Avram Davidson
Encyclopedia
Avram Davidson was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction
, and crime fiction
, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award
and three World Fantasy Award
s in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award
and an Edgar Award
in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis
and was a Nebula Award
finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
He was active in science fiction fandom from his teens. His best-known works are his novels about Vergil Magus, the magician that medieval legend made out of the Roman poet Virgil
; the Peregrine novels, a comic view of Europe shortly after the fall of Rome; the Jack Limekiller stories about a Canadian living in an imaginary Central American country modelled after Belize
during the 1960s, and the stories of Dr. Eszterhazy, a sort of even more erudite Sherlock Holmes
ian figure living in the mythical Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania, the waning fourth-largest empire in Europe.
In Joyleg, A Folly, written in collaboration with Ward Moore
, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War
(and of the Whiskey Rebellion
) is found alive and very well in the Tennessee
backwoods, having survived over the centuries by daily soaks in whisky of his own making to hilariously face the world of the 1960s.
Davidson also wrote dozens of short stories that defy classification, and the Adventures in Unhistory essays, which delve into puzzles such as the identity of Prester John
and suggest solutions to them. His earlier historical essays were scrupulously researched, even when published by magazines just as happy to offer fiction as fact.
Very little may happen in a Davidson story, but he enjoyed describing it in enormous detail with many elements that beginning writers are told to avoid, such as page-long sentences with half a dozen colons and semi-colons, or an irrelevant digression in the opening pages of a story.
. He served as a Navy hospital corpsman (medic) with the Marine Corps
in the Pacific
during World War II
, and began his writing career as a Talmud
ic scholar around 1950. This made his study of and conversion to Tenrikyo
in the 1970s rather surprising. Although he had a reputation for being quick to anger when anyone tampered with his work or misunderstood it, Davidson was also greatly in demand as a storyteller, and well-known among his friends for his extreme generosity.
He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy
authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's
Flashing Swords!
anthologies.
While editing The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction he lived in Mexico
, and later in British Honduras
(now renamed Belize
). He lived in a rural district of Novato
, in northern Marin County
, California
, in 1970, but later moved closer to San Francisco. He lived in a small house in Sausalito
, at the southern end of Marin County next to San Francisco in 1971 and 1972, and it was there fans and friends were affectionately welcomed. In his later years, he lived in Washington state, including a brief stay in the Veterans' Home in Bremerton
. He died in his tiny apartment in Bremerton on May 8, 1993, aged 70. A memorial service was held in Gasworks Park in Seattle.
He was survived by his son Ethan and his ex-wife Grania Davis
, who continues to edit and release his unpublished works.
Limekiller series
Vergil Magus series
Peregrine series
Novels
With Grania Davis
With Harlan Ellison
With Ward Moore
Collections
Ellery Queen
books - the novels written based on outlines by Frederic Dannay, one of the cousins who created "Ellery Queen"
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, and crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and three World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
s in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award
Queen's Award
Queen's Award can refer to:* The Queen's Awards for Enterprise, formerly The Queens Awards to Industry.* The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service* The Queen's Award for Forestry* The Queen's Award for Services in the Community...
and an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis
Grania Davis
Grania Davis is an author and editor of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. She is also the primary editor of the posthumous work of her late former-husband, Avram Davidson. Her short stories have appeared in various genre magazines, anthologies, and 'best of' collections...
and was a Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
Fiction and articles
Davidson wrote many stories for fiction magazines beginning in the 1950s, after publishing his first fiction in Commentary and other Jewish intellectual magazines.He was active in science fiction fandom from his teens. His best-known works are his novels about Vergil Magus, the magician that medieval legend made out of the Roman poet Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
; the Peregrine novels, a comic view of Europe shortly after the fall of Rome; the Jack Limekiller stories about a Canadian living in an imaginary Central American country modelled after Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
during the 1960s, and the stories of Dr. Eszterhazy, a sort of even more erudite Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
ian figure living in the mythical Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania, the waning fourth-largest empire in Europe.
In Joyleg, A Folly, written in collaboration with Ward Moore
Ward Moore
Ward Moore was the working name of American author Joseph Ward Moore. Moore grew up in New York City, and later moved to Chicago, and then to California....
, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
(and of the Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...
) is found alive and very well in the Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
backwoods, having survived over the centuries by daily soaks in whisky of his own making to hilariously face the world of the 1960s.
Davidson also wrote dozens of short stories that defy classification, and the Adventures in Unhistory essays, which delve into puzzles such as the identity of Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
and suggest solutions to them. His earlier historical essays were scrupulously researched, even when published by magazines just as happy to offer fiction as fact.
Very little may happen in a Davidson story, but he enjoyed describing it in enormous detail with many elements that beginning writers are told to avoid, such as page-long sentences with half a dozen colons and semi-colons, or an irrelevant digression in the opening pages of a story.
Biography
Davidson was born in 1923 in Yonkers, New YorkYonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
. He served as a Navy hospital corpsman (medic) with the Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and began his writing career as a Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic scholar around 1950. This made his study of and conversion to Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...
in the 1970s rather surprising. Although he had a reputation for being quick to anger when anyone tampered with his work or misunderstood it, Davidson was also greatly in demand as a storyteller, and well-known among his friends for his extreme generosity.
