Paul O. Williams

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Paul Osborne Williams (* 17th January 1935 in Chatham , New Jersey ; † 2. June 2009 in Hayward (California) ) was an American science fiction - author .

Life

Paul O. Williams grew up in Elsah ( Illinois ), whereas his family moved early, and closed there too the College with a BA from before he English at the University of Pennsylvania studied. He then received his PhD in 1962 and taught at Duke University . Then he returned to his hometown and was Professor of English and Literature at the very school he had attended as a child, Principia College. He founded the Historic Elsah Foundation , which was devoted to researching regional history, and ran a local history museum . In addition to publications on local history, he is also the author of poems in the tradition of haiku and senryū and books on the poetry of haiku and was President of the Haiku Society of America .

He died of an aortic dissection in 2009 .

plant

A thousand years after a nuclear war that devastated large parts of North America , the Pelbar cycle is about the matriarchal ruled city of Pelbar on the Heart River, formerly known as the Mississippi - quite recognizable where in reality Elsah lies. As civilization slowly spreads over the continent again, the rulers of Pelbars have to realize that there are human communities in other regions of the world as well, and that these are very different from Pelbar. As the still contaminated land is explored little by little (this is where Williams uses much of his knowledge of the history of the American Midwest), the people of Pelbar must grapple with hostile groups such as slave owners and seek allies among the nomads . The seven-volume series of novels received a lot of attention, was translated into German by Irene Holicki and was reprinted in 2005/06. The two completed volumes of the Gorboduc series (a space opera ) have not yet been translated into German.

Pelbar cycle

  • The citadel of Nordwall , 1985 ( The Breaking Of North Wall , 1981)
  • The ends of the circle , 1985 ( The Ends Of The Circle , 1981)
  • The dome in the forest , 1985 ( The Dome In The Forest , 1982)
  • The case of Shell , 1985 ( The Fall Of The Shell , 1983)
  • The Ambush Of Shadows , 1985 ( An Ambush Of Shadows , 1983)
  • The song of the ax , 1985 ( The Song Of The Ax , 1984)
  • The sword of patience , 1986 ( Sword Of Forbearance , 1986)

Gorboduc novels

  • The Gifts of the Gorboduc Vandal , 1989
  • The Man from Far Cloud , 2004

Haiku

  • The Edge of the Woods. 55 Haiku , 1968
  • Tracks on the River , 1982
  • Growing in the Rain , 1991
  • Outside Robins Sing. Selected Haiku , 1999
  • The Nick of Time. Essays on Haiku Aesthetics , 2001

Prizes and awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Das Heyne Science Fiction Year 2010 , p. 231

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Williams, Paul O.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Paul Osborne (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Chatham , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 2009
Place of death Hayward , California