Laurie Winslow Sargent

Tag: science fiction

  • A 1968 Letter from Damon Knight to Hayden Howard

    I’m holding a letter typed 56 years ago, signed by Damon Knight (1922-2002.) It was sent from The Anchorage, in Milford PA, to author John Hayden Howard.

    Image of Damon Knight’s home called The Anchorage. It burned down in 1979, according to the Times Herald-Record.

    Damon Knight was a science fiction author who wrote over seventy stories and twenty novels. He edited the Orbit anthology series (see Knight in the Oregon Encyclopedia). Knight also founded the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association) and was later inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

    He and his sci-fi writing wife Kate Wilhelm co-founded the Milford Science Fiction Writer’s Conference, and hosted workshops in their big aging Victorian home, The Anchorage.

    One of his Knight’s stories, written in 1950, became an episode of The Twilight Zone. In “To Serve Man,” men find an alien cookbook with a recipe titled by the same name. They think it’s about how to feed humans. Spoiler Alert: it becomes apparent that they are the meal. I’ve seen that episode, which makes it even more fun having his signature in front of me.

    Knight also wrote for the Captain Video television show. (Incidentally, Hayden Howard was later asked by his agent Scott Meredith to audition to write for Captain Video. However, that would have involved a move to New York, so he didn’t go for that. He loved living in Santa Barbara!)

    Back to Damon Knight’s letter:

    At first glance, Knight’s letter to Hayden Howard looks like a simple a rejection letter. Those always sting for writers. Wrote Knight:

    I return this one with regrets. I grok some of it, but am not sure what the story as a whole is intended to mean.”

    Grok?  I see now that means grasped. Yay, a new fun word to use. You grok that?

    But then Knight followed that comment up with thoughtful questions about Howard’s plot and characters in the story he was rejecting, The Brave Candidates.

    I have an original copy of that. It’s interesting, yet agree that it’s not one of his best (unlike the other 17 stories I chose for the Reawakened Worlds anthologies). The Brave Candidates is a political story set on a planet where aliens (Earthmen) intrude.

    Howard had better success throughout his writing career with publishing other politically themed stories, so remember authors: no writers bat a thousand! In 1971, Hayden Howard’s political story To Grab Power was published by Isaac Asimov in one of his anthologies. It’s now being included in Reawakened Worlds Book 2, coming soon. So that one hit it out of the ballpark.

    On serialized stories vs. stand-alones:

    Knight mentioned that the story felt incomplete, “. . . as if it were one of those segments of novels Fred Pohl keeps printing.”

    Ironically, before Knight wrote this letter in August of ’68, Hayden Howard’s works had actually been serialized by Pohl, in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. One novelette in that series was nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards. The resulting novel, The Eskimo Invasion (1967, Ballantine) was also nominated, for best novel.

    Back to Fred Pohl: Frederick Pohl–in the same writing groups as Knight–was the 12th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, awarded by SFWA. Pohl also was later inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. So I suspect what Knight was saying (referring to Pohl’s segments of novels) was that he (Knight) was seeking standalone stories instead.

    A redeeming final comment from Knight:

    In Damon Knight’s letter to John, he revealed openness to more of Howard’s work:

    If I have missed the point, please forgive–and send me some more.”

    That makes this letter– in my opinion, one Holy Grail of a rejection! Any writer should feel fortunate to get such an intriguing and affirming rejection–as well as honest advice–from a future Hall-of-Famer.

    Fast-forwarding to the future, you can now download some stories by both Knight and Howard for free here, to read online or via Kindle, at Project Gutenberg.

    READ MORE ARTICLES ABOUT VINTAGE SCIENCE FICTION & HAYDEN HOWARD by Laurie Winslow Sargent

  • We Specialists: a sci-fi story in the Reawakened Worlds, Vol. 1 anthology

    We Specialists: a sci-fi story in the Reawakened Worlds, Vol. 1 anthology

    (John) Hayden Howard wrote his fictional short story We Specialists in 1967: three years after a horrific crime had been reported in the newspapers. Sixty years later, that case–and its reported “bystander effect”–is still discussed in countless psychology classes.

