name=isfdb-astounding/> began redefining the field, Simak returned and was a regular contributor to ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (as it was renamed in 1938)<ref name=isfdb-astounding/> throughout the [[Golden Age of Science Fiction]] (1938–1950). At first, as in the 1939 serial novel [[Cosmic Engineers]], he wrote in the tradition of the earlier "super science" subgenre that [[E. E. Smith|E. E. "Doc" Smith]] perfected, but he soon developed his own style, which is usually described as gentle and [[pastoral]].{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} During this period, Simak also published a number of war and western stories in pulp magazines. His best-known book may be ''[[City (novel)|City]]'', a [[fix-up]] novel based on short stories with a common theme of mankind's eventual exodus from Earth.
Simak continued to produce award-nominated novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The quality of his longer pieces somewhat declined in the 1970s as his health deteriorated, although his short fiction was still well regarded. Aided by a friend, he continued writing and publishing science fiction and, later, fantasy, into his 80s. He believed that science fiction not rooted in scientific fact was responsible for the failure of the genre to be taken seriously, and stated that his aim was to make the genre a part of what he called "realistic fiction."


Simak continued to produce award-nominated novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Aided by a friend, he continued writing and publishing science fiction and, later, fantasy, into his 80s. He believed that science fiction not rooted in scientific fact was responsible for the failure of the genre to be taken seriously, and stated his aim was to make the genre a part of what he called "realistic fiction."
==Common themes==
{{Original research|date=July 2008}}
:''Also see [[transmog]].''


==Themes==
Simak's best known stories often repeat a few basic ideas and themes. First and foremost is a setting in rural Wisconsin. A crusty individualistic backwoodsman character literally comes with the territory, the best example being Hiram Taine, the protagonist of ''[[The Big Front Yard]]''. Hiram's dog "Towser" (sometimes "Bowser") is another Simak trademark being common to many of Simak's works. But the rural setting is not always as idyllic as here; and in ''Ring Around the Sun'' it is largely dominated by intolerance and isolationism.
{{refimprove|section|date=June 2022}}


Simak's stories often have a rural setting, which led to his style being described as "pastoral" or "[[pastoral science fiction]]".<ref name="Ewald">{{cite book |last=Ewald |first=Robert J. |year=2006 |title=When the Fires Burn High and the Wind is from the North: The pastoral science fiction of Clifford D. Simak |publisher=Wildside Press LLC |isbn=978-1-55742-218-7 |language=en |chapter=The Early Simak |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKFObLxy1f8C&pg=PA23}}</ref>{{rp|27}} Crusty individualistic backwoodsman characters often appear - for example, Hiram Taine, the protagonist of "[[The Big Front Yard]]". Hiram's dog "Towser" (sometimes "Bowser") is common to many of Simak's works. The rural setting is not always idyllic; for instance, in ''Ring Around the Sun'', it is largely dominated by intolerance and isolationism.
Another idea often found in the stories is the idea that there is no past time for a time traveler to go to. Instead, our world moves along in a stream of time, and to move to a different place in time is to move to another world altogether. Thus in ''City'' our Earth is overrun by ants, but the intelligent dogs and the remaining humans escape to other worlds in the time stream. In ''Ring Around the Sun'' the persecuted paranormals escape to other Earths which, if they could all be seen at once, would be at different stages of their orbit around the sun, hence the title. In ''[[Time is the Simplest Thing]]'' a paranormal escapes a mob by moving back in time, only to find that the past is a place where there are no living things and inanimate objects are barely substantial. Time travel also plays an important role in the ingeniously constructed ''[[Time and Again (Clifford Simak novel)|Time and Again]]'', in which a space traveler returns with message which is SF-slanted yet religious in tone.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}


Many of his aliens have a dry, otherworldly sense of humor, and others are unintentionally amusing, in their speech, behavior or appearance. His robots are full of personality, as are his dogs. By contrast, his "heroes" are ciphers. His protagonists are often boring men, never described and never reappearing. One of Simak's editors objected to his stories because his heroes were "losers". Simak replied, "I like losers."<ref name="Author's Foreword in Skirmish">{{cite book |author=Simak, C.D. |title=Skirmish |at=Author's foreword}}</ref>
An important theme (or theme group) concerns robots, who in Simak's case are usually very likable mechanical persons. In the novella ''[[All the Traps of Earth]]'' (in the collection of the same title) the robot Daniel seeks freedom having served men for a very long time, only to find in the end that he has become more human than he had thought. There is also the faithful butler Jenkins in ''[[City (Clifford D. Simak novel)|City]]'', the religious robot Hezekiel in ''[[A Choice of Gods]]'' and the theological project of the robots in ''[[Project Pope]]''.


Many of Simak's story lines involve a quest, or a mission. Characters set out, alone, and acquire companions, often unlikely matches, along the way. On the journey, some fall by the wayside, and of these, some are reunited with the group, whilst others never heard from again.
The religious theme is often present in Simak's work, but the protagonists who have searched for God in a traditional sense, tend to find something more abstract and inhuman. Hezekiel in ''[[A Choice of Gods]]'' cannot accept this. Quote: "God must be, forever, a kindly old (human) gentleman with a long, white, flowing beard."


