[EMAIL PROTECTED] I enjoyed his writing. He will be missed. *sigh* Amy
www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/metro/chi-hed-budrys-11-jun11,0,1972869.story chicagotribune.com Algis Budrys 1931 ~ 2008 Tapped human side of science fiction By Trevor Jensen Tribune reporter June 11, 2008 Algis Budrys wrote deeply intellectual science fiction that grappled with the motives behind human behavior, and he taught the craft of writing to hundreds of students through seminars and workshops. Mr. Budrys, 77, died of metastatic malignant melanoma Monday, June 9, at his Evanston home, said his son David. Known to friends as "A.J.," Mr. Budrys' books, particularly 1960's "Rogue Moon" and 1977's "Michaelmas" are highly regarded by critics and students of the genre. His work explored "the way a person feels or develops, more than with wild space adventures," said his wife, Edna. "A lot of his books are about identity, who we are and why do we do what we do," said Charles Brown, editor of the science fiction magazine Locus. The plot of "Michaelmas" touched on computer hacking and domination of human behavior by machines, "which pretty much predicted a lot of what's going on today," Brown said. "He was well ahead of his time." "He had an interesting, almost middle-European attitude toward the world. He spent more time thinking about what could go wrong than what might go right," said Frederik Pohl, an acclaimed science fiction writer who at various times was Mr. Budrys' agent and editor. Mr. Budrys was born in the former Konigsberg, a city then in East Prussia, where his father was stationed as a Lithuanian diplomat. The rise of Adolf Hitler-Mr. Budrys' wife said he never forgot seeing the German leader standing up in an open car as it roared through a crowd-led the family to relocate to Paris, then New York City. At 6, Mr. Budrys discovered science fiction in the funny pages of the city's newspapers, despite his parents' order that he not read such strange material. But he was hooked, and by 9 was turning out his own stories. Mr. Budrys attended the University of Miami and Columbia University in New York, dropping out not long after selling his first story to a science fiction magazine. "He decided he knew more than his teachers," his wife said. They married in 1954 in a ceremony attended by writers including Isaac Asimov, relatives said. He was a productive writer early in his career who used pen names to cover that he often had multiple stories in publications such as Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy and If. Like many writers, though, he eventually needed a day job. In 1961, he moved to Evanston to work as an editor with Regency Books. He later held editing positions with Playboy Press. From 1969 to 1974, he was a public relations account manager in charge of International Truck for Young & Rubicam. That job got him involved with four-wheel-drive truck racing. He also was a bicycle mechanic, building his own bikes with top-end French and Italian components. That hobby led to a book, "Bicycles: How They Work and How to Fix Them." Such down-to-earth hobbies flew in the face of the science fiction stereotype. "He was not geeky," his son said. Mr. Budrys' writing output slowed during the years, in part because he was a deliberate writer-"he took forever sometimes," his wife said-and because he became more involved in teaching and working with L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Program. He was for many years the coordinating judge of that program for young writers, which he insisted distance itself from Scientology, a practice to which he did not subscribe, his son said. Mr. Budrys' teaching schedule took him to workshops at many colleges and universities, including Harvard in Massachusetts and Pepperdine in California. He also was a busy reviewer of science fiction, and a collection of his critical work was published as "Benchmarks." Other survivors include three more sons, Jeffrey, Steven and Timothy; and two grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. A service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the funeral home. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 6/12/2008 7:13 AM
