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William Tenn

January 10, 2023

This article is about the science fiction author. For the UFO researcher, see Philip J. Klass.

William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements.[1]

William Tenn
Tenn in 2002
BornPhilip Klass
(1920-05-09)May 9, 1920
London, England
DiedFebruary 7, 2010(2010-02-07) (aged 89)
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States
Resting placeQueen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Period1946–2004
GenreScience fiction
Notable awardsAuthor Emeritus
SpouseFruma Klass
Website
dpsinfo.com/williamtenn
Tenn's short novel "Medusa Was a Lady" was the cover story in the October 1951 issue of Fantastic Adventures, but would not appear in book form (as A Lamp for Medusa) until 1968

Biography

Born to a Jewish family[2] in London, Phillip Klass moved to New York City with his parents before his second birthday and grew up in Brooklyn, the oldest of three children. After serving in the United States Army during World War II as a combat engineer in Europe, he held a job as a technical editor with an Air Force radar and radio laboratory and was employed by Bell Labs.

Phillip and Fruma Klass married in 1957, and they moved in 1966 to State College, Pennsylvania, where he taught English and comparative literature at Penn State University for 22 years.[3] Students of his who would go on to professional careers as writers included Rambo creator David Morrell,[4] screenwriter Steven E. de Souza, technology writer Steven Levy and crime novelist Ray Ring.

Phil's wife, Fruma Klass (b. 1935), grew up in New York City and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn College to work as a lab technician, a medical editor and a Harper & Row copy editor. At Penn State, she was a writing instructor and a copy editor for the Penn State University Press.

When Phil Klass retired, the couple moved to the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon in 1988, and she took a job as an editor with Black Box Corporation. That same year, her first short story, "Before the Rainbow," was published in the anthology Synergy 3. In 1996, her second story, "After the Rainbow," won a Writers of the Future prize; the story was published in Writers of the Future, Vol. XII. In 2004, she entered a worldwide essay competition, the Power of Purpose Awards, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. Competing against 7,000 entrants from 97 countries, she won $25,000 for her essay, "Streets of Mud, Streets of Gold."[5]

Phil and Fruma Klass were members of the Pittsburgh Area Real Time Science Fiction Enthusiasts Consortium (PARSEC), and were frequent speakers at its local conference, Confluence.

Phil Klass was a Guest of Honor at Noreascon 4, the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention. He was the Author Guest of Honor at Loscon 33 at the LAX Marriott in Los Angeles in 2006.[6]

He has published most of his fiction as William Tenn and much of his nonfiction as Phil (or Philip) Klass.[7][8] He is sometimes confused with UFO debunker Philip J. Klass, who was born six months earlier and who died August 9, 2005.

Klass was related to other writers, including his nieces, Perri Klass and Judy Klass, his nephew David Klass, and his brother Morton Klass.

He died on February 7, 2010, of congestive heart failure, and was survived by his wife Fruma, daughter Adina, and sister Frances Goldman-Levy.[9]

Writing

Klass published academic articles, essays, two novels and more than 60 short stories. He began writing while working at Bell Labs, and his radar lab experience prompted his first story, "Alexander the Bait", about a radar beam aimed at the moon. It was published in Astounding Science Fiction (May 1946), and within months a Signal Corps lab bounced a radar beam off the moon, making his story obsolete. He commented, "It was a bad story, just good enough to be published. Others in the same magazine were much better, so I really worked hard on my second one. I did as well as I knew how."

Some of the nonfiction articles in the trade periodical TWX Magazine have been attributed to Klass during his employment at Bell Labs, although most were published without by-lines.[10]

His second story, the widely reprinted "Child's Play" (1947), told of a lawyer who creates people with his Bild-A-Man kit, a Christmas gift intended for a child of the future. After publication in Astounding Science Fiction (May 1946), Tenn was soon hailed as the science fiction field's reigning humorist, and during the early 1950s, readers of Galaxy Science Fiction looked forward to issues featuring his satirical science fiction.