Simak's stories often say that there is no past time for a time traveler to go to. Our world moves along in a stream of time, and to move to a different place in time is to move to another world. Thus in ''City'' our Earth is overrun by ants, but the intelligent dogs and the remaining humans escape to other worlds in the time stream. In ''Ring Around the Sun,'' the persecuted paranormals escape to other Earths which, if they could all be seen at once, would be at different stages of their orbit around the Sun, hence the title. In ''[[Time Is the Simplest Thing]]'' a paranormal escapes a mob by moving back in time, only to find that the past is a place where there are no living things and inanimate objects are barely substantial.
One finds many other traditional SF themes in Simak's work. The importance of knowledge and compassion in ''Immigrant'' and ''Kindergarten''. Identity play, at times almost in a Philip Dick like manner, as in ''Good Night. Mr James'' (filmed as ''The Outer Limits: The Duplicate Man'' in 1964). Fictions come to life in ''Shadow Show'' and elsewhere. And there is the revolt of the machines in ''Skirmish''. And the rather horrifying meeting with an alien world in ''Beachhead''. (Many of these stories are to be found in ''[[Strangers in the Universe]]'').


Time travel also plays an important role in [[Time and Again (Simak novel)|''Time and Again'']]. A long-lost space traveler returns with a message which is SF-slanted, yet religious in tone. Having crashed on a planet, he is then nurtured by ethereal duplicates that seem to accompany every sentient being throughout life. His befuddled observations are seized upon by religious factions, and a schism then threatens to erupt into war on Earth.
==Simak's range==
Simak's short stories and longer novellas range from the contemplative and thoughtfully idyllic to pure terror, although the punch line is often characteristically understated, as in ''Good Night Mr. James'' and ''Skirmish''. There is also a group of humorous stories, of which [[The Big Front Yard]] is the most successful. And ''[[Way Station (novel)|Way Station]]'' is in the midst of all of the science fiction paraphernalia a moving psychological study of a very lonely man who has to make peace with his past and finally manages to do so, but not without personal loss. The contemplative nature of the Simak character is a recurring trait both of theme and of the author's style.


Intelligence, loyalty and friendship, the existence of God and souls, the unexpected benefits and harm of invention, tools as extensions of humanity, and more questions are often explored by Simak's robots, whom he uses as "surrogate humans".<ref>{{cite book |author=Simak, C.D. |at=Author's foreword |title=Skirmish: The great short fiction of Clifford D. Simak}}</ref> They begin as likable mechanical persons, but change in surprising ways. Having achieved intelligence, robots move on to common themes such as, "Why are we here?" and "Do robots have souls"? Examples are the faithful butler Jenkins in [[City (novel)|''City'']], the religious robot Hezekiel in ''[[A Choice of Gods]]'', the frontier robots in ''Special Deliverance'' and ''A Heritage of Stars'', and the monk-like robots in ''[[Project Pope]]'' who seek heaven.
==Works==
===Novels===
* ''[[The Creator (novelette)|The Creator]]'' (first magazine publication 1935, first book publication 1946)
* ''[[Cosmic Engineers]]'' (first magazine publication 1939, first book publication 1950)
* ''Empire'' (1951) (''[[Galaxy novel]]'' #7)
* ''Time and Again'' (1951) [paperback title ''First He Died'']
* ''[[City (Clifford D. Simak novel)|City]]'' ([[fixup]] 1952, "Epilog" added in the 1976 edition, but omitted in some subsequent [[Science Fiction Book Club]] reprints)
* ''Ring Around the Sun'' (1954)
* ''Time is the Simplest Thing'' (1961)
* ''The Trouble With Tycho'' (1961)
* ''They Walked Like Men'' (1962)
* ''[[Way Station (novel)|Way Station]]'' (1963) [1964-Hugo Award Winner]
* ''All Flesh Is Grass'' (1965)
* ''Why Call them Back From Heaven? '' (1967)
* ''The Werewolf Principle'' (1967)
* ''The Goblin Reservation'' (1968)
* ''Out of Their Minds'' (1970)
* ''Destiny Doll'' (1971)
* ''A Choice of Gods'' (1972)
* ''Cemetery World'' (1973)
* ''Our Children's Children'' (1974)
* ''Enchanted Pilgrimage'' (1975)
* ''Shakespeare's Planet'' (1976)
* ''A Heritage of Stars'' (1977)
* ''The Fellowship of the Talisman'' (1978)
* ''Mastodonia'' (1978) [UK title ''Catface'']
* ''The Visitors'' (1980)
* ''Project Pope'' (1981)
* ''Where the Evil Dwells'' (1982)
* ''Special Deliverance'' (1982)
* ''Highway of Eternity'' (1986) [alternate title ''Highway to Eternity'']


