Dangerous Visions, the revolutionary 1967 science fiction collection put together by Harlan Ellison has in many ways always been my Mt. Everest. It's not the longest book I've never read, but it's perhaps the most challenging one I wanted to read, and one has to be in the mood to be challenged I thought. So, it sat in my collection, wrapped in its handsome Leo and Diane Dillon wrapper, lost for many years in a forgotten box in the back of an inaccessible closet. It rested there unbothered along with its larger 1972 sequel Again, Dangerous Visions.
Much time passed.
Then the immortal Harlan Ellison died.
And suddenly I felt really, really old. The pugnacious and loquacious man who personified youth had fallen as we all must to the rigors of time. A sense of urgency came into my life as never before. If I was ever going to climb Everest it was now before my light too dimmed.
More time passed.
And then to my joy, a new highly readable edition of the vintage collection came to be and not just that, it brought with it, its published sequel, and its other sequel (The Last Dangerous Visions) never published at all. Everest was now tall indeed. As they say, every journey begins with a single step.
Let me get to steppin'!
Anticipate reports from Everest as they seem worthwhile. Or it's also possible I'll be lost on Everest for all time. But at least I'll have climbed it.
Rip Off
I was fortunate enough to meet and have dinner with Harlan Ellison on his campus visit to my alma mater. We hosted a small reception at our house for him where he sat in the only good chair (and good is relative). He did not disappoint.
ReplyDeleteI'm exceedingly jealous. Despite his flaws, he was one of my real-life heroes.
DeleteI was just a college student and it was like meeting a rock star. I should tell you my Robert Heinlein story sometime.
DeleteA few years ago BBC radio broadcast a dramatisation of Harlan Ellison's short story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" starring David Soul and Harlan Ellison himself as the voice of the mad computer.
ReplyDeleteI might have to seek that out. Found it. Thanks.
Deletehttps://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=I+have+no+mouth+and+I+must+scream+BBC+&mid=011A61E0744A2FEF3CF1011A61E0744A2FEF3CF1&FORM=VIRE
Ahhh . . . Ellison. The outspoken crafter of cutting edge speculative fiction. I've got a stack of his books in my library, all waiting to be read again. Upon checking, I have the Signet first edition paperbacks of Again, Dangerous Visions Vol.'s 1 and 2, which it appears they combined into one volume for the reprint. I highly recommend his two volumes of critical essays on television, The Glass Teat, especially for those that watched the tube in the late 60's. I briefly met him at the Change of Hobbit Bookstore in Santa Monica, CA in the early 70's, long enough to say, "Hi, Mr. Ellison, I really enjoy your books", blah-blah, until he gave me the stink-eye and I knew well enough to leave him to his browsing. The owner of the store was Sherry Gottlieb and her business card had her name as the "Hobbitch"! One of the best genre bookstores I've ever had the pleasure of visiting.
ReplyDeleteThe Glass Teat material might be my favorite Ellison stuff, and I know how that sounds. He's in such a groove in those little essays that it's like he's sitting next to you. I'm not saying it's his best stuff, just my favorite. I envy you meeting the man.
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