Many stories followed, including "Venus and the Seven Sexes" (1951), "Down Among the Dead Men" (1954), "The Liberation of Earth", "Time in Advance" (1956) and "On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi" (1974). One of his non-fiction articles, "Mr. Eavesdropper," was later collected in Best Magazine Articles, 1968. His essay and interview collection, Dancing Naked, was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2004. He was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1999.[9]

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ranked Tenn as "one of the genre's very few genuinely comic, genuinely incisive writers of short fiction."[11] Theodore Sturgeon summed up Tenn's humorous viewpoint on life:

It would be too wide a generalization to say that every SF satire, every SF comedy and every attempt at witty and biting criticism found in the field is a poor and usually cheap imitation of what this man has been doing since the 1940s. His incredibly involved and complex mind can at times produce constructive comment so pointed and astute that the fortunate recipient is permanently improved by it. Admittedly, the price may be to create two whole categories for our species: humanity and William Tenn. For each of which you must create your ethos and your laws. I've done that. And to me it's worth it.

Tenn wrote two novels, both published in 1968. Of Men and Monsters is an expansion of his story "The Men in the Walls", originally in Galaxy Science Fiction (October 1963).[12] A Lamp for Medusa was published as a double novel with Dave Van Arnam's The Players of Hell. This novella was an expansion of his story "Medusa Was a Lady!" from the October, 1951 issue of Fantastic Adventures.

Theater

In 1978, the University Readers at Penn State University presented a dramatization, directed by Joseph Wigley, of four of Tenn's short stories under the title Four From Tenn. The selected stories were "The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway", "Bernie the Faust", "The Tenants", and "My Mother Was a Witch".[13]

Pittsburgh's Malacandra Productions staged a nine-character play adapted by John Regis from the classic Tenn science fiction short story, "Winthrop Was Stubborn". Directed by David Brody for the Three Rivers Arts Festival, this production ran from June 2 through June 17, 2006.[14]

Works

Online
  • William Tenn: "Constantinople" (full text)
  • William Tenn: "Poul Anderson" (full text)
  • William Tenn: "Welles or Wells: The First Invasion from Mars" (full text)
  • William Tenn: "On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!" (full text)

References

  1. ^ Jonas, Gerald (February 14, 2010). "William Tenn, Science Fiction Author, Is Dead at 89". New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  2. ^ Gershom, Yonassan (March 13, 2013). Jewish Themes in Star Trek. ISBN 9781458397683.
  3. ^ "Klass notes emphasis on future: Science fiction invasion". Daily Collegian. Penn State University. April 26, 1972. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  4. ^ White, Ken (April 2, 2004). "First Love". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2010. It was only while a grad student at Penn State in 1968 that Morrell found his direction. He was in a bookstore one day with his mentor, novelist Philip Klass (better known under his pseudonym, William Tenn), who pointed out the thriller section.
  5. ^ Fuoco, Linda Wilson (October 14, 2004). "Essay winner uses family's legacy to inspire others". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "Loscon History". The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  7. ^ Pace, Eric (September 20, 1973). "'Weirdo' Writers Of Sci-Fi Okay Now". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  8. ^ Abbey, Alan D. (February 13, 2004). "Aliens no longer". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  9. ^ a b Mahon, Ed (February 8, 2010). . Centre Daily Times. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  10. ^ Clareson, Thomas D., ed. (1976). Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers, Vol. 1. The Popular Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-87972-119-7.
  11. ^ Clute and Nicholls 1995, pp. 1209-1210.
  12. ^ Earley, George W. (February 2, 1969). "Spaceman's Bookshelf". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  13. ^ Clifford, Anne (January 30, 1978). "It's science fiction drama". Daily Collegian. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Stephenson, Philip A. (June 14, 2006). "Stage Review: 'Winthrop' tussles with tough questions". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 8, 2010.

Sources

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to William Tenn.