In ''[[All the Traps of Earth]]'', a 600&nbsp;year-old robot, a family retainer who earned the name Richard Daniel, is considered chattel to be reprogrammed and lose all its memories. The robot runs away, hitches onto a spaceship, and passes through hyperspace unprotected. Daniel gains the ability to see and fix problems in anything – a ship, a robot, a human – telekinetically, but is still drifting and hunted as chattel. He stumbles on a frontier planet and finds a purpose, helping the pioneers as a doctor, a servant, a colonist, and a friend. And here Daniel achieves an epiphany: Human beings are more clever than they know. Human-created robots, set loose, can become agents with para-human abilities that benefit humanity. Thus do robots, and humankind, escape "all the traps of earth".
===Collections===
* ''Strangers in the Universe '' (1956) (contents revised in 1957 and 1958). Paperback contains 7 of 11 stories from hardback edition: “Target Generation”, “Mirage”, “Beachhead”, “The Answers”, “Retrograde Evolution”, “The Fence”, and “Shadow Show”.
* ''The Worlds of Clifford Simak '' (1960)
* ''Aliens for Neighbours'' (1961) (UK reprint of ''The Worlds of Clifford Simak'')
* ''All the Traps of Earth and Other Stories '' (1962) (contents revised in 1963) Contains “All the Traps of Earth”, “Good Night, Mr. James”, “Drop Dead”, “The Sitters”, “Installment Plan”, and “Condition of Employment”.
* ''Other Worlds of Clifford Simak '' (1962) (abridgement of ''The Worlds of Clifford Simak'' (1961) Contains “Dusty Zebra”, “Carbon Copy”, “Founding Father”, “Idiot’s Crusade”, “Death Scene”, and “Green Thumb”.
* ''The Night of the Puudly'' (1964) (UK reprint of ''All the Traps of Earth and Other Stories'')
* ''Worlds Without End '' (1964) Contains “Worlds Without End”, “The Spaceman’s Van Gogh”, and “Full Cycle”.
* ''Best Science Fiction Stories of Clifford Simak '' (1967)
* ''So Bright the Vision '' (1968) Contains “The Golden Bugs”, “Leg. Forst.”, “So Bright the Vision,” and “Galactic Chest”.
* ''The Best of Clifford D. Simak'' (1975) Contains “1939: Madness from Mars”, “1940: Sunspot Purge”, “1958: The Sitters”, “1959: A Death in the House”, “1960: Final Gentlemen”, “1961: Shotgun Cure”, “1963: Day of Truce”, “1965: Small Deer”, “1970: The Thing in the Stone”, and “1971: The Autumn Land”.
* ''Skirmish: The Great Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak '' (1977) Contains “Huddling Place”, “Desertion”, “Skirmish”, “Good Night, Mr. James”, “The Sitters”, “The Big Front Yard”, “All the Traps of Earth”, “The Thing in the Stone”, “The Autumn Land”, and “The Ghost of a Model T”.
* ''Brother And Other Stories '' (1986)
* ''The Marathon Photograph and Other Stories '' (1986)
* ''Off-Planet'' (1989)
* ''The Autumn Land and Other Stories'' (1990)
* ''Immigrant and Other Stories'' (1991)
* ''The Creator and Other Stories'' (1993)
* ''Over the River and Through the Woods: The Best Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak '' (1996)
* ''The Civilization Game and Other Stories '' (1997)


The religious theme is often present in Simak's work, but the protagonists who have searched for God in a traditional sense tend to find something more abstract and inhuman. Hezekiel in ''A Choice of Gods'' cannot accept this: "God must be, forever, a kindly old (human) gentleman with a long, white, flowing beard."
===Non-fiction===
* ''The Solar System: Our New Front Yard'' (1962)
* ''Trilobite, Dinosaur, and Man: The Earth's Story'' (1965)
* ''Wonder and Glory: The Story of the Universe'' (1969)
* ''Prehistoric Man: The Story of Man's Rise to Civilization'' (1971)


Simak's short stories and longer novellas range from the contemplative and thoughtfully idyllic to pure terror, although the punch line is often characteristically understated, as in ''Good Night, Mr.&nbsp;James'' and ''Skirmish''. There is also a group of humorous stories, including "[[The Big Front Yard]]". And ''[[Way Station (novel)|Way Station]]'' is in the midst of all of the science fiction paraphernalia a psychological study of a lonely man who has to make peace with his past and finally manages to do so, but not without personal loss. The contemplative nature of the Simak character is a recurring trait of the author's style.
===Books edited by Clifford D. Simak===
* ''From Atoms to Infinity: Readings in Modern Science'' (1965)
* ''The March of Science'' (1971)
* ''Nebula Award Stories #6'' (1971)
* ''The Best of Astounding'' (1978)


