Re: Arthur C Clarke, RIP

Kurt Busiek wrote:
> 
>  On 2008-03-22 12:01:22 -0700, "W. Citoan" <wcitoan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
said:
> 
> > Gene Ward Smith wrote:
> >> 
> >> He doesn't define himself as a science fiction author,
> > 
> > And what were we talking about?  A definition that excludes Bradbury.
> > Bradbury's definition excludes himself.
> 
>  No, it doesn't.  His definition is:
> 
>  "Science fiction is a depiction of the real, fantasy is a depiction of 
>  the unreal.  So The Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it's 
>  fantasy.  It couldn't happen, you see?"

Not the same quote as above...

>  That doesn't exclude Bradbury, it excludes THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES.

It excludes everything else per his statement that the only science
fiction book he's writtem is FAHRENHEIT 451.

>  It includes FAHRENHEIT 451, as Bradbury notes himself.

This gets us into the question of: if an author publishes one book of a
specific genre, but all their other books are in a second genre, should
they be called a genre one writer or a genre two writer who has written
a book in genre one?

I'd argue the second.  However, I also recognize that's a slipperly
slope as how many is enough? 

>  That Bradbury does'nt consider himself a science fiction writer is not 
>  definitional -- it's clearly meant to be descriptive of how Bradbury 
>  sees himself in general.  But by his definition, and by his direct 
>  statement, he's written science fiction.

People are forgetting the context of this thread.  A poster claimed that
we should rely on authors' definitions of what is science fiction and
then said there couldn't be a definition that excluded Bradbury and the
MARTIAN CHRONICLES.  However, Bradbury himself excludes the MARTIAN
CHRONICLES.  So much for appeals to authority...

I'm not arguing that he's not a science fiction author.  I consider
him to be one and I would classify MARTIAN CHRONICLES as science
fiction.  I'm objecting to the claim readers do not have a say.

- W. Citoan
-- 
Wilt thou seal up avenues of ill? Pay every debt, as though God wrote the
bill.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson