Rachel Pollack
Encyclopedia
Rachel Pollack is an American science fiction
author, comic book
writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. Pollack has been a great influence on the women's spirituality movement.
readers.
She wrote 78 Degrees of Wisdom on tarot reading, and has created her own tarot deck called "Shining Woman Tarot" (later "Shining Tribe Tarot"). She also aided in the creation of the "Vertigo Tarot Deck" with illustrator Dave McKean
and author Neil Gaiman
, and wrote a book specifically to accompany it.
, on DC Comics
' Vertigo imprint, which became a cult favorite under Grant Morrison
. A comic fandom legend has it that Pollack was assigned to write the series after writing persistent letters to the editor. Although the letters are a matter of record, it's unknown if they were actually the cause of her employment.
During her tenure Pollack dealt with such rarely addressed comic-book topics as menstruation
, sexual identity
, and transsexuality. Pollack's run ended two years later, with the book's cancellation. Pollack also wrote a Brother Power the Geek
one-shot, and eleven issues of a New Gods
series for DC Comics (the first five co-authored with Tom Peyer
). Author Neil Gaiman has sometimes consulted Rachel Pollack on the tarot for his stories. Pollack created an actual tarot spread for one of Gaiman's books.
s.
Several of her novels are set in an alternative reality that resembles modern America, but an America of Bright Beings, where magic and ritual, religion and thaumaturgy
are the norms.
, most notably in The Kabbalah Tree.
Pollack is a transsexual woman and has written frequently on transgender issues. In Doom Patrol she introduced Coagula
, a transsexual character. She has also written several essays on transsexualism, attacking the notion that it is a "sickness," instead saying that it is a passion. She has emphasized the revelatory aspects of transsexualism, saying that "the woman sacrifices her social identity as a male, her personal history, and finally the very shape of her body to a knowledge, a desire, which overpowers all rational understanding and proof."
A Secret Woman features a police detective who is transgendered and Jewish. The detective utters the prayer, "Blessed art thou oh G-d who made me not a woman. Double blessed is Doctor Green who has." Rachel Pollack created the characters known as 'the bandage people' for her Doom Patrol run. The bandage people are 'sexually remaindered spirits' who died in sexual accidents. The initials srs came from the medical term 'sex reassignment surgery'. Rachel wrote the essay "The Transsexual Book of The Dead" for the anthology Phallus Palace. This article is concerning transmen. Fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm have influenced many of Ms. Pollack's writings. Her new book 'Tarot of Perfection' is a book of fairy tales based on the tarot.
at the Omega Institute, in Rhinebeck, New York. She has also done seminars for several years in California
in conjunction with Greer, and she co-presented a breakthrough seminar with Tarot author Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman on Tarot and psychic
ability, using her own Shining Tribe Tarot and Gargulio-Sherman's Sacred Rose Tarot. Pollack is also a popular lecturer at Tarot seminars and symposiums such as LATS (Los Angeles Tarot Symposium), BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium), and the Readers Studio. Pollack currently teaches creative writing at Goddard College
. Her most recent work is included in the anthology called Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing edited by Theodora Goss. Pollack has taught English
at State University of New York
.
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...
author, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. Pollack has been a great influence on the women's spirituality movement.
Tarot Reading
Pollack's work 78 Degrees of Wisdom on tarot reading is commonly referenced by tarotTarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
readers.
She wrote 78 Degrees of Wisdom on tarot reading, and has created her own tarot deck called "Shining Woman Tarot" (later "Shining Tribe Tarot"). She also aided in the creation of the "Vertigo Tarot Deck" with illustrator Dave McKean
Dave McKean
David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician....
and author Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, and wrote a book specifically to accompany it.
Comics
Pollack is best known for her run of issues 64-87 on the comic book Doom PatrolDoom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
, on DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Vertigo imprint, which became a cult favorite under Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
. A comic fandom legend has it that Pollack was assigned to write the series after writing persistent letters to the editor. Although the letters are a matter of record, it's unknown if they were actually the cause of her employment.
During her tenure Pollack dealt with such rarely addressed comic-book topics as menstruation
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
, sexual identity
Sexual identity
Sexual identity is a term that, like sex, has two distinctively different meanings. One describes an identity roughly based on sexual orientation, the other an identity based on sexual characteristics, which is not socially based but based on biology, a concept related to, but different from,...
, and transsexuality. Pollack's run ended two years later, with the book's cancellation. Pollack also wrote a Brother Power the Geek
Brother Power the Geek
Brother Power the Geek is a comic book character created in the late 1960s for DC Comics by Joe Simon. He first appeared in Brother Power the Geek #1 ....
one-shot, and eleven issues of a New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
series for DC Comics (the first five co-authored with Tom Peyer
Tom Peyer
Tom Peyer is an American comic book creator and editor.He is probably best known for his 1999 revisioning of Golden Age super-hero Hourman, as well as his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 1990s. An editor at DC Comics/Vertigo from 1987 to 1993, he served as assistant editor on Neil...
