Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Strnad
Harlan is an extremist, undoubtedly. But he is a kind and generous and cordial extremist to those who treat him (and other writers) with honesty and forthrightness. He does not suffer fools or bullshitters. At all.
Love him or hate him, IMO the world is a better and more interesting place with Harlan in it.
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Harlan is a polarizing personality. People either love him or hate him, with no middle ground.
He's an extraordinary writer, who electrified SF with an assortment of visceral short stories that read like they were written in blood dripping from the writer's wounds. He became known to a wider audience through his work as a script writer for TV.
He's certainly been a tireless advocate for writer's rights, which have been under increasing pressure. TV trying to avoid residual payments to writers has been paralleled by attempts in publishing on media tie-ins to transition to forms of "work for hire" contracts where only a set fee is paid and royalties are
not.
Not all of his efforts are well directed. He was suing AOL for years over pirated copies of his stories appearing on their service, in apparent ignorance of the realities of the Internet and no understanding of what AOL could realistically
do to prevent it.
In recent years, I think most of his income has been various settlements from rights-related actions rather than from new writing.
In person, he can be brash, obnoxious, and offensive, and a number of folks who respect the writer can't stand the person.
I've run into him on occasions over the years, but don't claim to know him well. I think the opinion of those who do know him might be summed up by an old friend, who said "I've known Harlan for years, and we get along. But people who are just meeting him for the first time don't understand why people like me who've known him for years think he's
mellowed".
I take his latest announcement with a grain of salt. He's announced his retirement from con appearances before, but has returned to the fray. Maybe he will this time, too. Or maybe not - he
is 76, and will be leaving us sooner rather than later.
I hope the fans who see him at what may be his last con appearance enjoy the experience - when he's
on, he can be a real showman. And I certainly wish him many more years of life, and the opportunity and desire to actually
finish the stories he mentioned.
We'll see.
______
Dennis