January 10, 2023
william, tenn, this, article, about, science, fiction, author, researcher, philip, klass, pseudonym, philip, klass, 1920, february, 2010, british, born, american, science, fiction, author, notable, many, stories, with, satirical, elements, tenn, 2002bornphilip. This article is about the science fiction author For the UFO researcher see Philip J Klass William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass May 9 1920 February 7 2010 a British born American science fiction author notable for many stories with satirical elements 1 William TennTenn in 2002BornPhilip Klass 1920 05 09 May 9 1920London EnglandDiedFebruary 7 2010 2010 02 07 aged 89 Mt Lebanon Pennsylvania United StatesResting placeQueen of Heaven Catholic CemeteryLanguageEnglishNationalityAmericanPeriod1946 2004GenreScience fictionNotable awardsAuthor EmeritusSpouseFruma KlassWebsitedpsinfo wbr com wbr williamtennTenn s short novel Medusa Was a Lady was the cover story in the October 1951 issue of Fantastic Adventures but would not appear in book form as A Lamp for Medusa until 1968 Contents 1 Biography 2 Writing 3 Theater 4 Works 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksBiography EditBorn to a Jewish family 2 in London Phillip Klass moved to New York City with his parents before his second birthday and grew up in Brooklyn the oldest of three children After serving in the United States Army during World War II as a combat engineer in Europe he held a job as a technical editor with an Air Force radar and radio laboratory and was employed by Bell Labs Phillip and Fruma Klass married in 1957 and they moved in 1966 to State College Pennsylvania where he taught English and comparative literature at Penn State University for 22 years 3 Students of his who would go on to professional careers as writers included Rambo creator David Morrell 4 screenwriter Steven E de Souza technology writer Steven Levy and crime novelist Ray Ring Phil s wife Fruma Klass b 1935 grew up in New York City and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn College to work as a lab technician a medical editor and a Harper amp Row copy editor At Penn State she was a writing instructor and a copy editor for the Penn State University Press When Phil Klass retired the couple moved to the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt Lebanon in 1988 and she took a job as an editor with Black Box Corporation That same year her first short story Before the Rainbow was published in the anthology Synergy 3 In 1996 her second story After the Rainbow won a Writers of the Future prize the story was published in Writers of the Future Vol XII In 2004 she entered a worldwide essay competition the Power of Purpose Awards sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation Competing against 7 000 entrants from 97 countries she won 25 000 for her essay Streets of Mud Streets of Gold 5 Phil and Fruma Klass were members of the Pittsburgh Area Real Time Science Fiction Enthusiasts Consortium PARSEC and were frequent speakers at its local conference Confluence Phil Klass was a Guest of Honor at Noreascon 4 the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention He was the Author Guest of Honor at Loscon 33 at the LAX Marriott in Los Angeles in 2006 6 He has published most of his fiction as William Tenn and much of his nonfiction as Phil or Philip Klass 7 8 He is sometimes confused with UFO debunker Philip J Klass who was born six months earlier and who died August 9 2005 Klass was related to other writers including his nieces Perri Klass and Judy Klass his nephew David Klass and his brother Morton Klass He died on February 7 2010 of congestive heart failure and was survived by his wife Fruma daughter Adina and sister Frances Goldman Levy 9 Writing EditKlass published academic articles essays two novels and more than 60 short stories He began writing while working at Bell Labs and his radar lab experience prompted his first story Alexander the Bait about a radar beam aimed at the moon It was published in Astounding Science Fiction May 1946 and within months a Signal Corps lab bounced a radar beam off the moon making his story obsolete He commented It was a bad story just good enough to be published Others in the same magazine were much better so I really worked hard on my second one I did as well as I knew how Some of the nonfiction articles in the trade periodical TWX Magazine have been attributed to Klass during his employment at Bell Labs although most were published without by lines 10 His second story the widely reprinted Child s Play 1947 told of a lawyer who creates people with his Bild A Man kit a Christmas gift intended for a child of the future After publication in Astounding Science Fiction May 1946 Tenn was soon hailed as the science fiction field s reigning humorist and during the early 1950s readers of Galaxy Science Fiction looked forward to issues featuring his satirical science fiction Many stories followed including Venus and the Seven Sexes 1951 Down Among the Dead Men 1954 The Liberation of Earth Time in Advance 1956 and On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi 1974 One of his non fiction articles Mr Eavesdropper was later collected in Best Magazine Articles 1968 His essay and interview collection Dancing Naked was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2004 He was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1999 9 The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ranked Tenn as one of the genre s very few genuinely comic genuinely incisive writers of short fiction 11 Theodore Sturgeon summed up Tenn s humorous viewpoint on life It would be too wide a generalization to say that every SF satire every SF comedy and every attempt at witty and biting criticism