One finds other traditional SF themes in Simak's work. The importance of knowledge and compassion in "Immigrant" and "Kindergarten". Identity play, as in "Good Night, Mr.&nbsp;James" (filmed as ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]: [[The Duplicate Man]]'' in 1964). Fictions come to life in "Shadow Show" and elsewhere, such as the novel ''Out of Their Minds''. There is a revolt of the machines in "Skirmish", and a meeting with an alien world in ''Beachhead'', also known as "You'll Never Go Home Again". (Many of these are in his collection ''[[Strangers in the Universe]]''.)
===Audiotape===
*''Cliffod D. Simak; Over the River and Through the Woods (read by Jonathan Frakes)'' (1995)


Simak sometimes wrote stories close to his profession as a writer. For example, in the novelette ''So Bright the Vision'' (1968), he portrayed [[artificial intelligence]] (AI) writing software similar to [[ChatGPT]], but focusing on socio-psychological issues.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/data-driven-fiction/chatgpt-predicted-55-years-ago-in-science-fiction-novel-93ca726fc3ec | title=ChatGPT Predicted 55 Years Ago in Science Fiction Novel | date=March 9, 2023 }}</ref>
==Awards==

* [[International Fantasy Award]] for best fiction book (1953) for ''City''
Finally, Simak throws in many science-fictional fillips that remain unexplained. Simak's characters encounter alien creatures and concepts they simply cannot understand, and never will. For example, in ''Special Deliverance'', the humans are stalked by The Wailer, which turns out to be a huge wolf-like creature that bellows an infinitely sad howl. They never learn what the creature is, why it seems sad, or how it got there.
* [[Hugo award]] for best novelette (1959) for ''The Big Front Yard''

* [[Hugo award]] for best novel (1964) for ''Way Station''
Simak sums up his life's work in the foreword to his collection ''Skirmish''. After explaining what themes he avoids – no large-scale [[alien invasions]], no [[Space warfare in science fiction|space wars]], no empire sagas – he states
: "Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not I have struck a hopeful note ... I have, on occasions, tried to speak out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our purpose in the universal scheme – if we have a purpose. In general, I believe we do, and perhaps an important one."

==Works==
{{Main|Clifford D. Simak bibliography}}

From 1950 to 1986 Clifford Simak wrote more than 30 novels and four non-fiction works, with ''[[Way Station (novel)|Way Station]]'' winning the 1964 [[Hugo Award]]. More than 100 of his short stories were published from 1931 to 1981 in the science fiction, western, and war genres, with "[[The Big Front Yard]]" winning the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novelette and "[[Grotto of the Dancing Deer]]" winning the Hugo and [[Nebula Award]]s for Best Short Story in 1981.<ref name=SFAwards/> One more short story, "I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up in the Air", had been written in 1973 for publication in [[Harlan Ellison]]'s never-published anthology ''[[The Last Dangerous Visions]]'' and was first published posthumously in 2015.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simak |first1=Clifford D. |title=I Am Crying All Inside and Other Stories |date=October 2015 |publisher=Open Road Integrated Media |isbn=978-1-5040-1267-6 |pages=61–82}}</ref>

One of his short stories, "Good Night, Mr. James", was adapted as "The Duplicate Man" on ''The Outer Limits'' in 1964. Simak notes this is a "vicious story—so vicious that it is the only one of my stories adapted to television."<ref name="Author's Foreword in Skirmish"/>

==Awards and honors==
The [[Science Fiction Writers of America]] made Simak its third [[SFWA Grand Master]] in 1977, after [[Robert Heinlein]] and [[Jack Williamson]].<ref name="Obit"/><ref name=SFWA/> In 1987 the [[Horror Writers Association]] named him one of three inaugural winners of the [[Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement]], with [[Fritz Leiber]] and [[Frank Belknap Long]].<ref name=HWA/><!-- presented 1988, perhaps after his death --> Asteroid [[228883&nbsp;Cliffsimak]], discovered by French amateur astronomer [[Bernard Christophe]] in 2003, was named in his memory.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The official {{MoMP|228883|naming citation}} was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on March 30, 2010 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 69496}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />

; Other lifetime awards
* [[Minnesota Academy of Science Award]] for distinguished service to science 1967
* [[Minnesota Academy of Science Award]] for distinguished service to science 1967
* [[First Fandom Hall of Fame award]] 1973
* [[First Fandom Hall of Fame award]] 1973
* [[Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award]] 1976
* [[Jupiter award]] for best novel (1978) for ''A Heritage of Stars''
* [[Hugo award]] for best short story (1981) for ''[[Grotto of the Dancing Deer]]''
* [[Nebula award]] for best short story (1981) for ''Grotto of the Dancing Deer''
* [[Locus Award]] for best short story (1981) for ''Grotto of the Dancing Deer''
* [[Analog Analytical Laboratory award]] for best short story (1981) for ''Grotto of the Dancing Deer''
* [[Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement award]] 1988


