Rabkin, Eric S
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author, Critic.
(1946- ) US sf critic and professor of English Language and Literature, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Most of the books he has written or edited have a direct relevance to sf and fantasy. His critical works are: The Fantastic in Literature (1976; rev 1977), an academic study in genre definition (including sf), provocative but not always rigorous; Science Fiction: History · Science · Vision (1977) with Robert Scholes, a general introduction to the subject seemingly aimed at the novice, with strong opening and closing sections on the History of SF and ten representative novels, but less impressive intermediate chapters on media, sciences and themes; and Arthur C. Clarke (1979 chap; rev 1980). Two anthologies edited by Rabkin intended for educational use (see SF in the Classroom), collecting fantasy and sf stories showing the historical development of those genres, are Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales and Stories (anth 1979) and Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology (anth 1983).
Rabkin's other book publications are anthologies of critical essays, many of them co-edited volumes in the lengthy Eaton Conference Papers sequence, to which his first few contributions were Bridges to Fantasy (anth 1982) edited with George Edgar Slusser and Scholes, Coordinates: Placing Science Fiction and Fantasy (anth 1983) edited with Slusser and Scholes and Shadows of the Magic Lamp: Fantasy and Science Fiction in Film (anth 1985) edited with Slusser [see Checklist below for further titles]. Anthologies outside this sequence include The End of the World (anth 1983) edited with Martin H Greenberg and Joseph D Olander; No Place Else: Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction (anth 1983) edited with Greenberg and Olander. Rabkin received the Pilgrim Award in 2012. [PN]
see also: Anthropology; Cinema; Critical and Historical Works About SF.
Eric Stanley Rabkin
born New York: 1946
works
- The Fantastic in Literature (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976) [nonfiction: hb/]
- The Fantastic in Literature (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977) [nonfiction: rev of the above: hb/]
- Science Fiction: History · Science · Vision (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977) with Robert Scholes [nonfiction: hb/Glen Heller]
- Arthur C. Clarke: Starmont Readers' Guide No 1 (West Linn, Oregon: Starmont House, 1979) [nonfiction: chap: pb/Stephen Fabian]
works as editor
series
Eaton Conference Papers
- Bridges to Fantasy (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982) with George Edgar Slusser and Robert Scholes [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Coordinates: Placing Science Fiction and Fantasy (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983) with George Edgar Slusser and Robert Scholes [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Shadows of the Magic Lamp: Fantasy and Science Fiction in Film (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1985) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Hard Science Fiction (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1986) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Storm Warnings: Science Fiction Confronts the Future (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1987) with Colin Greenland and George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Intersections: Fantasy and Science Fiction (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1987) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Aliens: The Anthropology of Science Fiction (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1987) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Mindscapes: The Geographies of Imagined Worlds (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1989) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Styles of Creation: Aesthetic Technique and the Creation of Fictional Worlds (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1993) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Immortality: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Fights of Fancy: Armed Conflict in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1993) with George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: War: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Immortal Engines: Life Extension and Immortality in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996) with George Edgar Slusser and Gary Westfahl [nonfiction: anth: Immortality: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/Jerry Uelsmann]
- Science Fiction and Market Realities (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996) with George Edgar Slusser and Gary Westfahl [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/Jerry Uelsmann]
- Foods of the Gods: Eating and the Eaten in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996) with George Edgar Slusser and Gary Westfahl [nonfiction: anth: Eaton Conference Papers: hb/]
- Visions of Mars: Essays on the Red Planet in Fiction and Science (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2011) with Howard V Hendrix and George Edgar Slusser [nonfiction: anth: Mars: Eaton Conference Papers: pb/Frank Schoonover]
individual titles
- Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales and Stories (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979) [anth: hb/from Hieronymus Bosch]
- Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983) [anth: hb/Yves Tanguy]
- The End of the World (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983) with Martin H Greenberg and Joseph D Olander [nonfiction: anth: hb/]
- No Place Else: Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983) with Martin H Greenberg and Joseph D Olander [nonfiction: anth: hb/]
links
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