16. Black SF authors
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This article is from the rec.arts.sf.written FAQ, by Evelyn C. Leeper evelynleeper@geocities.com with numerous contributions by others.
16. Black SF authors
Are there any black SF authors?
Yes. The three most prominent are Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler and
Steven Barnes. Others are Mary Aldridge, D. Christine Benders ("Hollow
Bones"), LeVar Burton, James Nelson Coleman (SEEKER FROM THE STARS and
THE NULL-FREQUENCY IMPULSER), Tananarive Due (THE BETWEEN), Nancy
Farmer (THE EYE, THE EAR, AND THE ARM; young adult), John M. Faucette
(AGE OF RUIN, CROWN OF INFINITY), Eric James Fullilove (THE STRANGER,
CIRCLE OF ONE), Jewelle Gomez (THE GILDA STORIES, vampire epic),
Virginia Hamilton ("The Justice Cycle" trilogy and young adult
fantasies), Nalo Hopkinson (short stories and a novel, BROWN GIRL IN
THE RING), A. M. Lightner (DAY OF THE DRONES; mostly young adult
novels), Jesse Miller, Frieda Murray, Ishmael Reed, Jewell Parker
Rhodes (VOODOO DREAMS, a novel about Marie Laveau), Charles R. Saunders
(IMARO and THE QUEST FOR CUSH), and Nisi Shawl (short stories).
Toni Morrison writes what is certainly fantasy, though she is not often
thought of as an SF ("speculative fiction") writer. Walter Mosely is
primarily known for mysteries, but he has written one SF novel, BLUE
LIGHT.
Butler and Hamilton have both won MacArthur Grants and are the only two
SF writers to have done so.
Dennis Lien (Dennis.K.Lien-1@tc.umn.edu) notes: "The FAQ list refers to
'Black SF Authors' as opposed to specifically 'African-American,' so it
may be worth noting that Charles Saunders is, more strictly,
Afro-Canadian (US-born but for a long time now a Canadian citizen, I
believe)."
Some other Black (but not African-American) SF authors: West Indian
authors Julian Jay Savarin (the Lemmus time trilogy) and Edgar
Mittelholzer (MY BONES AND MY FLUTE), and above all the
recently-deceased Yoruba writer Amos Tutuola (THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD
AND HIS DEAD PALM-WINE TAPSTER IN THE DEADS' TOWN; MY LIFE IN THE BUSH
OF GHOSTS; and others). It has been noted that both Alexander Pushkin
and Alexander Dumas pere were black (by current standards) and wrote
fantasy.
(There is a bibliography of the work of "people of color in the field
of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical
realism, and fantastical literature of any type)" at
http://www.netgsi.com/~fcowboy/intro.html. Its definition of "people
of color" may not agree with yours.)
[Provided by Evelyn Leeper [evelynleeper@geocities.com] and others.]
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