; Best-of-year literary awards<ref name=SFAwards/>
==Books about Clifford D. Simak==
* [[Retro Hugo]] for best novelette, “Rule 18” (''Astounding Science-Fiction'', July 1938)
* [[Muriel R. Becker]] ''Clifford D. Simak, a primary and secondary bibliography '' (1980)
* Retro Hugo for best novelette, "City" (''Astounding Science-Fiction'', May 1944)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/2020/07/1945-retro-hugo-awards-announced/|title=1945 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced|date=July 29, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Mark Owings]] ''The Electric Bibliograph 1: Clifford D. Simak''
* [[International Fantasy Award]] for best fiction book (1953) for ''City''
* [[Phil Stephensen-Payne]] ''Clifford D. Simak: A Working Bibliography'' (1991, ISBN 1-871133-28-9)
* [[Hugo Award]] for best novelette (1959) for "[[The Big Front Yard]]"
* [[Robert J. Ewald]] ''Clifford Simak'' Reader's Guide to Contemporary Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Vol. 59 ()
* Hugo Award for best novel (1964) for ''Way Station''
* [[Jupiter Award (science fiction award)|Jupiter Award]] for best novel (1978) for ''A Heritage of Stars''
* Hugo Award for best short story (1981) for "[[Grotto of the Dancing Deer]]"
* [[Nebula Award]] for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"<ref name=SFAwards/>
* [[Locus Award]] for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"
* [[Analytical Laboratory]] award for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"


==External links==
== Citations ==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
{{wikiquote}}

* [http://www.geocities.com/clootiewell/ The Way Station: A Resource for Readers and Collectors of Clifford D. Simak]
<ref name=bramscher>
* [http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/mss044.xml Clifford Donald Simak Papers]
{{cite web|last=Bramscher|first=Paul|title=Clifford Simak's Biography|url=http://www.tc.umn.edu/~brams006/simak/biography.html|publisher=Paul Bramscher|access-date=March 19, 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523045314/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~brams006/simak/biography.html|archive-date=May 23, 2011}} (archive.org link)</ref>
* {{isfdb name|id=Clifford_D._Simak|name=Clifford D. Simak}}

* {{imdb name|0799281}}
<ref name=isfdb>
{{isfdb name |55}} (ISFDB). Retrieved April 5, 2013.</ref>

<ref name=isfdb-astounding>[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?20473 "Astounding/Analog – Series Bibliography"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211113646/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?20473 |date=December 11, 2016 }}. ISFDB. Retrieved April 5, 2013.</ref>

<!-- awards refs -->

<ref name=SFAwards>[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit123.html#4775 "Simak, Clifford D."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814190017/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit123.html#4775 |date=August 14, 2014 }} ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees''. [[Locus Publications]]. Retrieved April 5, 2013.</ref>

<ref name=SFWA>
[http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701114233/http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ |date=July 1, 2011 }}. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved June 18, 2012.</ref>

<ref name=HWA>[http://www.horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm "Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083150/http://horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm |date=November 15, 2017 }}. Horror Writers Association (HWA). Retrieved April 5, 2013.</ref>

<ref name="MPC-object">{{cite web
|title = 228883 Cliffsimak (2003 PT4)
|work = Minor Planet Center
|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=228883
|access-date = August 27, 2019
|archive-date = March 3, 2016
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170251/http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=228883
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
|title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
|work = Minor Planet Center
|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
|access-date = August 27, 2019
|archive-date = April 26, 2020
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200426060449/https://minorplanetcenter.net//iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->


==Biographical sources==
== General and cited sources ==
* ''Contemporary Authors''. New Revision Series. Detroit, Gale Research Co.
* ''Contemporary Authors''. New Revision Series. Detroit, Gale Research Co.
* [[Sam Moskowitz]] ''Seekers of Tomorrow'' (1967) (one chapter covers Simak)
* [[Sam Moskowitz]] ''Seekers of Tomorrow'' (1967) (one chapter covers Simak)
* "Obituaries: Clifford D. Simak." Nationwide News Pty Limited - Herald, April 29, 1988.
* "Obituaries: Clifford D. Simak." [[The Herald (Melbourne)|''The Herald'' (Melbourne)]], April 29, 1988.
* Weatherby, W. J. "Obituary of Clifford Simak, realist of SF." Guardian Newspapers Limited/''The Guardian'' (London), April 29, 1988.
* Weatherby, W. J. "Obituary of Clifford Simak, realist of SF". Guardian Newspapers Limited/''The Guardian'' (London), April 29, 1988.

