Joanna Russ

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Joanna Russ (born February 22, 1937 in New York City ; died April 29, 2011 in Tucson , Arizona ) was an American writer, best known as a writer of feminist science fiction and fantasy . Her debut novel Picnic on Paradise (1968, German as Alyx ) and The Female Man (1975, German as Planet der Frauen ) are considered the most important novels .

Life

Russ was the daughter of the university professor Evarett I. Russ and the teacher Bertha Russ, nee Zinner. She grew up in the Bronx and studied after school at Cornell University , where she graduated in 1967 with a bachelor's degree. In 1963 she married Albert Amateau and in 1967 the couple divorced. After graduating she first English lecturer at Cornell University and acquired in 1970 at the Yale Drama School of the MFA . She then taught at the State University of New York in Binghamton , at the University of Colorado in Boulder and from 1977 at the University of Washington , where she received a professorship and stayed until her retirement in 1990.

Her first publication was the short story Nor Custom Stale which appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in September 1959 . In 1968 her first novel, Picnic on Paradise, appeared with the main character Alyx, originally a Phoenician who, through time travel, sees herself transported into the strange surroundings of a not harmless recreational planet. Together with a few short stories with the protagonist Alyx, the novel forms a cycle around a self-determined heroine, who in the way it is portrayed differs greatly from what female characters were allowed to do at that time. John Clute acknowledged the importance as follows:

"Much of the initial impact of the sequence lies in its use of Alyx in situations where she acts as a fully responsible agent, vigorously engaged in the circumstances surrounding her, but without any finger-pointing on the author's part to the effect that one should only pretend not to notice that she is not a man. The liberating effect of the Alyx / Trans Temp tales has been pervasive, and the ease with which later writers now use active female protagonists in adventure roles, without having to argue the case, owes much to this example, which itself may show the influence of CL Moore's Science-Fantasy Jirel of Joiry (see Temporal Adventuress; Women in SF). "

“The original effect of the series is based on the fact that Alyx is shown as responsible and committed to dealing with the circumstances, without the author particularly pointing out that one should just pretend not to notice that Alyx is a woman. The liberation brought about by the Alyx / TransTemp narratives showed a penetrating effect in the SF and the naturalness with which today's authors place female protagonists in adventurous situations without having to give special reasons, owes much to this example, which in turn has the influence of CL Moore's science fantasy Jirel by Joiry shows. "

The narratives of the cycle were published in 1976 as The Adventures of Alyx .

Russ best-known work is the novel The Female Man (German planet of women ). In the complex narrative, four women appear in different worlds:

  • Jeannine Dadier lives in an alternative time track in which the Second World War did not take place.
  • Janet Evason lives on Whileaway, a women's planet where men were ripped off by a plague centuries ago.
  • Jael lives in a future where a gender war is raging.
  • Joanna lives in a world that is indistinguishable from ours.

The four worlds or four protagonists are not isolated, but rather establish relationships with one another: Janet establishes contact with the worlds of Jeannine and Joanna, while Jael travels to the alternative worlds to recruit for their gender war. The four Js appear as characteristics of a person or a personal structure, differentiated only by different environments and conditions of existence. Clute dates feminist science fiction to maturity with The Female Man .

Russ was also important as a literary historian and critic. Her collection of essays To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction was nominated for the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1996. At the Locus Awards, Russ was nominated three times - 1974, 1975 and 1976 - for Best Critic, and The Country You Have Never Seen came third in 2008. The book reviews, which she wrote occasionally for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1967 to 1980 , also attracted attention.

Russ was openly a lesbian . In 2002 she received the Gaylactic Spectrum Award of the LGBT community in SF Fandom for The Female Man . As early as the 1980s, Russ had suffered from chronic back pain and exhaustion, which interfered with her literary work. After her retirement, she moved to Tucson, where she died in a hospice in 2011 at the age of 74.

