Judith Merril was a pioneer of twentieth-century science fiction, a prolific author, and editor. She was also a passionate social and political activist. In fact, her life was a constant adventure within the alternative and experimental worlds of science fiction, left politics, and Canadian literature.
Better to Have Loved is illustrated with original art works, covers from classic science fiction magazines, period illustrations, and striking photography.
The strongest woman in a genre for the most part created by timid and weak men.
– J.G. Ballard, author of Crash and Empire of the Sun
Without Judith Merril, neither science fiction nor Canadian science fiction nor Canadian literature nor the world at large would exist in their present form. Better to Have Loved is essential reading for anyone who’s interested in How Science Fcition Got That Way. In turning a jumbled heap of bright shards into this amazing book, Emily Pohl-Weary has accomplished a task I secretly thought impossible.
– Spider Robinson, author of The Free Lunch
Judith Merril was not only a vital member of the literary community, but a vital person, in the largest sense of that word. She lived her times and places thoroughly, and enriched us all.
– Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin
I loved Judy…I didn’t care a fig about her taste, but I loved her effect. She was an extraordinary catalyst, a perfect editor.
– Michael Moorcock, author of Gloriana and The Condition of Muzak
Acknowledgements | |
Chronology | Important Events in Judith Merril's Life |
Prelude | |
Transformations | |
Chapter 1 | In the Beginning |
Chapter 2 | A Member of the Universe |
Chapter 3 | High School |
Chapter 4 | What Kind of Feminist Am I? (A Short History of Sex) |
Chapter 5 | (Some Kind of) Writing Science Fiction and the Futurians |
Chapter 6 | Virginia Kidd and Futurian Motherhood |
Chapter 7 | Give the Girls a Break! |
Chapter 8 | A (Real?) Writer: Homage to Ted Sturgeon |
Chapter 9 | Getting Started as a Writer |
Chapter 10 | Kornbluth and Leiber and All... |
Chapter 11 | Katherine MacLean and the ESP Letter |
Chapter 12 | Walter Miller and the Custody Battles |
Chapter 13 | In Appreciation of Mark Clifton |
Chapter 14 | Where Do You Get Those Crazy Ideas? |
Chapter 15 | A Power in the Ghetto: Swinging London, Sour America, and "Free" Canada |
Chapter 16 | Rochdale College: A "What If" Time |
Chapter 17 | Toronto Tulips Traffic and Frass: The Love Token of a Token Immigrant |
Chapter 18 | Living and Working in the Toronto Cultural Scene |
Chapter 19 | Japan Future Probable |
Chapter 20 | The Whole World Is Watching: Considering the Notions of Privacy and Publicy |
Chapter 21 | The 1980s: Friendships and Letters — Marian Engel and Gwendolyn MacEwen |
Chapter 22 | The Crazies Are Dying |
Chapter 23 | Exorcism on Paliament Hill |
Chapter 24 | Growing Old in the 1990s: Dear Friends |
Chapter 25 | A Message to Some Martians |
Chapter 26 | Improbable Futures |
Appendix I | The Work of Judith Merril |
Appendix II | Some of the People in Judith Merril's Life |
Index |