S P A C E L I G H T
INDEX
Name: KLASS, Philip
Aged: 89
Born: May 9, 1920
Where: London, ENGLAND
Died: Feb 7, 2010
Where: Mt. Lebanon, PA
Interred:
Married: Fruma S (survives)
When: March 1957
Honors: An asteroid discovered in 1983 was named after him; 1999 SF&F Writers of America Author Emeritus; 2004 Guest of Honor - World SF Convention.
Philip Klass as William Tenn
I have discovered that it isn't sex that
bothers people, it's sexual identity.
When Philip Klass died, he reduced the number of Golden Age science fiction writers still living to less than a handful. But unlike those ... and those elders preceding ... he had not lost his sense of wonder and taste for the medium, but remained active as long as he could in a supporting/teaching role. A very strange thing for a man to be doing who was widely known for his satire ... unless he realized that without an audience his genius would be for naught. Comparing him and his work to that of Kurt Vonnegut or Philip K Dick et al, at best, is a poop-and-pill comparison ... on the same track but at opposite ends of the spectrum (and offered up by people who pretend to know the difference). Ted Sturgeon wrote a widely quoted paragraph about Klass that has within it a very astute perception ... that Tenn's unique writing might require the creation "of two whole categories for our species: humanity and William Tenn."
Phil's life disects well, considering the complexity of the times ... the young man of English birth growing up during the Depression in Brooklyn, the WWII 3-year Army draftee, the post war writer's career in the Big Apple, the 23 year college tenure as English professor at Penn State University, and his retirement years beginning in 1989 and moving to Mt. Lebanon, PA, where he died.
In Klass was an example of a man who did not see that Love, Criticism, Hypocrisy, Education, Honor, Truth, Faith, Ego, Stupidity, and the Compatibility of Everything-in-Collision were in any way contradictory ... just mis-understood or badly applied; and all were invited, at some point, to his literary table for a unique view of things. Primarily known for his biting short stories and humorous essays, he wrote only one novel, Of Men and Monsters, and one novella, A Lamp for Medusa (var), both published in 1968. He also edited a 1950 anthology, Children of Wonder, science-fiction stories about children. There were five short story collections. Outstanding shorts among them are "The Masculinist Revolt," "Child's Play," "On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi," "The Liberation of Earth," "The Custodian," "Winthrop Was Stubborn," "Brooklyn Project," and many others.
I'm a very rational Jewish orthodox atheist mystic.
The complexity of this man's mind reminded me of a story over a half-century old that Phil told Avram Davidson about a unique experience while attending a New York party. "When I arrived, I was told excitedly by my host that the science fiction writer, William Tenn, was a guest and would I like to meet him. I said certainly ... and a younger man was pointed out to me, holding forth in a corner of one room. I worked my way over and listened for a time, generally impressed with the knowledge this lad had of my stories. After a while, without being obvious about it, I would chime in with a question or an obsolete story reference or a publication appearance ... and each time the answer came back flawlessly correct. After a while I turned away and joined the other guests."
Avram asked, "Didn't you tell him who you were?"
"Oh no, he was younger than I and better looking, almost as knowledgable about Tenn's works as I, and projected a far better 'William Tenn image' than I could have."
Klass was a classic example of a short story writer. There are several motivating reasons ... busy with Life and little time to spare, unable to fantasize on one thing for long periods, multiple priorities, family considerations, not wishing to escape reality for long periods of time ... or any combination thereof. But after 20 years in the mid 1960s, Klass was looking to move on and could sense the pulp magazine era was over and chose something in Academia rather than Hollywood, which drew away SF writers such as Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Leigh Brackett, Harlan Ellison, etc. with the Western/SF writers doing better than the Mystery/SF writers. And the pulps died in much the same way as an old barn falls apart, slowly and without hope of repair. Short stories were gone as a meaningful, financial market. The paperbacks persisted and have survived in various forms with short story editions now making a come-back. Phil Klass was the last of the Golden Age short story writers who actively supported pulp-fandom until death. Those fans shall miss him ... as will we all ... well, maybe not Hugh Hefner.
"William Tenn was both timely and timeless,
... a writer for the ages." Paul Di Fillipo
THUMBNAIL: From a larger, excellent photo by Adina Klass Lamana.
PEN NAMES: William Tenn (SF), Kenneth Putnam (SF),
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mine here.
OBITUARY: Various here.
ON-LINE: William Tenn's Home Page
WWII DATA: Army SN 32352558, Philip Klass, res Kings County, NY. Drafted June 12, 1942. Pvt. Born 1920 in England. White, not yet a citizen. 1 year of college.
