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Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg
In addition to exploring Silverberg's career, now in its sixth decade, this collection of transcribed conversations delves into aspects of Silverberg's life-such as his extensive travel, passion for film, opera and classical music-not covered elsewhere. A decade-and-a-half-long friendship, and working together on When the Blue Shift Comes, afforded Alvaro the opportunity to speak at length with Silverberg. The result: a remarkably candid series of conversations that will be of interest to science fiction readers and anyone curious about the writing life.
280 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 2, 2017
Robert Silverberg - Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935, author of over eighty novels and hundreds of stories and essays - an inspiration for writers and readers both in and beyond science fiction
“In 1996, when I was seventeen years old, I discovered Robert Silverberg’s work with Nightwings. The subtle melancholy of its three lyrical novellas moved me deeply. Beyond this, I was thrilled to realize that I had made first contact with a vast and cool intelligence, one that had spent decades producing enthralling stories now awaiting my discovery. I immediately hunted as many Silverberg books as I could find, reading perhaps fifty over the next two years.” From Alvaro Zinos-Amaro’s Preface. And let me tell you, Alvaro's conversations with Silverberg make for one engaging book since Silverberg has traveled widely and read widely and can speak with authority on a broad range of subjects ranging from literary fiction and science fiction, art and music, aesthetics and philosophy to film, archeology, travel and nearly everything else in between. To share some of the book's rasa, here are a number of direct Robert Silverberg quotes along with my own comments:
"I am—or was—a science fiction writer, and one of the things my science fiction is noted for is the vividness of landscape, the descriptive sweep. I don’t think I could have done that had I seen only one square mile of Brooklyn in my entire life."--------- Silverberg realized at an early age how world travel would fire his imagination and enhance his own writing. He also acknowledges such globe trekking isn’t necessary for all writers. Many of the author’s tales of travel make fascinating reading – like the safari in Africa when his wife rolled down the window to take a picture of a nearby lion. Hey, honey, it’s a lion!
"I try in each page to provide some color, some sound, taste, olfactory perception, and tactile sensation in order to make the work more vivid for the reader and to have more impact, as I’m leading the reader through the stages of the road to catharsis. There is a stylistic element having to do with prose rhythm, punctuation even: I want to maintain the reader’s interest by writing in such a way that the prose itself—the sound of it, the rhythm of it—engages his interest." ---------- One Silverberg reflection within the chapter on Aesthetics. For an aspiring writer, there are many lessons to be learned from this seasoned author about constructing a novel or story to really grab and hold a reader’s attention.
"I’m not obliged to bend myself out of shape for every little movement that comes along in the course of ninety years. In fact, I would rather look at Picasso, who certainly upset a lot of people before I was born, or Monet, or Turner. There’s an example—Turner was regarded as insane in his later period. I’d rather look at their work than the work of the sculptors who are scattering objects on the floor of the gallery. I’ve drawn the line. I’ve said, “Thus far and no farther.”" ---------- The voice of wisdom. Now in his mid-eighties, the author has seen enough art and visited enough museums around the world to judge some artwork simply not to his taste or worth the time and effort to know more intimately. I must say the range of Silverberg's knowledge of the arts is nothing short of breathtaking.
"I think what you have to master as an artist is the material that you are struggling with, which is in the beginning without form. Even God looked upon the face of the waters without form. Then you impose form on them. That’s what an artist does. And Nietzsche overstates the case by talking about the chaos. I don’t think a novel that is in the process of gestation is emerging from chaos. I think it’s emerging from nothingness. That’s not the same thing. By a process of selection and compression, the artist produces, in whatever art he practices, a work of art." --------- Very well stated. A blank canvas or a black page is not a chaos but just that, a blank, a nothingness from which an artist or writer can pick and choose how to fill.
“Up to a point the craft and technique can expand your ability. I think I’ve forgotten a lot of tricks I used to use! But I’ve been around a long time. After a while the technique doesn’t improve. What the writer needs is the reservoir of experience that he will manipulate using the craft at his command.” ----------- Craft and technique are only half of the equation; more importantly, a writer needs a fund of insight into life through experience combined with inspiration and imagination.
On Hermann Hesse: “I read The Glass Bead Game—it had some other title when I read it. A kind of fantasy novel. He, for me, is a one-book writer. I never went on to Steppenwolf, which everyone was reading at the time. Siddhartha was for the kids of the ’60s; college reading, like Tolkien." ------------- For me, one of the highlights of the book was Alvaro asking Silverburg to comment on a number of different Nobel prize winners. Respecting Hermann Hesse, my own view is we have an author best read when one is in their early twenties. I say this having read all of Hesse's novels right out of college and dearly loving each one.
“I’m very rigorous in my routines, and my habits are essentially unchanged. You don’t produce the number of books and stories that I did without regularity and routine. You don’t wait for inspiration and bat out something every now and then and run up a bibliography that’s the size of the telephone book. All of my life was built around the writing routine. And though that’s been subtracted now, the regularity is irreversible.” ------------- Pure gold for an aspiring writer: establish a discipline of setting aside time to write every day and stick to it. No exceptions! If you feel dry, just start writing and inspiration will kick in. Take it from an author who has written over eighty, that's right - eighty novels.
“The science fiction world has been my community since I was in my teens, when I went to local gatherings of readers and met writers. I still define myself as a science fiction writer, though I’ve written plenty of other things. I don’t think I’ve ever met another popular archaeology writer, or if I have, I’ve forgotten it. But I think of myself as one of the gang in the science fiction world. And have been for sixty years.” ------------------- I’m new to science fiction myself. I haven’t read any science fiction by Robert Silverberg but after reading this book of interviews, he’s definitely on my list.