    Page 60 of Reawakened Worlds, with the story We Specialists, by John Hayden Howard. Story written in 1967,

    While Hayden couldn’t possibly have known that specific case would still be discussed sixty years later, it’s obvious it impacted him at the time. I know I never forgot the story from my own psych classes in the late 1970s. Imagine my surprise when I found something similar among Hayden Howard’s yellowing manuscripts.

    I nearly missed the association with his character’s futuristic name: Kitty G-3, because he makes no mention of any news story. As with Hayden’s usual subtle style, he simply tells a story and lets readers experience their own “ah-hah!” moments.

    For those of you unfamiliar with the original crime and hate spoilers, of course avoid Googling it. You can read John Hayden Howard’s sci-fi story in Reawakened Worlds Vol 1 before exploring the related news story. In the meantime, I’ll share no more details of the original crime previously mentioned!

    Let’s focus instead on the underlying message in Hayden’s story:

    Even in the distant future, no matter how high-tech that may be, I hope people will learn to all look out for each other. That, I’m sure, is the message Hayden meant to convey in We Specialists. That we can’t make excuses for not helping strangers, even if the government (as in his fiction story) were to attempt to box us into specific roles. That we should never become so desensitized to violence that we focus only on ourselves or on rules or laws.

    Yes, this brief short story is one of violence. I’m not a fan of anything truly gory, but I’d give this short story a PG 13 rating for violence, as he focused more on the ridiculousness of allowing ourselves to be confined by roles that exclude helping others. Showing that ridiculousness, his last line referring to a Homicide Specialist is a real kicker.

    About John Hayden Howard:

    John Hayden Howard was well-known in the 1960s for his science fiction writing (see the International Science Fiction Database) but also had published many mysteries and detective stories, in magazines including Ellery Queen’s (originally called Ellery Queen) mystery magazine. Perhaps Hayden saw “We Specialists” as a bit of a crime and sci-fi genre merge. Here’s where you can find the story (one of eight):

    To read descriptions of some of his other stories in Volume One, see my former posts on:

    The Tragedy of Henry Diddoh: a 1950s Frankenstein-ish story in Reawakened Worlds

    Gremmie’s Reef: in Reawakened Worlds Vol 1

    Hayden Howard: Short Stories with Creative Wordplay (featuring “Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ”)

    More stories to come!

    Volume Two of Reawakened Worlds, MORE Dystopian and Sci-Fi Short Stories, is slated for release in September, with pre-ordering soon! Here’s a sneak peek at the cover of book 2! Contact me (or Subscribe) to know the moment it’s released. And as always, I’d love to read your comment below. Let me know if you’ve read Volume One and how it grabbed you!

  • Hayden Howard: his creative wordplay in Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ

    Hayden Howard: his creative wordplay in Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ

    In his fun short stories including Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ, John Hayden Howard used creative wordplay and unique characterization in 1940s to 1960s historical settings.

    The Oxford Language Dictionary defines wordplay as “the witty exploitation of the meanings and ambiguities of words.” My own definition might be “describing settings and characters in an unusually creative way that make me laugh, or say a-hah!”

    In John Hayden Howard‘s short story Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ (in REAWAKENED WORLDS: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi by a Master Storyteller) note what I mean about his wordplay and characterization:

    Kindle Quote from the story Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ, in the book Reawakened Worlds: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi by a Master Storyteller, John Hayden Howard.

    When I see words like speed graphics and box brownies, I get the gist of them while knowing I’ve a bit to learn about old-timey camera equipment. Since Hayden wrote this story between 1951-’52 (based on the address on his original manuscript, written in St. Augustine FL) and set the story in the 1940s, there was no need for him to explain what kind of equipment this was to his readers back then.

    But for the curious 2020s crowd, this is what those historic cameras looked like:

    Graflex Speed Graphic camera (Creative Commons)
    Kodak Brownie camera

    Also note the way Hayden describes the appearance of the reporters: “Country, with bowl-head haircuts, pants don’t break on their shoe-tops, one still with a price tag on his coat.” So much imagery there! Those words also reveal the opinions and personality of the main character, The Champ, telling his story in first person.

