The Outspoken and the Incendiary
Description
In-depth, intense, insightful.
For more than a decade, radical science fiction author and activist journalist Terry Bisson interviewed some of the most provocative and outspoken authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Anarchism, sexuality, creativity, and the future of humanity itself—no topic was taboo. Bisson's prankster spirit also shone through as he quizzed his subjects about what cars they drove, played free association games, and created an atmosphere of two old friends having intimate late-night chats. Collected from PM Press's award-winning Outspoken Authors series for the first time, The Outspoken and the Incendiary showcases insightful and long-form explorations into the lives and minds of some of today’s most politically charged fiction writers.
“PM's Outspoken Authors series looks almost like a science fiction Who’s Who or Hall of Fame, except that I included myself. Because I could.” —Terry Bisson
Words and Thoughts By: Eleanor Arnason, Terry Bisson, Michael Blumlein, John Crowley, Samuel R. Delany, Cory Doctorow, Meg Elison, Karen Joy Fowler, Eileen Gunn, Elizabeth Hand, Cara Hoffman, Nalo Hopkinson, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Paul Krassner, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Lethem, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ken MacLeod, Nick Mamatas, Michael Moorcock, Paul Park, Gary Phillips, Marge Piercy, Rachel Pollack, Rudy Rucker, Kim Stanley Robinson, Carter Scholz, Nisi Shawl, John Shirley, Vandana Singh, and Norman Spinrad, with additional new contributions by Nalo Hopkinson, Jonathan Lethem, Nisi Shawl, Peter Coyote, and Rudy Rucker.
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Persons
Terry Bisson (1942–2024) was an author, editor, political activist, and friend to many. He was a Hugo and Nebula award-winning writer of seven novels, numerous short works of fiction, and over a dozen books for children and young adults. He was the author of On a Move: The Story of Mumia Abu Jamal and editor of PM Press’s Outspoken Authors series. PM Press published his books TVA Baby, Fire on the Mountain, and The Left Left Behind. He also wrote the long-running "This Month in History" series for Locus. His radical politics landed him in jail for refusing to give testimony to a grand jury investigating the radical underground. He operated Jacobin Books, a "revolutionary" mail-order book service, from 1985 to 1990. He was as much an activist’s activist as he was a literary powerhouse.
Content
Introduction: Jonathan Lethem
Eleanor Arnason “At the Edge of the Future”
Terry Bisson “Fried Green Tomatoes”
Michael Blumlein “A Babe in the Woods”
John Crowley “I Did Crash a Few Parties”
Samuel R. Delany “Discourse in an Older Sense”
Cory Doctorow “Look For the Lake”
Meg Elison “Sprawling into the Unknown”
Karen Joy Fowler “More Exuberant Than is Strictly Tasteful”
Eileen Gunn “I Did, and I Didn’t, and I Won’t”
Elizabeth Hand “Flying Squirrels in the Rafters”
Cara Hoffman “My Favorite Amphibian”
Nalo Hopkinson “Correcting the Balance”
James Patrick Kelly “Encounter with a Gadget Guy”
John Kessel “I Planned to Be an Astronomer”
Paul Krassner “Reflections of A Realist”
Joe R. Lansdale “That’s How You Clean a Squirrel”
Jonathan Lethem “Rooms Full of Old Books Are Immortal Enough for Me”
Ursula K. Le Guin “A Lovely Art”
Ken Macleod “Working the Wet End”
Nick Mamatas “Put Your Twist in the Middle”
Michael Moorcock “Get the Music Right”
Paul Park “Punctuality, Basic Hygiene, Gun Safety”
Gary Phillips “But I’m Gonna Put A Cat On You”
Marge Piercy “Living Off the Grid”
Rachel Pollack “Radical, Sacred, Hopefully Magical”
Rudy Rucker “Load On the Miracles and Keep a Straight Face”
Kim Stanley Robinson “A Real Joy to Be Had”
Carter Scholz “Gear. Food. Rocks.”
Nisi Shawl “The Fly in the Sugar Bowl”
John Shirley “Pro Is for Professional”
Vandana Singh “A Source of Immense Richness”
Norman Spinrad “No Regrets, No Retreat, No Surrender”
Afterword: Nalo Hopkinson
Elegies: Rudy Rucker and Peter Coyote