). Author Neil Gaiman has sometimes consulted Rachel Pollack on the tarot for his stories. Pollack created an actual tarot spread for one of Gaiman's books.
Fiction
Her magical realism novels explore worlds imbued with elements pulled from a number of traditions, faiths, and religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s.
Several of her novels are set in an alternative reality that resembles modern America, but an America of Bright Beings, where magic and ritual, religion and thaumaturgy
Thaumaturgy
Thaumaturgy is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking...
are the norms.
Nonfiction
Her book The Body Of The Goddess is an exploration of the history of the Goddess. Rachel Pollack uses the image of the Goddess in many of her works.Influences
Pollack is Jewish, and has frequently written about the KabbalahKabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, most notably in The Kabbalah Tree.
Pollack is a transsexual woman and has written frequently on transgender issues. In Doom Patrol she introduced Coagula
Coagula
This article is about the fictional comic book character. For the art magazine, see Coagula Art Journal Coagula is a fictional character and former member of DC Comic's Doom Patrol. Kate is a male-to-female transsexual, one of the first transsexual characters in comics, and remains one of the...
, a transsexual character. She has also written several essays on transsexualism, attacking the notion that it is a "sickness," instead saying that it is a passion. She has emphasized the revelatory aspects of transsexualism, saying that "the woman sacrifices her social identity as a male, her personal history, and finally the very shape of her body to a knowledge, a desire, which overpowers all rational understanding and proof."
A Secret Woman features a police detective who is transgendered and Jewish. The detective utters the prayer, "Blessed art thou oh G-d who made me not a woman. Double blessed is Doctor Green who has." Rachel Pollack created the characters known as 'the bandage people' for her Doom Patrol run. The bandage people are 'sexually remaindered spirits' who died in sexual accidents. The initials srs came from the medical term 'sex reassignment surgery'. Rachel wrote the essay "The Transsexual Book of The Dead" for the anthology Phallus Palace. This article is concerning transmen. Fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm have influenced many of Ms. Pollack's writings. Her new book 'Tarot of Perfection' is a book of fairy tales based on the tarot.
Teaching
For nearly 20 years Pollack has been teaching seminars with Tarot author Mary K. GreerMary K. Greer
Mary K. Greer is the author of numerous books on tarot divination which focus on self-exploration and transformation. She has also presented at a number of conferences and run Tarot workshops in various parts of the world....
at the Omega Institute, in Rhinebeck, New York. She has also done seminars for several years in 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 conjunction with Greer, and she co-presented a breakthrough seminar with Tarot author Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman on Tarot and psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
ability, using her own Shining Tribe Tarot and Gargulio-Sherman's Sacred Rose Tarot. Pollack is also a popular lecturer at Tarot seminars and symposiums such as LATS (Los Angeles Tarot Symposium), BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium), and the Readers Studio. Pollack currently teaches creative writing at Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
. Her most recent work is included in the anthology called Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing edited by Theodora Goss. Pollack has taught English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
at State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
.
Essays
- Introduction: A Machine For Constructing Stories (1989)
- Read This (The New York Review of Science Fiction, October 1991) (1991)
- Read This (The New York Review of Science Fiction, July 1995) (1995)
- Read This (The New York Review of Science Fiction, August 1996) (1996)
Reviews
- The Book of Embraces (1991) by Eduardo Galeano
- Outside the Dog Museum (1992) by Jonathan Carroll
- Coelestis [vt Celestis](1996) by Paul Park
Degrees, awards, and memberships
- 1997 World Fantasy Award for Best NovelWorld Fantasy Award for Best NovelThis World Fantasy Award is given to the fantasy novel or novels voted best by a panel of judges, and presented each year at the World Fantasy Convention.-1975:...
winner for Godmother Night - 1994 Nebula Award for Best NovelNebula Award for Best NovelWinners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
nominee for Temporary Agency - 1989 Arthur C. Clarke AwardArthur C. Clarke AwardThe Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
winner for Unquenchable Fire - Certified Tarot Grand Master (CTGM) with the Tarot Certification Board of America
- Tarot Sage (TS) with the American Board For Tarot Certification
- member of the American Tarot Association (ATA)
- member of the International Tarot Society (ITS)
- member of the Tarot Guild of Australia
- member of the Tarot Association of the British Isles.
- Honours degree in English from New York University
- Masters in English from Claremont Graduate UniversityClaremont Graduate UniversityClaremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
- Faculty, MFA in Creative Writing Program, Goddard College