Discovered Gateway when I was about 13. What a story to expand a young mind! Beyond The Blue Event Horizon and Jem, which I re-read earlier this year, also made big impressions.
His role in supporting other authors can't be overlooked, either -- check out his two-part blog account of how Delaney's Dhalgren got published (1).
One of the other remarkable things I discovered about Pohl through his blog is just how long he was involved with science fiction. This 2009 post talks about what it was like being a hard-core sci-fi fan in the 1930s (2). I read another one (can't find it now) where he talks about joining the first "con" in the same decade, and meeting some early writers. Almost all of them were gone by the time he wrote the blog post ... he was the last one who remembered that era of raw imagination, and had lived to see many future technologies and concepts become reality. His writing reflected a pessimism about humanity, but also a sense of hope.
His role in supporting other authors can't be overlooked, either -- check out his two-part blog account of how Delaney's Dhalgren got published (1).
One of the other remarkable things I discovered about Pohl through his blog is just how long he was involved with science fiction. This 2009 post talks about what it was like being a hard-core sci-fi fan in the 1930s (2). I read another one (can't find it now) where he talks about joining the first "con" in the same decade, and meeting some early writers. Almost all of them were gone by the time he wrote the blog post ... he was the last one who remembered that era of raw imagination, and had lived to see many future technologies and concepts become reality. His writing reflected a pessimism about humanity, but also a sense of hope.
Thank you, Mr. Pohl, for your gifts to the world.
1. http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/11/chip-delany/
2. http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/09/let-there-be-fan...