June 19, 2017
This was a rather satisfying look into a SF Grandmaster's life. Robert Silverberg had been on the scene since 1955 but had decided to stop writing, go into full retirement, about a decade ago. That doesn't mean he ignores the SF community, however, nor has he gone recluse. He just retired.
These transcribed conversations with Alvaro feel like a very comfortable and wide-ranging exploration on many topics, all of which were very well organized and compiled and I never once got the impression that this was anything other than a near-biography of this fascinating man.
For one, I never realized that he was quite this accomplished or aware of his prose and how it fit in with so many of the previous fiction greats, and I mean the classics such as Faulkner and Hemingway, not only the SF masters that had come before him. He's hyper-aware of everything he did and he is, or was, extremely aware of all matters of craft even when he was doing hack work. When he was popular enough to write his preferred medium-- his Silverberg medium--, he flourished like never before.
It's an old story perhaps, but it's truly fascinating to me to see just how moderate and professional the man is, never taking anything to extremes despite what might be considered relatively outrageous subjects in some of his novels.
His personal code was always writing as work and he took all his craft very seriously, at all stages. It really sheds a lot of light upon his body of work for me. I've only read something like five of his novels, but knowing all that I now know about him, I respect him a lot more.
This is a very enjoyable and informative read. And it might possibly be my top pick for the non-fiction nominations for this year's Hugo... and that's including Carrie Fisher's charming prose and Neil Gaiman's collection of essays and speeches.
We shall see. Only one more to go and then I'll be properly informed. :)
These transcribed conversations with Alvaro feel like a very comfortable and wide-ranging exploration on many topics, all of which were very well organized and compiled and I never once got the impression that this was anything other than a near-biography of this fascinating man.
For one, I never realized that he was quite this accomplished or aware of his prose and how it fit in with so many of the previous fiction greats, and I mean the classics such as Faulkner and Hemingway, not only the SF masters that had come before him. He's hyper-aware of everything he did and he is, or was, extremely aware of all matters of craft even when he was doing hack work. When he was popular enough to write his preferred medium-- his Silverberg medium--, he flourished like never before.
It's an old story perhaps, but it's truly fascinating to me to see just how moderate and professional the man is, never taking anything to extremes despite what might be considered relatively outrageous subjects in some of his novels.
His personal code was always writing as work and he took all his craft very seriously, at all stages. It really sheds a lot of light upon his body of work for me. I've only read something like five of his novels, but knowing all that I now know about him, I respect him a lot more.
This is a very enjoyable and informative read. And it might possibly be my top pick for the non-fiction nominations for this year's Hugo... and that's including Carrie Fisher's charming prose and Neil Gaiman's collection of essays and speeches.
We shall see. Only one more to go and then I'll be properly informed. :)
August 20, 2016
This is an astounding insight into the mind of Robert Silverberg. He is just beginning his eighties when this extensive candid interview takes place. His readers will be interested to know many of his personal opinions, habits and life long experiences. As a lover of arts, whether it be painting, pop music or writing, I've always been as interested in the artists themselves as I am in the art they produce. Alvaro Zinos-Amero casually spends several weekends in Silverberg's home, not only interviewing, but having in depth conversations on all subjects that come to mind. They both seem completely comfortable with each other as they go from one subject to another.
My first impression was that this was much like an elaborate version of the much shorter interviews conducted by Charles Platt published in "Dream Makers" (1980) - which was referred to early on in the interview - but I abandoned the thought for the 2012 documentary, "Beware of Mr. Baker" by Jay Bulger. According to several articles written by Silverberg in "Other Spaces, Other Times", the subject of age is one he seems to be obsessed with. Again and again, he never fails to point out how much younger he was than his contemporaries. You can't help but think that he believes he was the last born writer on Earth, however, here in this phase of his life, he views the current state of the world from the perspective of an elderly man who has perhaps lost touch with it in some ways. If not lost touch, perhaps, abandoned some bits of it. For example, though he is confident that he can learn to make a call on a cellphone, he does not carry one (here is something we both have in common). This among other reasons, is perhaps why he stopped writing fiction for the past decade. I certainly hope that after this interview, he might reconsider his decision and give it another go. I got the impression that he is still quite capable of writing relevant and insightful fiction.
Being a loyal, active Goodreads contributor, I was pleased the discussion often leaned towards Silverberg's opinions and taste in other authors and novels. I agree that a good writer must be an avid reader and Silverberg definitely proves the theory.
The bulk of this book first appeared to me as the notes one takes with the intention of writing a biography, but as I got further into it, it felt more as if I was given the opportunity to sit within earshot of a remarkable distinguished older gentleman who is chatting with a younger fellow he holds dear, over coffee... Oh right, Robert Silverberg doesn't drink coffee - I now know.
Zinos-Amaro is an indisputable gifted interviewer and obviously a true fan of, not only Robert Silverberg's work, but the science fiction genre itself.
A great read, fan or not.
My first impression was that this was much like an elaborate version of the much shorter interviews conducted by Charles Platt published in "Dream Makers" (1980) - which was referred to early on in the interview - but I abandoned the thought for the 2012 documentary, "Beware of Mr. Baker" by Jay Bulger. According to several articles written by Silverberg in "Other Spaces, Other Times", the subject of age is one he seems to be obsessed with. Again and again, he never fails to point out how much younger he was than his contemporaries. You can't help but think that he believes he was the last born writer on Earth, however, here in this phase of his life, he views the current state of the world from the perspective of an elderly man who has perhaps lost touch with it in some ways. If not lost touch, perhaps, abandoned some bits of it. For example, though he is confident that he can learn to make a call on a cellphone, he does not carry one (here is something we both have in common). This among other reasons, is perhaps why he stopped writing fiction for the past decade. I certainly hope that after this interview, he might reconsider his decision and give it another go. I got the impression that he is still quite capable of writing relevant and insightful fiction.
