The Book of Ellison

This book (from what I can tell) was published when Ellison was the 1978 Worldcon Pro Guest of Honor. As such, it is an interesting collection of remembrances by other authors, and Ellison writing about things. Many of the other author’s pieces are new, but the Ellison pieces are reprints. Nonetheless, you may have trouble finding them anywhere else. The only one I recognized was “The Whore With a Heart of Iron Pyrite; or, Where Does a Writer Go To Find a Maggie?” – the story of how “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes” came about; one that is always worth re-reading. And the other authors’ works provide some good insight into Ellison. For the first time, I learned who it was that falsely turned Ellison in on drug charges; the episode that led to his visit to the tombs in New York. David Gerrolds “essay” (“7,000 More Words About Harlan Ellison”) about loving and hating Harlan also stands out. He has included a piece he put together when he was in hate mode, and it does as much about explaining relationships with Ellison as anything else I’ve seen.

I am sure there was some controversy around this book. There are a couple of Ellison essays which rip into established science fiction and names names. And I have seen a couple of references indicating that Ellison himself may not have been happy about the book. (Probably, if nothing else, because the drawing on the front shows him smoking a cigarette.) Nonetheless, for someone with an interest in Ellison, it is a nice cross-section and, to my mind, a nice tribute. ( )