Susan Wood (literary scholar)
Susan Wood | |
|---|---|
 Photo by Jeff Frane c. 1978 | |
| Born | Susan Joan Wood August 22, 1948 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | November 12, 1980 (aged 32) Canada |
| Spouse | |
| Academic background | |
| Education | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Literature |
| Institutions | University of British Columbia |
Notable students | William Gibson |
Main interests | Science Fiction, Children's Literature, Canadian Literature |
Susan Joan Wood (August 22, 1948 – November 12, 1980) was a Canadian literary critic, professor, author and science fiction fan and editor. She won several awards for her work.
Early life and education
Wood was born in Ottawa, Canada.[1] She attended Carleton University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in 1970. She then moved to University of Toronto and earned a PhD in 1975.
Science fiction fan
Wood discovered science fiction fandom while she was studying at Carleton. While attending the Boston SF convention Boskone IV in 1969, she met fellow fan Mike Glicksohn of Toronto. Wood and Glicksohn married in 1970. Wood subsequently sometimes published as Susan Wood Glicksohn until she and Glicksohn broke up in 1973.
Energunem
In 1970, Wood and Glicksohn founded and published the science fiction fanzine Energumen, which continued for 15 issues. It won the 1973 Hugo Award for Best Fanzine. When Wood and Glicksohn broke up in 1973, Ergumenum ceased publication.
Wood and Glicksohn were co-guests of honor at the 1975 World Science Fiction Convention.
Professor
After earning her PhD in 1975, Wood joined the English Department at the University of British Columbia and taught Canadian literature, science fiction and children's literature.
While teaching courses in science fiction at UBC, one of her students was William Gibson; his first published story, "Fragments of a Hologram Rose", was originally written as an assignment in the class.[2]
SF critic
Wood published a great deal of trenchant criticism of the SF field, both in her own zines Aspidistra and Amor, and in more formal venues. She received three Hugo Awards for Best Fan Writer, in 1974, 1977, and 1981.
In 1976 Wood was instrumental in organizing the first feminist panel at a science fiction convention, at MidAmericon (that year's WorldCon). The reaction to this helped lead to the founding of A Women's APA[3] and of WisCon.[4]
From January to October 1978, she was the Vancouver editor of the Pacific Northwest Review of Books, and also edited a special science fiction/fantasy issue of Room of One's Own.
Personal life and death
Wood unexpectedly died 12 November 1980 at the age of 32.[5] A coroner's inquest found the cause of death was a massive heart attack.[5]
Legacy
Archives of some of Wood's papers are available in the library of the University of British Columbia.[6]
A memorial scholarship fund at Carleton University was established after her death, funded in part by donations from science fiction fandom and from the sale of parts of her collection of science fiction art.
Wood and Glicksohn were planning a special 16th edition of Energumen when Wood died. Glicksohn continued, making the issue, published in September 1981, "a tribute to the things [Wood] believed in and cared about."[7]: 5 The lighthearted cover art by Derek Carter shows Glicksohn and Wood emerging from a stack of old issues while readers try to run away.[7]
References
- ↑ Silver, Steven H. "August". Calendar Index. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ↑ Wallace-Wells, David (Summer 2011). "The Art of Fiction No. 211". The Paris Review.
- ↑ Quilter, Laura. "A Brief History of Feminist SF/F and Women in SF/F Archived 2018-10-04 at the Wayback Machine,"
- ↑ McClenahan, Catherine. "Wiscon, Then and Now," Wiscon 20 Souvenir Book, Madison: SF3 (1996): pp. 46-48.
- 1 2 Langford, Dave (14 December 1980). "Susan Wood, 1948-1980". Ansible.
- ↑ Niamath, Cheryl, "University of British Columbia Archives:Inventories:Susan Wood fonds" "UBC Archives - Susan Wood - Description". Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 1 2 "Energumen 16" (PDF). efanzines.
External links
- Susan Wood at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Complete archives of Susan Wood's fanzines Aspidistra and Amor, together with the posthumous anthology of her writings The Best of Susan Wood
- Susan Wood papers at the University of British Columbia Archived 2007-08-12 at the Wayback Machine via Internet Archive
- Friends of Susan Wood Facebook group
- 1948 births
- 1980 deaths
- Canadian academics of women's studies
- Canadian literary critics
- Canadian women literary critics
- Canadian science fiction writers
- Carleton University alumni
- Hugo Award–winning fan writers
- Science fiction academics
- Science fiction critics
- Science fiction editors
- Canadian speculative fiction critics
- Canadian speculative fiction editors
- University of Toronto alumni
- Academic staff of the University of British Columbia
- Writers from Ottawa
- 20th-century Canadian essayists
- Speculative fiction editors
- Canadian women editors
- Canadian women essayists