On Wed, 16 Apr 1997, Heather Whipple wrote:
>
> Finally, has anyone read _The Sparrow_ yet? It too escaped the NYT Book
> Review sf ghetto with its own "real" review, though actually I'm not
> entirely sure it felt like sf to me anyway. However, it does add more
> evidence to my sense that the Tiptree award winners make a wacky set of
> titles! (and I say that with great affection and admiration for the
> award) Taken individually each book and story is great. But it's quite
> difficult, I think, to really generalize anything about the works as a
> group. Of course, there's no reason we *should* be able to do that,
> except maybe as a way of thinking about the award.
>
>
> Farrah and Mike mentioned the SFRA list. Could one of you (or anyone else
> who knows) post subscription info for it? Thanks.
>
> ***************
> Heather Whipple
> hwhipple@script.lib.indiana.edu
>
I loved The Sparrow, despite a few dumb ideas (asteroid mining 20 years
from now? Right). The characters were wonderful and the language too.
One reason as to why the Tiptree winners have been so diverse (a good
thing in my opinion) is that there is some disagreement over what the
criteria are/should be for winning. Some people believe the story should
essentially go for the best radical feminist story of the year. Others
emphasize that the story has to be about "gender bending," ie. new ways
of looking at gender. Still others simply argue for the best fantasy or
sf story of the year which is clearly feminist or gender-related
regardless of how radical its ideas are. When asked to rule on the actual
criteria (or so I've been told by a former Tiptree jury member), the
founding mothers (Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler) tend to smile
enigmatically and say nothing.
As far as the SFRA list goes, unfortunately, in order to get on the SFRA
list you have to be an SFRA (Science Fiction Research Association)
member, a policy I disagree with (but I was out-voted). Membership costs
$60 per year (going up to $80 next year). For this you get entry onto the
list, subscriptions to 3 journals (Extrapolation, SF Studies, and SFRA
Review), a membership directory, inside info on conferences, and (for
slightly more money) discount subscriptions to Foundation and the NY
Review of SF. If you're interested in membership, contact me off the list.
Mike Levy
levymm@uwec.edu
levym@uwstout.edu
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