Damon Knight
Damon Knight was a prominent figure in American science fiction, born on September 19, 1922, in Baker, Oregon. He developed a passion for science fiction at a young age after reading "Amazing Stories," which led him to create his own fanzine, *Snide*, and engage with the Futurian Society, a notable collective of writers including Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl. Knight's career progressed slowly; however, he became recognized for his critical writings that combined literary analysis with humor, particularly in his collection *In Search of Wonder*, which won the Hugo Award in 1956. His most famous story, "To Serve Man," published in 1950, gained further popularity through its adaptation in the television series *The Twilight Zone*. Knight's contributions to science fiction extended beyond writing; he was instrumental in the establishment of important institutions, such as the Milford Science Fiction Writers' Conference and the Science Fiction Writers of America, where he served as the first president. He also edited the influential anthology series *Orbit*, showcasing many New Wave authors. Knight passed away in 2002 in Eugene, Oregon, leaving a lasting impact on the genre as a writer, critic, and editor.
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Damon Knight
Writer
- Born: September 19, 1922
- Birthplace: Baker, Oregon
- Died: April 15, 2002
- Place of death: Eugene, Oregon
Biography
Damon Knight was born on September 19, 1922, in Baker, Oregon, the son of Frederick Knight, a high school principal, and Leola (Damon) Knight, a teacher. Like other science-fiction writers, he grew up as a bookish youth, becoming a science-fiction fan upon reading an issue of Amazing Storiesin 1933. He soon began producing his own fanzine, Snide, and writing to members of a group calling themselves the Futurian Society, a soon-to-be-famous bunch that included Isaac Asimov, C. M. Kornbluth, Donald A Wollheim, Frederik Pohl, and Judith Merril. After going to the Salem Art Center in Oregon from 1940 to 1941, Knight followed some Futurians back to New York in 1941 after attending the Third World Science Fiction Convention in Denver. Knight later wryly recorded the Byzantine relationships and machinations of this group, seminally important in the history of American science fiction, in The Futurians(1977).
After arriving in New York, Knight’s career took off slowly, his first story sale actually a gift to one of Wollheim’s fledgling magazines. During this time, Knight was establishing himself as perhaps the first important science-fiction critic by applying the rigor and objectivity of literary criticism, with a strong dose of his characteristic wit, in his book reviews of the field. These critical writings were collected in In Search of Wonder, which won the Hugo Award for criticism in 1956. Knight’s wit was in evidence in his most famous work, the short story “To Serve Man” (1950), whose incarnation as a famous Twilight Zonetelevision episode in 1962 has made it one of the most widely known science-fiction stories.
Part of Knight’s slow fictional development may be attributed to the aversion to his work by the editor of Astounding Science Fiction, John W. Campbell. Not until the establishment of major magazines like Galaxy, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fictionin the 1950’s did Knight find a supportive outlet for his shorter work, a length at which some critics claim Knight excelled. During this period, Knight and writers such as Pohl, Kornbluth, and Alfred Bester produced a vein of sharp, socially grounded science fiction in stark distinction to the triumphalism of the work Campbell published and to the general optimism of the Dwight David Eisenhower years.
Knight became an influential editor in 1966 with the establishment of the serial anthology Orbit, which featured many important New Wave authors. Knight was also a founding member of two of science fiction’s most important institutions: the Milford Science Fiction Writers’ Conference in 1956 (which he directed until 1976), and the Science Fiction Writers of America, serving as the group’s founding president from 1965 to 1967. That organization also named him a grandmaster in 1995. Knight died in Eugene, Oregon, in 2002. As writer, critic, and editor, Knight is one of the most significant figures in American science fiction during the last half of the twentieth century.