Being a loyal, active Goodreads contributor, I was pleased the discussion often leaned towards Silverberg's opinions and taste in other authors and novels. I agree that a good writer must be an avid reader and Silverberg definitely proves the theory.
The bulk of this book first appeared to me as the notes one takes with the intention of writing a biography, but as I got further into it, it felt more as if I was given the opportunity to sit within earshot of a remarkable distinguished older gentleman who is chatting with a younger fellow he holds dear, over coffee... Oh right, Robert Silverberg doesn't drink coffee - I now know.
Zinos-Amaro is an indisputable gifted interviewer and obviously a true fan of, not only Robert Silverberg's work, but the science fiction genre itself.
A great read, fan or not.
May 6, 2023
Snippets From A Conversation With Bob:
"My first science fiction childhood books were The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. There was wonder in both of those, of different kinds. Wells opened up the very far future, and Verne depicted the underwater world.
I begin to think that anybody who is not writing for the Oprah Winfrey book club is a neglected writer or an unknown writer now.
Occasionally and older writer will surprise. Heinlein, when he wrote the Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, wrote it in a tone of voice that was nothing like anything he had ever used before, and that was quite surprising. He was 56 or so then. But very few writers write anything worthwhile in their later years.
So I stopped writing, aware that there is nothing further that I wanted to say in the world of science fiction. I'm out of touch with contemporary society--which is another good reason I don't think I should be writing anymore. The science fiction writer, in building his extrapolations, has to have a starting point in the present. I don't have a cell phone. I'm not sure what Wi-Fi is. I can't do reasonable extrapolations from the world if I don't understand it. I'm not part of the world of today's readers--but I was a part of their world. In fact, I helped to create their world.
When you start interpreting the work of the past in the political sensitivity of the present you mutilate our culture.
And then there are a lot of writers whose works I admire that cannot achieve or will not achieve that wonder at all. And yet they're perfectly good writers. The prime example is Isaac Asimov, who made the whole universe seem like Manhattan. Every planet in the entire galaxy of Foundation seems more or less reachable by subway.
When I got The Grand Master award, I thought, "This cancels out all the Hugo's I lost, because it puts me in a very select group of writers whom I admire." Here I was, plodding along, each year writing a Hugo nominee and never winning. None of that mattered anymore because I had been recognized for the totality of the achievement.
I'm not politically correct. I'm a cultural relativist. I believe that mores have changed with time and we need not condemn books that disagree with the received political truths of the moment, many of which I don't care about myself.
I almost never watch television and most science fiction movies make me uncomfortable. The only science fiction movie I've seen in perhaps the last ten years is The Martian, and that's barely science fiction; it's almost a documentary.
Somebody was once collecting epitaphs of living people and asked me to write an epitaph for myself. I said, "because he wrote so much about the future, he was condemned to live in it."
"My first science fiction childhood books were The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. There was wonder in both of those, of different kinds. Wells opened up the very far future, and Verne depicted the underwater world.
I begin to think that anybody who is not writing for the Oprah Winfrey book club is a neglected writer or an unknown writer now.
Occasionally and older writer will surprise. Heinlein, when he wrote the Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, wrote it in a tone of voice that was nothing like anything he had ever used before, and that was quite surprising. He was 56 or so then. But very few writers write anything worthwhile in their later years.
So I stopped writing, aware that there is nothing further that I wanted to say in the world of science fiction. I'm out of touch with contemporary society--which is another good reason I don't think I should be writing anymore. The science fiction writer, in building his extrapolations, has to have a starting point in the present. I don't have a cell phone. I'm not sure what Wi-Fi is. I can't do reasonable extrapolations from the world if I don't understand it. I'm not part of the world of today's readers--but I was a part of their world. In fact, I helped to create their world.
When you start interpreting the work of the past in the political sensitivity of the present you mutilate our culture.
And then there are a lot of writers whose works I admire that cannot achieve or will not achieve that wonder at all. And yet they're perfectly good writers. The prime example is Isaac Asimov, who made the whole universe seem like Manhattan. Every planet in the entire galaxy of Foundation seems more or less reachable by subway.
When I got The Grand Master award, I thought, "This cancels out all the Hugo's I lost, because it puts me in a very select group of writers whom I admire." Here I was, plodding along, each year writing a Hugo nominee and never winning. None of that mattered anymore because I had been recognized for the totality of the achievement.
I'm not politically correct. I'm a cultural relativist. I believe that mores have changed with time and we need not condemn books that disagree with the received political truths of the moment, many of which I don't care about myself.
I almost never watch television and most science fiction movies make me uncomfortable. The only science fiction movie I've seen in perhaps the last ten years is The Martian, and that's barely science fiction; it's almost a documentary.
Somebody was once collecting epitaphs of living people and asked me to write an epitaph for myself. I said, "because he wrote so much about the future, he was condemned to live in it."
August 14, 2022
Robert Silverberg gehört zu den produktivsten und erfolgreichsten Autoren der Science Fiction. Er hat eine schier unfassbare Menge an Büchern und Kurzgeschichten geschrieben, darunter eine große Anzahl wichtiger und bedeutender SF-Werke. Im »SF-Personality« Band 26 aus dem Memoranda Verlag benötigte Uwe Anton über 500 Seiten, um alleine Silverbergs SF-Werk zu besprechen.
Zu meinen persönlichen Highlights gehört eine Autogrammstunde beim Worldcon in Dublin, wo ich mir »Es stirbt in mir« signieren ließ. Silverberg verstand den deutschen Titel sofort und wusste, dass es die Übersetzung von »Dying Inside« war.