== Further reading ==
* [[Muriel R. Becker]], ''Clifford D. Simak, a Primary and Secondary Bibliography'' (1980).
* [[Hardy Kettlitz]], ''Clifford D. Simak: pastorale Harmonien'', Shayol Verlag, 2012. (German).
* [[Mark Owings]], ''The Electric Bibliograph 1: Clifford D. Simak''.
* [[Phil Stephensen-Payne]], ''Clifford D. Simak: A Working Bibliography'' (1991, {{ISBN|1-871133-28-9}})

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://primo.lib.umn.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=UMN_ALMA21411303210001701&context=L&vid=TWINCITIES Clifford Donald Simak Papers]
* [http://esperanto.us/indekso_CDS.html Eldonejo ‘Mistera Sturno’] An authorized translation of Way Station into [[Esperanto]] as a free [[ebook]].
* {{Gutenberg author | id=25185}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Clifford Donald Simak}}
* {{Librivox author |id=376}}
* {{isfdb name|55}}
* {{IBList|type=author|id=729|name=Clifford D. Simak}}
* {{IMDb name|0799281}}
* [http://www.falseducks.com/simak/ The Science Fiction Short Stories of Clifford D. Simak]
* [https://tangentonline.com/interviews-columnsmenu-166/interviews-columnsmenu-166-interviews-columnsmenu-166/classic-clifford-d-simak-interview/ "An Interview with Clifford D. Simak"] from ''Tangent'', May 1975
* "City Slickers, Country Bumpkins, Ants, Robots and Mutants" ([https://grantvillegazette.com/article/publish-468/ Part One] and [https://grantvillegazette.com/article/publish-484/ Part 2]) at ''[[The Grantville Gazette]]''
* [http://www.simak-bibliography.com/ Clifford D. Simak – The International Bibliography]
* {{Find a Grave|63527113}}

{{Clifford Simak|state=expanded}}
{{Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awards}}
{{Portal bar|Speculative fiction}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Simak, Clifford D.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simak, Clifford D.}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:People from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:Wisconsin writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:American newspaper editors]]
[[Category:American newspaper editors]]
[[Category:American people of Czech descent]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:American short story writers]]
[[Category:Hugo Award-winning writers]]
[[Category:Hugo Award winning authors]]
[[Category:Nebula Award winners]]
[[Category:Nebula Award winning authors]]
[[Category:Novelists from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Novelists from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Grant County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:SFWA Grand Masters]]
[[Category:SFWA Grand Masters]]
[[Category:Czech-Americans]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:Worldcon Guests of Honor]]
[[Category:Writers from Minneapolis]]

[[br:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[bg:Клифърд Саймък]]
[[cs:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[da:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[de:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[et:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[es:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[fa:کلیفورد سیماک]]
[[fr:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[gl:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[it:Clifford Simak]]
[[he:קליפורד סימאק]]
[[lv:Klifords Saimaks]]
[[nl:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[ja:クリフォード・D・シマック]]
[[pl:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[pt:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[ru:Саймак, Клиффорд Доналд]]
[[sl:Clifford Donald Simak]]
[[fi:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[sv:Clifford D. Simak]]
[[uk:Саймак Кліффорд Дональд]]

Latest revision as of 20:06, 6 April 2024

"Simak" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Simak, Iran.

Clifford D. Simak
BornClifford Donald Simak
(1904-08-03)August 3, 1904
Millville, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedApril 25, 1988(1988-04-25) (aged 83)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationJournalist, popular writer
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Period1931–1986 (fiction)
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
SubjectPopular science
Notable works
Simak's first story, The World of the Red Sun, was listed on the cover of Wonder Stories in 1931.
Simak as pictured in Wonder Stories in 1931.

Clifford Donald Simak (/ˈsɪmək/;[1] August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award.[2][3] The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master,[4] and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.[5] He is associated with the pastoral science fiction subgenre.[6]

Biography[edit]

Early life, education, and journalism career[edit]

Simak was born in Millville, Wisconsin in 1904,[3] son of John Lewis and Margaret (Wiseman) Simak. Simak attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and then taught in the public schools until 1929.[3] He later worked at various newspapers in the Midwest. He began a lifelong association with the Minneapolis Star and Tribune (in Minneapolis, Minnesota) in 1939, which continued until his retirement in 1976. He became Minneapolis Star's news editor in 1949 and coordinator of Minneapolis Tribune's Science Reading Series in 1961.[3]

Personal life[edit]

He married Agnes Kuchenberg on April 13, 1929, and they had two children, Richard "Dick" Scott (1947–2012) and Shelley Ellen. In his novel, Time and Again he wrote, "I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty three years and have two children. My favorite recreation is fishing (the lazy way, lying in a boat and letting them come to me). Hobbies: Chess, stamp collecting, growing roses." He dedicated the book to his wife Kay, "without whom I'd never have written a line". He was well liked by many of his science fiction-writing friends, especially Isaac Asimov.

Death[edit]

He died in Minneapolis on April 25, 1988.[3][7][8]

Writing career[edit]

The first installment of Simak's Time Quarry was the cover story in the debut issue of Galaxy Science Fiction in 1950.
Simak's novelette "Installment Plan" was the cover story in the February 1959 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

Simak became interested in science fiction after reading the works of H. G. Wells as a child. His first contribution to the literature was "The World of the Red Sun", published by Hugo Gernsback in the December 1931 issue of Wonder Stories with one opening illustration by Frank R. Paul.[9] Within a year, he placed three more stories in Gernsback's pulp magazines and one in Astounding Stories, then edited by Harry Bates.[9] But his only science fiction publication between 1932 and 1938 was "The Creator" (Marvel Tales #4, March–April 1935), a story with religious implications, which was then rare in the genre.