Awards and honors

bibliography

Novels
  • Picnic on Paradise (1968)
  • And Chaos Died (1970)
    • English: And the chaos died. Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Paperback # 21059, 1974, ISBN 3-404-04955-1 .
  • The Female Man (1975)
  • We Who Are About To ... (1977)
  • The Two of Them (1978)
  • Kittatinny: A Tale of Magic (1978, children's book)
    • English: The wonderful story of Kittatinny. In: Peter Wilfert (Ed.): Goldmann Fantasy Foliant III. Goldmann (Goldmann Fantasy # 23844), 1985, ISBN 3-442-23844-7 .
  • On Strike Against God (1980)
    • German: uprising against God. 1983.
Short story collections
  • The Adventures of Alyx (1976, including Picnic on Paradise )
  • The Zanzibar Cat (1983)
  • (Extra) ordinary People (1985)
  • The Hidden Side of the Moon (1987)
Short stories
  • Innocence (1955)
  • Nor Custom Stale (1959)
  • My Dear Emily (1962)
  • There Is Another Shore, You Know, Upon the Other Side (1963)
    • German: where are you from? In: Charlotte Winheller (ed.): The survivors. Heyne General Series # 272, 1964.
  • "I Had Vacantly Crumpled It into My Pocket ... But By God, Eliot, It Was a Photograph from Life!" (1964)
  • Wilderness Year (1964)
    • German: The probationary year. In: Wulf H. Bergner (Ed.): World of the future. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3305), 1972.
  • Life in a Furniture Store (1965)
  • Come Closer (1965)
  • This Night, at My Fire (1966)
  • The New Men (1966)
  • Mr. Wilde's Second Chance (1966)
  • Visiting (1967)
  • I Gave Her Sack and Sherry (1967)
  • Variant: I Thought She Was Afeard Till She Stroked My Beard (1967)
    • German: I gave her wine and vermouth. In: Damon Knight (Ed.): Damon Knight's Collection 3. Fischer Taschenbuch (Fischer Orbit # 5), 1972, ISBN 3-436-01499-0 .
  • The Adventuress (1967)
  • Variant: Bluestocking (1967)
    • German: Die Abenteuerin. In: Damon Knight (Ed.): Damon Knight's Collection 3. Fischer Taschenbuch (Fischer Orbit # 5), 1972, ISBN 3-436-01499-0 .
  • The Barbarian (1968)
  • This Afternoon (1968)
  • The Throaways (1969)
  • A Short and Happy Life (1969)
    • German: The barometer test. In: Wulf Bergner (Ed.): The ship of shadows. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3219), 1970.
  • The Man Who Could Not See Devils (1970)
  • Visiting Day (1970)
  • Window Dressing (1970)
  • Initiation (1970)
  • The Second Inquisition (1970)
    • German: The Second Inquisition. In: Damon Knight (Ed.): Damon Knight's Collection 7. Fischer Taschenbuch (Fischer Orbit # 14), 1972, ISBN 3-436-01595-4 . Also as: The Second Inquisition. In: Clifford D. Simak (Ed.): The Bonsai Man and Other "Nebula" Prize Stories 3. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6725), 1982, ISBN 3-8118-6725-3 .
  • The Precious Object (1970)
  • The View from This Window (1970)
  • Foul Fowl (1971)
  • Gleepsite (1971)
  • Poor Man, Beggar Man (1971)
    • English: Just a poor beggar. In: Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (Ed.): Good news from the Vatican and other "Nebula" prize stories 1. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6721), 1981, ISBN 3-8118-6721-0 .
  • The Zanzibar Cat (1971)
  • Nobody's Home (1972)
  • Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972)
    • German: When one goes on a journey ... In: Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph D. Olander (Ed.): Fireworks of the SF. Goldmann (Edition '84: The Positive Utopias # 8), 1984, ISBN 3-442-08408-3 .
  • When It Changed (1972), Translations:
    • When it was different. Translated by Eva Malsch. In: Isaac Asimov (ed.): The meeting with Medusa and other "Nebula" prize stories 4. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6728), 1982, ISBN 3-8118-6728-8 .
    • When everything changed Translated by Martin Eisele. In: René Oth (ed.): When everything was different. Luchterhand (Luchterhand Collection # 530), 1985, ISBN 3-472-61530-3 .