Durch Zufall stieß ich auf dieses Taschenbuch und hielt es für eine gute Gelegenheit, mich intensiver mit dem Autor zu beschäftigen. Das Buch ist aus acht Interviews entstanden, die an vier Wochenenden im Jahre 2015 durchgeführt wurden. Robert Silverberg war zu diesem Zeitpunkt 80 Jahre alt. Der Stil ist ganz anders als bei den großartigen »Dream Makers« Interviews von Charles Platt, die ja gerade als dreibändige »Weltenschöpfer« Ausgabe bei Memoranda neu erscheinen. In diesem Buch folgen wirklich »nur« Fragen und Antworten aufeinander, es gibt keine Zwischentexte oder Erläuterungen. Es ist allerdings so, dass Alvaro Zinos-Amaro und Robert Silverberg eine über Jahre entstandene Freundschaft verbindet und sie auch schon ein Buch gemeinsam verfasst haben. Sie verstehen sich gut und Alvaro stellt Fragen, die weit über ein typisches SF-Genre Interview hinausgehen.
Leider enthält das Buch keine Fotos und es gibt auch wenig biographische Details. Dafür muss man andere Bücher über Silverberg lesen. Ich habe mich recht lange mit dem Buch beschäftigt und es immer nur kleinen Happen gelesen. Dabei fand ich viele Stellen, über die man länger nachdenken kann und die ich zitieren könnte, manches fand ich aber auch uninteressant oder zu speziell.
Details einiger Kapitel sollen einen besseren Eindruck vom Buch vermitteln, das leider nicht auf Deutsch erhältlich ist.
Im Kapitel »The Vividness of Landscape« geht es um das Reisen und die Notwendigkeit, andere Welten zu sehen, um selbst welche erfinden zu können. Silverberg ist sehr viel gereist, er erzählt einige Anekdoten und auch, welche Souvenirs und insbesondere Kunstwerke er an verschiedenen Orten der Welt gekauft hat. Reisen war vor allem in der Zeit vor dem Internet für ihn enorm wichtig. Ebenso wie soziale Kontakte, da man sonst den Kontakt zur realen Welt verliere: »And if you lose touch with the real world you cannot write about invented worlds« (S. 18. Sorry, Zitate werden nicht übersetzt, ich bin kein Übersetzer). Auf den Einspruch, dass Asimov bekanntermaßen kaum gereist ist, kommt die schöne Bemerkung: »Isaac was a very inventive writer, but if you look at the worlds he invented for the Foundation series, they all look like Manhattan, and there are no aliens in them, either« (S. 19). Wobei er später einschränkt, dass Reisen vor allem für einen Science-Fiction Autor wichtig sei und er selbst die »Vividness of Landscape« benötigt habe, um seine Bücher schreiben zu können. In diesem ersten Interviewkapitel erleben wir also einen weit gereisten Autor, der auch gerne kulinarisch auf Entdeckungsreise geht: »food, travel and writing are completely interrelated for me« (S. 31). Allerdings enthält das Kapitel auch einen Schwung eher belangloser Reiseerinnerungen.
Im inhaltlich sehr gehaltvollen zweiten Kapitel geht es um Ästhetik, ausgehend von Platons »Poetik«. Silverberg hat seine Vorstellungen dazu in drei Kolumnen für das Magazin »Asimov’s« ausführlicher erläutert. Er spricht von der Katharsis (Läuterung), die durch die Lektüre einer Geschichte beim Leser erreicht wird, über allgemeine strukturelle Elemente und nennt seine Geschichten »carefully plotted to create a certain effect« (S. 48). »And then I enhance these effects through the use of sensory appeal and prose rhythm« (S. 48). Außerdem haben Geschichten, die er schreibt, für ihn eine Grundfarbe, eine Grundstimmung, die er vorher festlegt. Zinos-Amaro und Silverberg diskutieren über Malerei und Musik. So erläutert Silverberg Wagners »Ring« und wie die Ringerzählung in seine (Silverbergs) Erzähltheorie passt. Danach werden griechische Skulpturen, Malerei der Renaissance, klassische Musik und Filme besprochen. Silverberg schöpft aus einem schier unerschöpflichen Reservoir an Wissen, Erfahrungen und Erlebnissen: »That's what a writer's material is made of, the things that a writer has done and seen and felt and which he's able to find at the moment he needs them« (S. 66). Zinos-Amaro geht eine Liste von Literaturnobelpreisträgern durch und Silverberg charakterisiert diese in einem Satz und erklärt, was er alles vom jeweiligen Preisträger gelesen hat. Dabei lobt er z.B. die Kurzgeschichten von Böll, sowie »Die Blechtrommel« und den »Butt« von Grass. Danach unterhält man sich noch über griechische und römische Klassiker, ein Name-dropping ohne Ende, das mich fasziniert über Silverbergs Belesenheit, aber auch frustriert über die eigene Unkenntnis zurücklässt. Von Jules Verne sammelt er alte französische Ausgaben und zeigt sich bewandert in den Unterschieden bei den Übersetzungen. Ein ausgesprochen inhaltsreiches Kapitel, das einen sehr gebildeten Autor mit phänomenalem Gedächtnis zeigt.