Once John W. Campbell, at the helm of Astounding from October 1937,[10] began redefining the field, Simak returned and was a regular contributor to Astounding Science Fiction (as it was renamed in 1938)[10] throughout the Golden Age of Science Fiction (1938–1950). At first, as in the 1939 serial novel Cosmic Engineers, he wrote in the tradition of the earlier "super science" subgenre that E. E. "Doc" Smith perfected, but he soon developed his own style, which is usually described as gentle and pastoral.[citation needed] During this period, Simak also published a number of war and western stories in pulp magazines. His best-known book may be City, a fix-up novel based on short stories with a common theme of mankind's eventual exodus from Earth.

Simak continued to produce award-nominated novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Aided by a friend, he continued writing and publishing science fiction and, later, fantasy, into his 80s. He believed that science fiction not rooted in scientific fact was responsible for the failure of the genre to be taken seriously, and stated his aim was to make the genre a part of what he called "realistic fiction."

Themes[edit]

Simak's stories often have a rural setting, which led to his style being described as "pastoral" or "pastoral science fiction".[11]: 27  Crusty individualistic backwoodsman characters often appear - for example, Hiram Taine, the protagonist of "The Big Front Yard". Hiram's dog "Towser" (sometimes "Bowser") is common to many of Simak's works. The rural setting is not always idyllic; for instance, in Ring Around the Sun, it is largely dominated by intolerance and isolationism.

Many of his aliens have a dry, otherworldly sense of humor, and others are unintentionally amusing, in their speech, behavior or appearance. His robots are full of personality, as are his dogs. By contrast, his "heroes" are ciphers. His protagonists are often boring men, never described and never reappearing. One of Simak's editors objected to his stories because his heroes were "losers". Simak replied, "I like losers."[12]

Many of Simak's story lines involve a quest, or a mission. Characters set out, alone, and acquire companions, often unlikely matches, along the way. On the journey, some fall by the wayside, and of these, some are reunited with the group, whilst others never heard from again.

Simak's stories often say that there is no past time for a time traveler to go to. Our world moves along in a stream of time, and to move to a different place in time is to move to another world. Thus in City our Earth is overrun by ants, but the intelligent dogs and the remaining humans escape to other worlds in the time stream. In Ring Around the Sun, the persecuted paranormals escape to other Earths which, if they could all be seen at once, would be at different stages of their orbit around the Sun, hence the title. In Time Is the Simplest Thing a paranormal escapes a mob by moving back in time, only to find that the past is a place where there are no living things and inanimate objects are barely substantial.

Time travel also plays an important role in Time and Again. A long-lost space traveler returns with a message which is SF-slanted, yet religious in tone. Having crashed on a planet, he is then nurtured by ethereal duplicates that seem to accompany every sentient being throughout life. His befuddled observations are seized upon by religious factions, and a schism then threatens to erupt into war on Earth.

Intelligence, loyalty and friendship, the existence of God and souls, the unexpected benefits and harm of invention, tools as extensions of humanity, and more questions are often explored by Simak's robots, whom he uses as "surrogate humans".[13] They begin as likable mechanical persons, but change in surprising ways. Having achieved intelligence, robots move on to common themes such as, "Why are we here?" and "Do robots have souls"? Examples are the faithful butler Jenkins in City, the religious robot Hezekiel in A Choice of Gods, the frontier robots in Special Deliverance and A Heritage of Stars, and the monk-like robots in Project Pope who seek heaven.

In All the Traps of Earth, a 600 year-old robot, a family retainer who earned the name Richard Daniel, is considered chattel to be reprogrammed and lose all its memories. The robot runs away, hitches onto a spaceship, and passes through hyperspace unprotected. Daniel gains the ability to see and fix problems in anything – a ship, a robot, a human – telekinetically, but is still drifting and hunted as chattel. He stumbles on a frontier planet and finds a purpose, helping the pioneers as a doctor, a servant, a colonist, and a friend. And here Daniel achieves an epiphany: Human beings are more clever than they know. Human-created robots, set loose, can become agents with para-human abilities that benefit humanity. Thus do robots, and humankind, escape "all the traps of earth".

The religious theme is often present in Simak's work, but the protagonists who have searched for God in a traditional sense tend to find something more abstract and inhuman. Hezekiel in A Choice of Gods cannot accept this: "God must be, forever, a kindly old (human) gentleman with a long, white, flowing beard."

Simak's short stories and longer novellas range from the contemplative and thoughtfully idyllic to pure terror, although the punch line is often characteristically understated, as in Good Night, Mr. James and Skirmish. There is also a group of humorous stories, including "The Big Front Yard". And Way Station is in the midst of all of the science fiction paraphernalia a psychological study of a lonely man who has to make peace with his past and finally manages to do so, but not without personal loss. The contemplative nature of the Simak character is a recurring trait of the author's style.

