The Grand Conversation

[coalescent]

The Grand Conversation is a chapbook, published by Aqueduct Press, that collects four essays by L. Timmel Duchamp on aspects of feminism, sf, and feminist sf. It was recommended by oursin. The book is the first of a series to be published by Aqueduct, called conversation pieces, and I recommend it; subsequent issues are primarily fiction-based,

Comments

[fjm]

I haven't read this collection but I have read Timmi's work, far more often than I wish I had. Timmi is, as far as I am concerned, a sloppy and uncriticial historian who clothes an ideological position in convenient annecdotes and calls it evidence

small corrections

[fjm]

Apologies: I didn't have Extrapolation to hand, I now do. GKW's review was 1997. There are responses to Duchamp's article (and I apologise also for spelling her name incorrectly above) by:
Gary K. Wolfe
Josh Lukin
Jeanne Gomoll
Debbie Notkin
Jeff VanderMeer
Laurie J. Marks
Farah Mendlesohn
Candas Jane Dorsey

I should also add that *none* of the responses was entirely unsolicited. Javier Martinez, the then newly appointed editor of Extrapolation, deliberately decided to whip up a response, and I think this is evident in all the letters.

[coalescent]

Thanks. I'm still glad to have read this collection; perhaps that's because I'm not sure there's much actual history in it. Essay four is obviously a personal history, and presented as such, and the others are more about feminist sf now, and (as noted in the main post) I think I can spot where to disagree with them. I'd be extremely interested to read the original exchange in Extrapolation in full, so if I could borrow it that'd be great.

I am getting the sense that things are very different in the UK and the US in this area.

[oursin]

Okay, this was some while ago, but I had a novel turned down by at least one UK publisher as 'too feminist' (I think on the grounds that more of the leading characters were female than male, because it wasn't particularly polemical, more like space-opera). I'm extremely dubious about the 'feminists are creating the ghetto' notion, although there are, it is true, litcrit people getting in on the act who have no genre background, urrrrghhhhh.
Another thing I bought at Wiscon was an reprint of the famous Khatru discussions on feminism and sff, with later responses to them - as I'm sure this is not very easy to get hold of, I could lend it to you if you like. Found it most interesting/provocative/historically illuminating etc.

[ide_cyan]

It's pretty easy to order, actually, if you have $15.00 + shipping costs.

[coalescent]

Doesn't say how much international shipping is, though. I shall email.

[oursin]

From the UK?

[ide_cyan]

I ordered it from Canada. Just e-mail to ask for the shipping costs.