He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
The Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America is the name of a literary group of American fantasy authors active from the 1960s through the 1980s, noted for their contributions to the fantasy subgenre of heroic fantasy or "Sword and Sorcery."...
, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy
Heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...
authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
Flashing Swords!
Flashing Swords!
Flashing Swords! was a series of fantasy anthologies published by Dell Books from 1973 to 1981 under the editorship of Lin Carter. It showcased the heroic fantasy work of the members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America , a somewhat informal literary group active from the 1960s to the...
anthologies.
While editing The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction he lived in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and later in British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
(now renamed Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
). He lived in a rural district of Novato
Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
, in northern Marin County
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 1970, but later moved closer to San Francisco. He lived in a small house in Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
, at the southern end of Marin County next to San Francisco in 1971 and 1972, and it was there fans and friends were affectionately welcomed. In his later years, he lived in Washington state, including a brief stay in the Veterans' Home in Bremerton
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
. He died in his tiny apartment in Bremerton on May 8, 1993, aged 70. A memorial service was held in Gasworks Park in Seattle.
He was survived by his son Ethan and his ex-wife Grania Davis
Grania Davis
Grania Davis is an author and editor of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. She is also the primary editor of the posthumous work of her late former-husband, Avram Davidson. Her short stories have appeared in various genre magazines, anthologies, and 'best of' collections...
, who continues to edit and release his unpublished works.
Books
Doctor Eszterhazy series- The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy, Owlswick Press, 1990; includes all but one of the published Doctor Eszterhazy stories.
- "The Odd Old Bird" in The Other Nineteenth Century
Limekiller series
- Limekiller, Old Earth BooksOld Earth BooksOld Earth Books is a specialty publisher which specializes in out-of-print and niche books, primarily in the science fiction genre. The name comes from the Cordwainer Smith Lords of the Instrumentality series. It is located in Baltimore, MD...
, 2003; includes all of the published Limekiller stories
Vergil Magus series
- The Phoenix and the Mirror, Doubleday, 1969; the first Vergil Magus novel
- Vergil in Averno, Doubleday, 1987; the second Vergil Magus novel
- The Scarlet Fig; or Slowly through a Land of Stone; Rose Press, 2005, the third Vergil Magus novel
- "The Other Magus," in Edges, edited by Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
and Virginia KiddVirginia KiddVirginia Kidd was an American literary agent, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey, and Gene Wolfe...
, Pocket Books; Berkley paperback, 1980 - "Vergil and the Caged Bird," Amazing, January 1987
- "Vergil and the Dukos: Hic Inclusus Vitam Perdit, or The Imitations of the King," Asimov's, September 1997, pp. 102–113
- "Vergil Magus: King without Country," with Michael Swanwick, Asimov's, July 1998
Peregrine series
- Peregrine: Primus, Walker, 1969
- Peregrine: Secundus, Berkley paperback, 1981
Novels
- Clash of Star-Kings, Ace double, 1966
- The Enemy of My Enemy, Berkley paperback, 1966
- The Island Under the Earth, Ace paperback, 1969
- The Kar-Chee Reign, Ace double, 1966
- Masters of the MazeMasters of the Maze (Avram Davidson novel)-Plot summary:The Maze connects worlds and times. The secret of the Maze is known by its Masters but they decline to intervene. At various levels the Guardians thwart invasion attempts of worlds by inhabitants of other worlds...
, Pyramid paperback, 1965 - Mutiny in Space, Pyramid Books, 1964
- Rogue Dragon, Ace paperback, 1966
- Rork!, Berkley Medallion paperback, 1965
- Ursus of Ultima Thule, Avon paperback, 1973
With Grania Davis
- The Boss in the Wall, A Treatise on the House Devil, Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
, 1998 - Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty, Baen Books paperback, 1987
With Harlan Ellison
- "Up Christopher to Madness," Knight Magazine, 1965
With Ward Moore
Ward Moore
Ward Moore was the working name of American author Joseph Ward Moore. Moore grew up in New York City, and later moved to Chicago, and then to California....
- Joyleg, A Folly, Pyramid paperback, 1962
Collections
- Or All the Seas with Oysters, Berkely Books, 1962
- Strange Seas and Stories, Doubleday, 1971
- Adventures in Unhistory, Owlswick Press, 1993
- The Avram Davidson Treasury, Tor, 1998
- The Investigations of Avram Davidson, Owlswick Press, 1999
- Everybody Has Somebody in Heaven, Devora Publishing, 2000
- The Other Nineteenth Century, Tor, 2001
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
books - the novels written based on outlines by Frederic Dannay, one of the cousins who created "Ellery Queen"
- And on the Eighth Day, Random House, 1964
- The Fourth Side of the Triangle, Random House, 1965
Further reading
- Avram Davidson Treasury: a tribute collection, with an introduction by Guy DavenportGuy DavenportGuy Mattison Davenport was an American writer, translator, illustrator, painter, intellectual, and teacher.-Life:...
. (1998)
External links
- The Avram Davidson Website
- Bactra Review - a brief appreciation of Davidson
- Biography from Embiid Publishing