Literary Birthday – 18 August – Brian Aldiss

Brian Aldiss was born on 18 August 1925 and died on 18 August 2017.

Seven Brian Aldiss Quotes

1. Science fiction is no more written for scientists than ghost stories are written for ghosts.
2. Whatever creativity is, it is in part a solution to a problem.
3. I am a writer and always was; being a writer is an integral part of my identity. Being published, being well regarded, is a component of that identity.
4. I’m lucky that SFWA has such a short memory. I was always the Young Turk, the gadfly. Part of the New Wave, although I didn’t fit in there either! I spent years, and two histories, putting the so-called Old Guard in their place, and now I’m one of them!
5. Most of my poetry lies beyond the SF field, yet here I am corralled into ‘SF poetry’ as part of this poetry weekend. Of course, some might say, ‘you’ve made your own bed — now you must lie in it!’ But, while fully accepting that dictum, I’m not yet quite prepared to lie down…
6. It is comparatively easy to become a writer; staying a writer, resisting formulaic work, generating one’s own creativity – that’s a much tougher matter.
7. I can’t help believing that these things that come from the subconscious mind have a sort of truth to them. It may not be a scientific truth, but it’s psychological truth.

Brian Aldiss was an English author of both general fiction and speculative fiction. He used slipstream fiction techniques in his writing, particularly in A Report on Probability. Greatly influenced by the science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss was a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society. He published more than 100 books, including novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies, and non-fiction books. His works of fiction include Non-Stop and Hothouse.

Source for Image: Szymon Sokół, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Aldiss_2005.JPG

by Amanda Patterson

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