found in the field is a poor and usually cheap imitation of what this man has been doing since the 1940s His incredibly involved and complex mind can at times produce constructive comment so pointed and astute that the fortunate recipient is permanently improved by it Admittedly the price may be to create two whole categories for our species humanity and William Tenn For each of which you must create your ethos and your laws I ve done that And to me it s worth it Tenn wrote two novels both published in 1968 Of Men and Monsters is an expansion of his story The Men in the Walls originally in Galaxy Science Fiction October 1963 12 A Lamp for Medusa was published as a double novel with Dave Van Arnam s The Players of Hell This novella was an expansion of his story Medusa Was a Lady from the October 1951 issue of Fantastic Adventures Theater EditIn 1978 the University Readers at Penn State University presented a dramatization directed by Joseph Wigley of four of Tenn s short stories under the title Four From Tenn The selected stories were The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway Bernie the Faust The Tenants and My Mother Was a Witch 13 Pittsburgh s Malacandra Productions staged a nine character play adapted by John Regis from the classic Tenn science fiction short story Winthrop Was Stubborn Directed by David Brody for the Three Rivers Arts Festival this production ran from June 2 through June 17 2006 14 Works EditThe Evolution of William Tenn or Myself When Young 1939 although these stories first published in book form by the Pretentious Press in 1995 Children of Wonder anthology edited by William Tenn 1953 Of All Possible Worlds 1955 The Human Angle 1956 Time in Advance 1958 A Lamp for Medusa novella published as a double with The Players of Hell by Dave Van Arnam 1968 Of Men and Monsters 1968 novel Once Against the Law 1968 anthology of crime fiction edited by Tenn and Donald E Westlake The Seven Sexes 1968 The Square Root of Man 1968 The Wooden Star 1968 On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi 1974 published in several collections Immodest Proposals The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn Volume I omnibus 2000 Here Comes Civilization The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn Volume II omnibus 2001 Dancing Naked the Unexpurgated William Tenn non fiction omnibus 2004 Hugo Nominee Best Related Book 2005 OnlineWilliam Tenn Constantinople full text William Tenn Poul Anderson full text William Tenn Remembrance of Worldcons Past full text William Tenn Welles or Wells The First Invasion from Mars full text Streets of Mud Streets of Gold 25 000 award winning essay by Fruma Klass full text William Tenn On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi full text References Edit Jonas Gerald February 14 2010 William Tenn Science Fiction Author Is Dead at 89 New York Times p A24 Retrieved February 15 2010 Gershom Yonassan March 13 2013 Jewish Themes in Star Trek ISBN 9781458397683 Klass notes emphasis on future Science fiction invasion Daily Collegian Penn State University April 26 1972 Retrieved February 8 2010 White Ken April 2 2004 First Love Las Vegas Review Journal Retrieved February 8 2010 It was only while a grad student at Penn State in 1968 that Morrell found his direction He was in a bookstore one day with his mentor novelist Philip Klass better known under his pseudonym William Tenn who pointed out the thriller section Fuoco Linda Wilson October 14 2004 Essay winner uses family s legacy to inspire others Pittsburgh Post Gazette Retrieved February 8 2010 Loscon History The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society Retrieved February 8 2010 Pace Eric September 20 1973 Weirdo Writers Of Sci Fi Okay Now Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal Retrieved February 8 2010 Abbey Alan D February 13 2004 Aliens no longer Jerusalem Post Retrieved February 8 2010 a b Mahon Ed February 8 2010 Ex PSU professor sci fiwriter dies at 89 Centre Daily Times Archived from the original on February 11 2010 Retrieved February 8 2010 Clareson Thomas D ed 1976 Voices for the Future Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers Vol 1 The Popular Press p 212 ISBN 0 87972 119 7 Clute and Nicholls 1995 pp 1209 1210 Earley George W February 2 1969 Spaceman s Bookshelf The Hartford Courant Retrieved February 8 2010 Clifford Anne January 30 1978 It s science fiction drama Daily Collegian Retrieved February 8 2010 Stephenson Philip A June 14 2006 Stage Review Winthrop tussles with tough questions Pittsburgh Post Gazette Retrieved February 8 2010 Sources EditClute John and Peter Nicholls The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction New York St Martin s Griffin 1993 2nd edition 1995 ISBN 0 312 13486 X Stephensen Payne Phil and Gordon Benson Jr William Tenn High Klass Talent A Working Bibliography Galactic Central Publications 1993 ISBN 1 871133 39 4 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to William Tenn Official website William Tenn at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database William Tenn at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 3rd edition draft Bibliography Works by Philip Klass at Project Gutenberg Works by or about William Tenn and Philip Klass at Internet Archive Works by Philip Klass at LibriVox public domain audiobooks More Than a Touch of Klass by Laurie Mann UPI January 2 1977 Scifi Author Predicts Mankind to Kill Itself Reading Eagle p 37 Past Masters In a Klass By Himself or Tops On a Scale of One to Tenn by Bud Webster at Galactic Central William Tenn at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Tenn amp oldid 1076320570, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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