In »In the Continuum« erzählt Silverberg, dass er früher 500 Worte am Tag geschrieben habe, manchmal zwei Kurzgeschichten. Ohnehin hatte er einen sehr geregelten Tagesablauf, er hat ihn immer noch, nur sind die Schreibzeiten etwas reduziert. »All my life was built around the writing routine« (S. 108). Jeden Abend geht er mit seiner Frau in ein Restaurant und führt darüber seit fünfzig Jahren Buch(!). Er trägt Maßanzüge - insgesamt merkt man, dass sich Silverberg einen gewissen Wohlstand erschrieben hat, den er auch geniesst. Kritik an der Gegenwart und dem aktuellen Umgang mit der Vergangenheit kommt von einem 80-jährigen natürlich auch, z.B.: »If you don’t understand the past, it’s very hard to extrapolate the future« (S. 112) und: »When you start interpreting the work of the past in the political sensitivity of the present you mutilate our culture.[…] I do try to protect my work against retroactive criticism of what was a legitimate depiction of human beings in a different era« (S. 113). Gegen Ende dieses Kapitels entpuppt sich Silverberg als gemäßigter Konservativer: »I'm a conservative in the old-fashioned way. […] The rest of my politics are libertarian in the sense that I believe people should be allowed to do whatever they want, however stupid it is, so long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else« (S.118).
Das titel gebende Wort »Enwonderment« für das nächste Kapitel stammt von Silverberg selbst und er erklärt dazu auf S.129: »There are words like ’empowerment’ that are bandied about very freely, especially here in California. Enlightenment is also frequently heard. As well as I can remember this, I thought I would create ‘enwonderment’ as a kind of analogous noun that explains what science fiction is supposed to do.« Danach wurde in diesem Kapitel für meinen Geschmack zu viel über Haustiere (Silverberg liebt Katzen) und den Garten (Silverberg hat einen großen Garten) gesprochen. Silverberg, der gerne exotisch isst, philosophiert darüber, wie die Gewöhnung Dingen den Zauber nimmt, in der Science Fiction wie auch beim Essen und beim Sex (welch eine tolle Zusammenstellung): »wonder requires a certain amount of strangeness« (S. 138). Ein weiteres Beispiel für Gedanken zur SF und zum Schreiben: »Lester del Rey […] said to me long ago, »Story is a record of change of character.« I took that to heart« (S. 143).
Dann gibt es wieder das »Spiel«, bei dem Silverberg zu einzelnen Autoren, die Zinos-Amaro nennt, ein paar Sätze sagt. Ähnliches dann auch zu eigenen Werken, die einen Preis gewonnen haben. Nette Erkenntnis am Rande: Silverberg liest sehr, sehr viel, aber den »Herr der Ringe« hat er nie zu Ende gebracht, dafür die »Buddenbrooks« schon mehrfach. Von »Game of Thrones« (S. 167: »George is a wonderful writer«) hat er nur den ersten Teil gelesen, nie die weiteren: »in part because there’s so much of it, in part because it’s unfinished, and I’d rather know where the journey ends« (S. 167).
Trotz - oder vielleicht aufgrund - seiner enormen Belesenheit ist auch für ihn nicht genug Zeit, all das zu lesen, was er lesen möchte. Es gibt eine Stelle, wo er erklärt, in wie vielen Etagen und Räumen seines großen Hauses er seine riesige Büchersammlung aufbewahrt. Leider gibt es keine konkreten Zahlen, aber er hat wirklich viele, viele Bücher und etliche Magazine und Autoren komplett. Hier, wie auch in anderen Teilen des Buches wird klar, dass Silverberg durchaus wohlhabend ist. Er sieht auch, dass es heute schwieriger ist, mit SF Geld zu verdienen: »It's a low-paying field now. It's much more of a low-paying field than it was when I was starting out« (S. 207).
Es kommen noch viele andere interessante Stellen in diesem Buch, auf die ich aber nicht mehr eingehen will. Es geht noch ums Altern, um Erinnerungen und um das, was man noch kann oder nicht mehr kann. Um Themen, die ältere Menschen halt beschäftigen. Silverberg ist altersweise und schaut gelassen auf sein Leben. Er schreibt schon länger nicht mehr, ist zufrieden, muss sich und der Welt nichts mehr beweisen.
In einem schönen und kurzen Abschlusskapitel berichtet Silverbergs Frau Karen Haber darüber, wie es so ist, mit einer wandelnden Datenbank zusammen zu leben und auf Reisen zu gehen, wie exakt er diese Reisen plant und wie er immer auf der Suche ist nach neuen Eindrücken. Im letzten Absatz meint sie: »Thirty years of staying home and writing, mercifully interrupted by opera and other fine arts, the aforementioned epicurean pleasures, traveling, friends, and family. Exhilarating, yes. Tiring, occasionally. But the good kind of tired.«
Ein Buch voller interessanter Erkenntnisse, das mir viel Spaß gemacht hat und bei dem ich einiges über einen Autor gelernt habe, den ich mal wieder lesen sollte.
Zu meinen persönlichen Highlights gehört eine Autogrammstunde beim Worldcon in Dublin, wo ich mir »Es stirbt in mir« signieren ließ. Silverberg verstand den deutschen Titel sofort und wusste, dass es die Übersetzung von »Dying Inside« war.
Durch Zufall stieß ich auf dieses Taschenbuch und hielt es für eine gute Gelegenheit, mich intensiver mit dem Autor zu beschäftigen. Das Buch ist aus acht Interviews entstanden, die an vier Wochenenden im Jahre 2015 durchgeführt wurden. Robert Silverberg war zu diesem Zeitpunkt 80 Jahre alt. Der Stil ist ganz anders als bei den großartigen »Dream Makers« Interviews von Charles Platt, die ja gerade als dreibändige »Weltenschöpfer« Ausgabe bei Memoranda neu erscheinen. In diesem Buch folgen wirklich »nur« Fragen und Antworten aufeinander, es gibt keine Zwischentexte oder Erläuterungen. Es ist allerdings so, dass Alvaro Zinos-Amaro und Robert Silverberg eine über Jahre entstandene Freundschaft verbindet und sie auch schon ein Buch gemeinsam verfasst haben. Sie verstehen sich gut und Alvaro stellt Fragen, die weit über ein typisches SF-Genre Interview hinausgehen.
