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Mathews, Richard
(1944-2024) US author, critic and publisher, for many years director of the University of Tampa Press until he retired in 2020, who began to publish criticism of genre interest with an essay on William Morris: An Introductory Guide to the Utopian and Fantasy Writing of William Morris (1976 chap). This was followed by the Brian W Aldiss study Aldiss Unbound: The Science Fiction of Brian W. Aldiss (1977 chap), the first of Mathews's four contributions to the Borgo Press Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today, subsequent titles dealing with William Morris again, J R R Tolkien and Anthony Burgess [see Checklist below]. His magnum opus was the substantial Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination (1997), a broad and insightful overview of Fantasy writings. [DRL]
Richard Barrett Mathews
born Washington, District of Columbia: 16 November 1944
died St Petersburg, Florida: 3 January 2024
works
nonfiction
- An Introductory Guide to the Utopian and Fantasy Writing of William Morris (London: William Morris Centre, 1976) [nonfiction: chap: pb/Walter Crane, William Morris]
- Aldiss Unbound: The Science Fiction of Brian W. Aldiss (San Bernardino, California: The Borgo Press, 1977) [nonfiction: chap: Brian W Aldiss: in the publisher's Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today series: pb/Judy Cloyd]
- Worlds Beyond the World: The Fantastic Vision of William Morris (San Bernardino, California: The Borgo Press, 1978) [nonfiction: chap: William Morris: in the publisher's Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today series: pb/Judy Cloyd]
- Lightning from a Clear Sky: Tolkien, the Trilogy, and the Silmarillion (San Bernardino, California: The Borgo Press, 1978) [nonfiction: chap: J R R Tolkien: in the publisher's Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today series: pb/Judy Cloyd]
- The Clockwork Universe of Anthony Burgess (San Bernardino, California: The Borgo Press, 1978) [nonfiction: chap: Anthony Burgess: in the publisher's Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today series: pb/Judy Cloyd]
- Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination (New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan/Twayne Publishers, 1997) [nonfiction: in the publisher's Studies in Literary Themes and Genres series: hb/Tim Grajek]
works as editor
- Subtropical Speculations: An Anthology of Florida Science Fiction (Pineapple Press, 1991) with Rick Wilber [anth: pb/Larry Kresek]
links
Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 09:23 am on 24 June 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mathews_richard>