    Also in this same story, Hayden drops breadcrumbs about time travelers. Pay close attention to those breadcrumbs, as they greatly impact what happens at the end of the story. Who, exactly, is the champ fighting?

    Some strong yet subtle clues come in near the end of the story, for example: “You were my hero when I was a kid.” Don’t miss those clues! The last few lines of the story are especially subtle reveals. If you aren’t already familiar with Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, and Jack Johnson, see their biographies.

    Here are hints though: these were the time periods in which these 3 boxers were champions—Joe Lewis (1934-1951), Jack Dempsey (1919-1926), and Jack Johnson (1908-1915). Galento fought Joe Lewis in 1931. There’s a fun Wikipedia article on Galento, who was said to have boxed a kangaroo and then a bear, as publicity stunts. And as you keep all these dates in mind, remember that the boxing match in Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ was set in the late 1940s. I wish I’d known all this before I read this story, as it makes it twice the fun.

    I must be honest though that Hayden fooled me. When I realized all the previously mentioned boxers were real, I assumed Redhead must be too. I spent an hour searching the internet for a famous boxer named Taylor in 1951. I felt like a dummy later, realizing it was impossible, because Hayden wrote this story when he was only 26 years old. Meaning–all boxers he knew of had to be alive then or before that. Any future boxers would still be babies or not born yet. If this still puzzles you, or if you get it, tweet me @LaurieSargent. I’m just hoping not to introduce a story spoiler here if you intend to read Reawakened Worlds.

    The story is especially fun to read in the print editions, as the ten rounds are laid out neatly, and the collectable hardcover is a delight to hold. Can you tell that I’m one of Hayden Howard’s greatest fans? Volume Two will be out in 2024 and hopefully a boxed set. Also, the audiobook makes the The Champ’s boxing match exciting.

    I admit that I’m biased, but I never would have compiled and edited his works had I not loved his stories and creative characters. I must add too that I’m not the kind of person who likes to watch boxing, so this story drew me in specifically by the characters, historical references, and surprise ending.

    Laurie

    See my posts on other sci-fi short stories in Reawakened Worlds, Vol 1:

    We Specialists (a dystopian reality check about following assigned roles)

    Gremmie’s Reef (a CA teen surfer makes an unusual underwater discovery)

    The Tragedy of Henry Diddoh (a Frankenstein-ish story about a professor)

    Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ (a 1940s boxer meets a time-traveling opponent)

    Mutiny in the Orbit of Uranus (an anti-gravity space battle)

  • Hugo Awards 1966-1967 Sci-Fi Nominees, (John) Hayden Howard, Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien and Isaac Asimov

    When Jack (John) Hayden Howard, my stepdad, was a nominee for the Hugo Awards in 1967 for his novelette, he was in good company. The previous year, in 1966, nominees included Frank Herbert, for Dune, and J.R.R. Tolkien for Lord of the Rings. Isaac Asimov and Edgar Rice Burroughs were also nominees. Star Trek won best Dramatic Presentation.

    That certainly was an exciting era in science fiction. It’s still exciting with the revival of so many of those titles in film, including the 2021 Warner Bros. Pictures film Dune. It’s amazing to realize it was released 56 years after the novel was written.

    The movie trailer for Dune on YouTube has had a whopping 36 milllion views. I suspect that author Frank Herbert’s mind would have been blown about that; hopefully he’d have been pleased with the film adaptation. I’m not sure whether or not his fans have been. Thoughts on that?

    As for 1967 Hugo award-nominated science fiction magazines: those were the same pubs Hayden wrote for: If, Analog, and Galaxy. Hayden Howard also had many of his stories illustrated by great sci-fi illustrators, including the Hugo 1967 award-winning artist, Jack Gaughan.

    Here’s the cover of one Galaxy issue I own, giving you a taste of sci-fi art in the 60s. The image within the cover illustration looks strikingly like a smartphone, doesn’t it?

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