Leider enthält das Buch keine Fotos und es gibt auch wenig biographische Details. Dafür muss man andere Bücher über Silverberg lesen. Ich habe mich recht lange mit dem Buch beschäftigt und es immer nur kleinen Happen gelesen. Dabei fand ich viele Stellen, über die man länger nachdenken kann und die ich zitieren könnte, manches fand ich aber auch uninteressant oder zu speziell.
Details einiger Kapitel sollen einen besseren Eindruck vom Buch vermitteln, das leider nicht auf Deutsch erhältlich ist.
Im Kapitel »The Vividness of Landscape« geht es um das Reisen und die Notwendigkeit, andere Welten zu sehen, um selbst welche erfinden zu können. Silverberg ist sehr viel gereist, er erzählt einige Anekdoten und auch, welche Souvenirs und insbesondere Kunstwerke er an verschiedenen Orten der Welt gekauft hat. Reisen war vor allem in der Zeit vor dem Internet für ihn enorm wichtig. Ebenso wie soziale Kontakte, da man sonst den Kontakt zur realen Welt verliere: »And if you lose touch with the real world you cannot write about invented worlds« (S. 18. Sorry, Zitate werden nicht übersetzt, ich bin kein Übersetzer). Auf den Einspruch, dass Asimov bekanntermaßen kaum gereist ist, kommt die schöne Bemerkung: »Isaac was a very inventive writer, but if you look at the worlds he invented for the Foundation series, they all look like Manhattan, and there are no aliens in them, either« (S. 19). Wobei er später einschränkt, dass Reisen vor allem für einen Science-Fiction Autor wichtig sei und er selbst die »Vividness of Landscape« benötigt habe, um seine Bücher schreiben zu können. In diesem ersten Interviewkapitel erleben wir also einen weit gereisten Autor, der auch gerne kulinarisch auf Entdeckungsreise geht: »food, travel and writing are completely interrelated for me« (S. 31). Allerdings enthält das Kapitel auch einen Schwung eher belangloser Reiseerinnerungen.
Im inhaltlich sehr gehaltvollen zweiten Kapitel geht es um Ästhetik, ausgehend von Platons »Poetik«. Silverberg hat seine Vorstellungen dazu in drei Kolumnen für das Magazin »Asimov’s« ausführlicher erläutert. Er spricht von der Katharsis (Läuterung), die durch die Lektüre einer Geschichte beim Leser erreicht wird, über allgemeine strukturelle Elemente und nennt seine Geschichten »carefully plotted to create a certain effect« (S. 48). »And then I enhance these effects through the use of sensory appeal and prose rhythm« (S. 48). Außerdem haben Geschichten, die er schreibt, für ihn eine Grundfarbe, eine Grundstimmung, die er vorher festlegt. Zinos-Amaro und Silverberg diskutieren über Malerei und Musik. So erläutert Silverberg Wagners »Ring« und wie die Ringerzählung in seine (Silverbergs) Erzähltheorie passt. Danach werden griechische Skulpturen, Malerei der Renaissance, klassische Musik und Filme besprochen. Silverberg schöpft aus einem schier unerschöpflichen Reservoir an Wissen, Erfahrungen und Erlebnissen: »That's what a writer's material is made of, the things that a writer has done and seen and felt and which he's able to find at the moment he needs them« (S. 66). Zinos-Amaro geht eine Liste von Literaturnobelpreisträgern durch und Silverberg charakterisiert diese in einem Satz und erklärt, was er alles vom jeweiligen Preisträger gelesen hat. Dabei lobt er z.B. die Kurzgeschichten von Böll, sowie »Die Blechtrommel« und den »Butt« von Grass. Danach unterhält man sich noch über griechische und römische Klassiker, ein Name-dropping ohne Ende, das mich fasziniert über Silverbergs Belesenheit, aber auch frustriert über die eigene Unkenntnis zurücklässt. Von Jules Verne sammelt er alte französische Ausgaben und zeigt sich bewandert in den Unterschieden bei den Übersetzungen. Ein ausgesprochen inhaltsreiches Kapitel, das einen sehr gebildeten Autor mit phänomenalem Gedächtnis zeigt.
In »In the Continuum« erzählt Silverberg, dass er früher 500 Worte am Tag geschrieben habe, manchmal zwei Kurzgeschichten. Ohnehin hatte er einen sehr geregelten Tagesablauf, er hat ihn immer noch, nur sind die Schreibzeiten etwas reduziert. »All my life was built around the writing routine« (S. 108). Jeden Abend geht er mit seiner Frau in ein Restaurant und führt darüber seit fünfzig Jahren Buch(!). Er trägt Maßanzüge - insgesamt merkt man, dass sich Silverberg einen gewissen Wohlstand erschrieben hat, den er auch geniesst. Kritik an der Gegenwart und dem aktuellen Umgang mit der Vergangenheit kommt von einem 80-jährigen natürlich auch, z.B.: »If you don’t understand the past, it’s very hard to extrapolate the future« (S. 112) und: »When you start interpreting the work of the past in the political sensitivity of the present you mutilate our culture.[…] I do try to protect my work against retroactive criticism of what was a legitimate depiction of human beings in a different era« (S. 113). Gegen Ende dieses Kapitels entpuppt sich Silverberg als gemäßigter Konservativer: »I'm a conservative in the old-fashioned way. […] The rest of my politics are libertarian in the sense that I believe people should be allowed to do whatever they want, however stupid it is, so long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else« (S.118).