One finds other traditional SF themes in Simak's work. The importance of knowledge and compassion in "Immigrant" and "Kindergarten". Identity play, as in "Good Night, Mr. James" (filmed as The Outer Limits: The Duplicate Man in 1964). Fictions come to life in "Shadow Show" and elsewhere, such as the novel Out of Their Minds. There is a revolt of the machines in "Skirmish", and a meeting with an alien world in Beachhead, also known as "You'll Never Go Home Again". (Many of these are in his collection Strangers in the Universe.)

Simak sometimes wrote stories close to his profession as a writer. For example, in the novelette So Bright the Vision (1968), he portrayed artificial intelligence (AI) writing software similar to ChatGPT, but focusing on socio-psychological issues.[14]

Finally, Simak throws in many science-fictional fillips that remain unexplained. Simak's characters encounter alien creatures and concepts they simply cannot understand, and never will. For example, in Special Deliverance, the humans are stalked by The Wailer, which turns out to be a huge wolf-like creature that bellows an infinitely sad howl. They never learn what the creature is, why it seems sad, or how it got there.

Simak sums up his life's work in the foreword to his collection Skirmish. After explaining what themes he avoids – no large-scale alien invasions, no space wars, no empire sagas – he states

"Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not I have struck a hopeful note ... I have, on occasions, tried to speak out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our purpose in the universal scheme – if we have a purpose. In general, I believe we do, and perhaps an important one."

Works[edit]

Main article: Clifford D. Simak bibliography

From 1950 to 1986 Clifford Simak wrote more than 30 novels and four non-fiction works, with Way Station winning the 1964 Hugo Award. More than 100 of his short stories were published from 1931 to 1981 in the science fiction, western, and war genres, with "The Big Front Yard" winning the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novelette and "Grotto of the Dancing Deer" winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Short Story in 1981.[2] One more short story, "I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up in the Air", had been written in 1973 for publication in Harlan Ellison's never-published anthology The Last Dangerous Visions and was first published posthumously in 2015.[15]

One of his short stories, "Good Night, Mr. James", was adapted as "The Duplicate Man" on The Outer Limits in 1964. Simak notes this is a "vicious story—so vicious that it is the only one of my stories adapted to television."[12]

Awards and honors[edit]

The Science Fiction Writers of America made Simak its third SFWA Grand Master in 1977, after Robert Heinlein and Jack Williamson.[3][4] In 1987 the Horror Writers Association named him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, with Fritz Leiber and Frank Belknap Long.[5] Asteroid 228883 Cliffsimak, discovered by French amateur astronomer Bernard Christophe in 2003, was named in his memory.[16] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on March 30, 2010 (M.P.C. 69496).[17]

Other lifetime awards
Best-of-year literary awards[2]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ "NLS: Say How". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Simak, Clifford D." Archived August 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees. Locus Publications. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Science Fiction Novelist Clifford D. Simak, 83". The Los Angeles Times. April 29, 1988. p. 46. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master" Archived July 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement" Archived November 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Horror Writers Association (HWA). Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  6. ^ Cokinos, Christopher. "The Pastoral Complexities of Clifford Simak: The Land Ethic and Pulp Lyricism in Time and Again". Extrapolation, Volume 55, Number 2 https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2014.9
  7. ^ Bramscher, Paul. "Clifford Simak's Biography". Paul Bramscher. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) (archive.org link)
  8. ^ "Clifford D. Simak, 83, Journalist And Science-Fiction Writer, Dies". The New York Times. April 28, 1988. p. D27.
  9. ^ a b Clifford D. Simak at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Astounding/Analog – Series Bibliography" Archived December 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. ISFDB. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  11. ^ Ewald, Robert J. (2006). "The Early Simak". When the Fires Burn High and the Wind is from the North: The pastoral science fiction of Clifford D. Simak. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-55742-218-7.
  12. ^ a b Simak, C.D. Skirmish. Author's foreword.
  13. ^ Simak, C.D. Skirmish: The great short fiction of Clifford D. Simak. Author's foreword.
  14. ^ "ChatGPT Predicted 55 Years Ago in Science Fiction Novel". March 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Simak, Clifford D. (October 2015). I Am Crying All Inside and Other Stories. Open Road Integrated Media. pp. 61–82. ISBN 978-1-5040-1267-6.
  16. ^ "228883 Cliffsimak (2003 PT4)". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  17. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  18. ^ "1945 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced". July 29, 2020.

General and cited sources[edit]

  • Contemporary Authors. New Revision Series. Detroit, Gale Research Co.
  • Sam Moskowitz Seekers of Tomorrow (1967) (one chapter covers Simak)
  • "Obituaries: Clifford D. Simak." The Herald (Melbourne), April 29, 1988.
  • Weatherby, W. J. "Obituary of Clifford Simak, realist of SF". Guardian Newspapers Limited/The Guardian (London), April 29, 1988.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Clifford D. Simak.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clifford_D._Simak&oldid=1217600636"