The first anthologist I remember having read, other than Asimov, was Judith Merril, whose annuals went beyond hard-science sf stories to include essays, art and even literature. This led to an early interest in science fiction, much of which in those days was oriented toward the physical sciences. The Cold War and the space programs of the USA and USSR being much in the news, I was very much into reading about technology and science, particularly aerospace and astronomy. Not having had a television during much of my childhood, I'd developed the habit. My parents and parernal grandparents had libraries. I hated it and I, formally a pretty social kid, withdrew into solitary activities.Ĭhief among these activities was reading. The first day on the playground at Washington Elementary I had to fight a complete stranger within a circle of jeering grade schoolers. I heard it a lot from these cruel children of respectable Republican, Protestant families. I hadn't even heard the word 'fuck' before moving. I was ten, a fifth-grader unaware of race and class issues until becoming exposed to the status consciousness on rampant racism of this new community. Moving from the Meadowdale development, a Levittown inhabited primarily by the families of veterans, in unincorporated Kane County to Park Ridge, a middle- to upper middle-class suburb on Chicago's northwest side, required an adjustment which spanned years. Honorable Mentions (1964) by Judith Merril (essay) Summation: SF 1963 (1964) by Judith Merril (essay)

Tubb (short story)Ī Bargain with Cashel (1963) by Gerald Kersh (short story)ĭrunkboat (1963) by Cordwainer Smith (novelette) Hot Planet (1963) by Hal Clement (short story)Ĭonfessions of the First Number '63 by Cliff Owsley (short story) The Earth Dwellers (1963) by André Maurois (novelette) Where Is Everybody? (1963) by Ben Bova (essay) Javor (short story)Ĩ O'Clock in the Morning (1963) by Ray Nelson (short story) Poppa Needs Shorts (1964) by Walt Richmond and Leigh Richmond (short story)ĭouble Standard (1963) by Fredric Brown (short story)

The Jewbird (1963) by Bernard Malamud (short story) Mourning Song (1963) by Charles Beaumont (short story) The Jazz Machine (1962) by Richard Matheson (poem) The Faces Outside (1963) by Bruce McAllister (short story)Ī Slight Case of Limbo (1963) by Lloyd Biggle Jr (short story)Ģ37 Talking Statues Etc. The Great Nebraska Sea (1963) by Allan Danzig (short story) They Don't Make Life Like They Used To (1963) by Alfred Bester (novelette) Tree Trunks (1963) by John Gallagher (cartoon) Pigafetta Swims Well (1963) by Reginald Bretnor (short story) Waterman (1961) by Peter Redgrove (short story) Bernie the Faust (1963) by Williamm Tenn (novelette )įortress Ship (1963) by Fred Saberhagen (short story)

S-F by Judith Merril