    • Change. Translated by Andreas Brandhorst . In: Josh Pachter (ed.): Top Science Fiction: Third Part. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4654), 1990, ISBN 3-453-03918-1 .
    • When everything changed Translated by Kurt Bracharz . In: James Gunn (ed.): From Ellison to Haldeman. Heyne (Library of Science Fiction Literature # 96), 1991, ISBN 3-453-05024-X .
  • The Soul of a Servant (1973)
  • A Few Things I Know About Whileaway (1974)
  • To Old-Fashioned Girl (1974)
    • English: An old-fashioned girl. In: Herbert W. Franke (Ed.): Science Fiction Story Reader 12. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3655), 1979, ISBN 3-453-30569-8 . Also as: An old-fashioned girl. In: Barry N. Malzberg, Edward L. Ferman (eds.): Brennpunkt Zukunft 3. Ullstein (Ullstein Science Fiction & Fantasy # 31086), 1984, ISBN 3-548-31086-9 .
  • Passages (1974)
    • German: passages. In: Science-Fiction-Stories 73. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 146 (3515)), 1978, ISBN 3-548-03515-9 .
  • A Game of Vlet (1974)
  • Reasonable People (1974)
  • from The Female Man (1975)
  • Old Thoughts, Old Presences (1975)
  • The Autobiography of My Mother (1975)
  • Daddy's Girl (1975)
  • Risk (1975)
  • The Experimenter (1975)
  • Existence (1975)
  • My Boat (1976)
    • German: Mein Boot. In: Manfred Kluge (ed.): Frankenstein's lullaby. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3553), 1977, ISBN 3-453-30447-0 .
  • Corruption (1976)
  • How Dorothy Kept Away the Spring (1977)
  • Russalka or The Seacoast of Bohemia (1978)
  • The Extraordinary Voyages of Amélie Bertrand (1979)
    • German: The extraordinary journeys of Amelie Bertrand. In: Manfred Kluge (ed.): Insects in amber. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3767), 1980, ISBN 3-453-30668-6 .
  • Dragons and Dimwits or There and Back Again: A Publishers' Holiday or Why Did I Do It? or Much Ado About Magic or Lord of the Royalties or… or… or… (1979)
  • Variant: Dragons and Dimwits (1979)
  • It's Important to Believe (1980)
  • Little Tales from Nature (1981)
  • Souls (1982)
    • German: Seelen. In: Ronald M. Hahn (Ed.): Dinosaurs on Broadway. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4027), 1983, ISBN 3-453-30967-7 . Also in: Terry Carr (Ed.): Terry Carr presents: The Most Beautiful Science Fiction Stories of the Year Vol. 3. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4165), 1985, ISBN 3-453-31123-X .
  • The Mystery of the Young Gentleman (1982)
    • German: The secret of the young gentleman. In: Isaac Asimov, Alice Laurance (ed.): Speculations. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4274), 1986, ISBN 3-453-31254-6 .
  • Elf Hill (1982)
  • The Little Dirty Girl (1982)
  • What Did You Do During the Revolution, Grandma? (1983)
  • Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (1983)
  • Main Street: 1953 (1983)
  • Everyday Depressions (1984)
  • The Cliches from Outer Space (1984)
  • Bodies (1984)
  • Invasion (1996)
Non-fiction
  • Speculations on the Subjunctivity of Science Fiction (1973)
  • Somebody's Trying to Kill Me and I Think It's My Husband: The Modern Gothic (1973)
  • How to Suppress Women's Writing (1983)
  • Magic Mammas, Trembling Sisters, Puritans and Perverts: Feminist Essays (1985)
  • To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction (1996)
  • What Are We Fighting For? : Sex, Race, Class, and the Future of Feminism (1997)
  • The Country You Have Never Seen (2007)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Clute: Russ, Joanna. In: John Clute, Peter Nicholls : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . 3rd edition (online edition), version dated May 21, 2018.
  2. ↑ Gabriele Griffin , 2002, Who's Who in Lesbian and Gay Writing , Routledge, page 172, ISBN 0415159849 .
personal data
SURNAME Russ, Joanna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 2011
Place of death Tucson , Arizona