The Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group is a casual, convivial group that meets once a month. We gather to discuss works (partial list of previous readings) that we have chosen collectively and to put those works in some sort of theoretical perspective, the sort, of course, depending on the works and the viewpoints of those assembled. The Group is open on a drop-in basis, because we are always interested in the views of those who are especially interested in a particular work or author, but most participants try to attend regularly. Our currently active members include faculty, graduate students, and staff from the University of Michigan,Wayne State University, and other local residents with strong interests in the field. (We are not open to undergraduates. Interested undergraduates may want to consider joining a local science fiction club such as the Stilyagi Air Corps in Ann Arbor.) The Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group normally meets year round from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. although occasionally our schedule varies, so please consult the calendar below. Our current location is 3184 Angell Hall in the Department of English of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Eric Rabkin, the group's convener, always provides something like peanuts; others sometimes bring additional snacks.
At our meeting of 9 Oct 2012, we agreed to continue meeting generally on the second Tuesday of the month. If all goes according to custom, at the October meeting listed below, we will pick books for at least a few subsequent months, so participation in person or by prior contact for that meeting is especially invited.
All of the works listed below were available either new or used when the schedule was set, but some books may require ordering, so it is advisable to begin acquiring texts early. Our schedule follows:
| Dates |
Works |
|---|---|
T 13 Nov |
Cordwainer Smith, Norstrilia: In the only novel by this infrequent writer who made a permanent mark on science fiction as the creator of the Underpeople, those genetically engineered animals figure in the second half of the story of an ordinary human protagonist struggling to survive in a eugenic future. |
T 11 Dec |
Alain Robbe-Grillet, Last Year at Marienbad: Our annual pizza-and-viewing meeting, this time featuring a stunning and influential film by the most prominent writer of the French New Novel. Special location: 1180 Duderstadt Center. |
T 8 Jan |
Catherynne M. Valente, Palimpsest: a lyrical novel named for a fantastic city reachable by a map transmitted by climactic sex. |
T 12 Feb |
Jo Walton, Among Others: a Hugo and Nebula award winning tale of a boarding school girl who reads science fiction compulsively and comes to live in a world of magic. |
T 12 Mar |
Rachel Hartman, Seraphina: a yong adult novel of the coming of age of a girl in a world in which dragons can take human form. |
T 9 Apr |
Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light: the classic novel by one of SF's past masters about humans on another planet who take on the personae of Hindu gods. |
T 14 May |
James Blish, A Case of Conscience: the 1959 Hugo winner in which a scientist-priest encounters an alien race that lives by logic alone. |
T 11 Jun |
Gene Wolfe, The Sorcerer's House: an intellectual ex-con surprisingly inherits a rambling house that somehow grows in size and opens into other worlds. |
T 9 Jul |
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke & Key (vols. 1 & 2): a gorgeous graphic novel series set in a Gothic home in which strange keys open locks to horror and fantasy. |
T 13 Aug |
Stanislaw Lem, The Cyberiad: a rollicking, classic collection of amazingly inventive tales of engaging robots created by the most honored SF writer of Eastern Europe. |
T 10 Sep |
Colson Whitehead, Zone One: a much admired novel in which the plague-created zombies humanity must deal with occasion a searching exploration of modern life. |
T 8 Oct |
Book selection meeting! Please come ready to suggest books for the group to read. If you wish, bring a copy of each suggested book and/or bring reviews. Please check in advance to make sure that the books you suggest are available. In case our selection discussion takes less than our two-hour allotment, Eric will bring copies of a short-short story for us to read together and chew on, but anyone else who wants to do that should feel free to do so. If you can't make the meeting but want to make a recommendation, please send it to our mail group. |
T 12 Nov |
China Mièville, Embassytown: a book by one of today's most pyrotechnic and controversial writers focusing on language, how it makes us who we are, and how it enters into meeting the alien. |
If you want to send an electronic message to this Reading Group, please address FantasySF@umich.edu. If you want to see this message on the World Wide Web, please point your browser at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~esrabkin/fsftsched.html. If you want to add your name to the mail group or make suggestions or inquiries, please contact Eric Rabkin by e-mail (esrabkin@umich.edu) or snail mail at Department of English, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003.
Come join us!
| Eric | This page was last updated on
Tuesday, 13-Dec-2011 00:23:11 EST
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