Das titel gebende Wort »Enwonderment« für das nächste Kapitel stammt von Silverberg selbst und er erklärt dazu auf S.129: »There are words like ’empowerment’ that are bandied about very freely, especially here in California. Enlightenment is also frequently heard. As well as I can remember this, I thought I would create ‘enwonderment’ as a kind of analogous noun that explains what science fiction is supposed to do.« Danach wurde in diesem Kapitel für meinen Geschmack zu viel über Haustiere (Silverberg liebt Katzen) und den Garten (Silverberg hat einen großen Garten) gesprochen. Silverberg, der gerne exotisch isst, philosophiert darüber, wie die Gewöhnung Dingen den Zauber nimmt, in der Science Fiction wie auch beim Essen und beim Sex (welch eine tolle Zusammenstellung): »wonder requires a certain amount of strangeness« (S. 138). Ein weiteres Beispiel für Gedanken zur SF und zum Schreiben: »Lester del Rey […] said to me long ago, »Story is a record of change of character.« I took that to heart« (S. 143).
Dann gibt es wieder das »Spiel«, bei dem Silverberg zu einzelnen Autoren, die Zinos-Amaro nennt, ein paar Sätze sagt. Ähnliches dann auch zu eigenen Werken, die einen Preis gewonnen haben. Nette Erkenntnis am Rande: Silverberg liest sehr, sehr viel, aber den »Herr der Ringe« hat er nie zu Ende gebracht, dafür die »Buddenbrooks« schon mehrfach. Von »Game of Thrones« (S. 167: »George is a wonderful writer«) hat er nur den ersten Teil gelesen, nie die weiteren: »in part because there’s so much of it, in part because it’s unfinished, and I’d rather know where the journey ends« (S. 167).
Trotz - oder vielleicht aufgrund - seiner enormen Belesenheit ist auch für ihn nicht genug Zeit, all das zu lesen, was er lesen möchte. Es gibt eine Stelle, wo er erklärt, in wie vielen Etagen und Räumen seines großen Hauses er seine riesige Büchersammlung aufbewahrt. Leider gibt es keine konkreten Zahlen, aber er hat wirklich viele, viele Bücher und etliche Magazine und Autoren komplett. Hier, wie auch in anderen Teilen des Buches wird klar, dass Silverberg durchaus wohlhabend ist. Er sieht auch, dass es heute schwieriger ist, mit SF Geld zu verdienen: »It's a low-paying field now. It's much more of a low-paying field than it was when I was starting out« (S. 207).
Es kommen noch viele andere interessante Stellen in diesem Buch, auf die ich aber nicht mehr eingehen will. Es geht noch ums Altern, um Erinnerungen und um das, was man noch kann oder nicht mehr kann. Um Themen, die ältere Menschen halt beschäftigen. Silverberg ist altersweise und schaut gelassen auf sein Leben. Er schreibt schon länger nicht mehr, ist zufrieden, muss sich und der Welt nichts mehr beweisen.
In einem schönen und kurzen Abschlusskapitel berichtet Silverbergs Frau Karen Haber darüber, wie es so ist, mit einer wandelnden Datenbank zusammen zu leben und auf Reisen zu gehen, wie exakt er diese Reisen plant und wie er immer auf der Suche ist nach neuen Eindrücken. Im letzten Absatz meint sie: »Thirty years of staying home and writing, mercifully interrupted by opera and other fine arts, the aforementioned epicurean pleasures, traveling, friends, and family. Exhilarating, yes. Tiring, occasionally. But the good kind of tired.«
Ein Buch voller interessanter Erkenntnisse, das mir viel Spaß gemacht hat und bei dem ich einiges über einen Autor gelernt habe, den ich mal wieder lesen sollte.
September 6, 2016
My review in English: http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot....
Mi reseña en español: http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot....
Mi reseña en español: http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot....
May 23, 2022
Excellent! It is like participating in a long conversation with Silverberg. Fascinating and enlightening by turn, Silverberg's anecdotes from a life at the pinnacle of the sci fi writer's pyramid are enthralling. Reading this has left me with a hankering for some prime Robert Silverberg.
June 27, 2017
“I thought I would create ‘enwonderment’ as a kind of analogous noun [to enlightenment and empowerment] that explains what science fiction is supposed to do.”
Another “related work” finalist for 2017 Hugo Awards. This one is at least a coherent whole, unlike almost all the others. A multi-day interview with Silverberg highlighting where he came from, how he got into writing, and where he is now.
“New experiences happen all the time, not always pleasant ones, but the ones that shape you, the ones that define you, happen early.”
“String theory … strikes me as theology rather than science.”
Far-ranging dialogue touches on art, horticulture, theory of art and films he likes. A Grand Master of Science Fiction, Silverberg also produced non-fiction on archeology, history and the world. And why he stopped writing.
“A lot of benefits have come from the twenty-first century, but I certainly don’t feel at home here.”
Silverberg represents an endangered specie: a California conservative. (He’s not a registered Republican because that effectively disenfranchises him in the Golden State.) His perspective is perhaps more interesting than his opinions.
“A number of [Hugo winners] strike me as astonishingly not-so-good books.”
Silverberg comes across as something of a curmudgeon, but the conversations are laced with humor and insight, too. We certainly don’t care about his daily routine. Interesting thoughts on the evolution of language in the last sixty years.
“What a writer needs is a reservoir of experience that he will manipulate using the craft at his command.… But very few writers write anything worthwhile in [their] later years.”
Eighty years old, Silverberg was very aware of his own mortality.
“It’s the battle against entropy that I will never win, but I will never cease.”
Another “related work” finalist for 2017 Hugo Awards. This one is at least a coherent whole, unlike almost all the others. A multi-day interview with Silverberg highlighting where he came from, how he got into writing, and where he is now.
“New experiences happen all the time, not always pleasant ones, but the ones that shape you, the ones that define you, happen early.”
“String theory … strikes me as theology rather than science.”
Far-ranging dialogue touches on art, horticulture, theory of art and films he likes. A Grand Master of Science Fiction, Silverberg also produced non-fiction on archeology, history and the world. And why he stopped writing.
“A lot of benefits have come from the twenty-first century, but I certainly don’t feel at home here.”
Silverberg represents an endangered specie: a California conservative. (He’s not a registered Republican because that effectively disenfranchises him in the Golden State.) His perspective is perhaps more interesting than his opinions.
“A number of [Hugo winners] strike me as astonishingly not-so-good books.”
Silverberg comes across as something of a curmudgeon, but the conversations are laced with humor and insight, too. We certainly don’t care about his daily routine. Interesting thoughts on the evolution of language in the last sixty years.
“What a writer needs is a reservoir of experience that he will manipulate using the craft at his command.… But very few writers write anything worthwhile in [their] later years.”
Eighty years old, Silverberg was very aware of his own mortality.
“It’s the battle against entropy that I will never win, but I will never cease.”
May 22, 2016
This is a wonderful addition to the history of science fiction. More than a series of interview questions, this is a true conversation between two very bright people, one of whom happens to be a Grand Master of the genre.
May 24, 2017
All science fiction readers of course know of Robert Silverberg and most of us have read at least some of his oeuvre. This book gives a glimpse into his life both in and out of the SF&F world. It provides a vision of Silverberg's with wide ranging interests and is well seasoned with his dry wit. I recommend it as well worth a read for those interested in Silverberg or in the golden age of science fiction.
August 25, 2016
Esta serie de entrevistas que Alvaro Zinos-Amaro ha realizado a su amigo Robert Silverberg nos aportan una visión de la vida personal de Silverberg, sus aficiones, métodos de trabajo, teoría literaría y la enorme enorme (menuda envidia) librería y colección de libros de cifi. Está estructurada en siete capítulos que van comentando los diferentes aspectos de la vida de Robert Silverberg. Todo esto intercalado con anécdotas, comentarios y si incluso críticas a colegas. (Ahora sabemos por que los mundos de Asimov se parecen tanto a Manhattan, es que no salía nunca de ahí).
September 5, 2017
Valoración: 3,5/5
Exhaustiva, aunque relativamente informal (eso es bueno). Muy interesante para saber más de Silverberg.
Lo mejor (y eso es muy interesante) es cuando habla de literatura y de su proceso creativo. El resto me ha dejado un poco frío.
Exhaustiva, aunque relativamente informal (eso es bueno). Muy interesante para saber más de Silverberg.
Lo mejor (y eso es muy interesante) es cuando habla de literatura y de su proceso creativo. El resto me ha dejado un poco frío.
April 22, 2017
La labor del entrevistador en estas conversaciones es encomiable. Lleva el diálogo por derroteros que permiten a Silverberg hablar sobre facetas no demasiado tratadas: sus opiniones políticas, su visión personal sobre el paso del tiempo y la vejez, cómo concibe la escritura, las cosas que le atraen de los textos y las que le pierden como lector... Es fascinante ver cómo mantiene su memoria a los 80 años, su erudición en todo tipo de temas, su condición de lector voraz que en cierta forma está en la base de su éxito como escritor, una explicación divertida sobre su bloqueo de los 70 acojonante (básicamente, pasó de pagar un pastón en impuestos a, teniendo la misma vida, pagar lo que considera razonable), el tributo que hace al olvidado Henry Kuttner como su maestro dentro del género y a las figuras de Sheckley y Dick, la importancia que le da a su praxis profesional y su (cierto) estoicismo en la vida diaria...
Pero los que quieran saber más de su vida en Nueva York en los 50 cuando compartía edificio con Randall Garrett y Harlan Ellison, las fuentes de inspiración para todas las geniales novelas de los 60 y 70, su bloqueo y cómo cambió cuando retomó la escritura con Valentine, su labor como antólogo... se pueden sentir un poco decepcionados. Pero eso ya lo ha tratado tantas veces que comparto el derrotero marcado por Zinos-Amaro. Aunque también me he saltado muchos fragmentos. El capítulo con los viajes que ha realizado y sus impresiones sobre cada país/sociedad/recuerdo, el primero, me ha hecho leer mucho en diagonal. Su interés por la botánica y la jardinería otro tanto de lo mismo.
Si no se tienen problemas en tomar este tipo de decisiones, y se está familiarizado con la obra de Silverberg, es una lectura agradable que acerca una perspectiva existencial singular. Y puede ayudar a entender la perspectiva del votante Republicano de toda la vida en las antípodas de la deriva populista de ultraderecha que ha tomado la base del partido.
Pero los que quieran saber más de su vida en Nueva York en los 50 cuando compartía edificio con Randall Garrett y Harlan Ellison, las fuentes de inspiración para todas las geniales novelas de los 60 y 70, su bloqueo y cómo cambió cuando retomó la escritura con Valentine, su labor como antólogo... se pueden sentir un poco decepcionados. Pero eso ya lo ha tratado tantas veces que comparto el derrotero marcado por Zinos-Amaro. Aunque también me he saltado muchos fragmentos. El capítulo con los viajes que ha realizado y sus impresiones sobre cada país/sociedad/recuerdo, el primero, me ha hecho leer mucho en diagonal. Su interés por la botánica y la jardinería otro tanto de lo mismo.
Si no se tienen problemas en tomar este tipo de decisiones, y se está familiarizado con la obra de Silverberg, es una lectura agradable que acerca una perspectiva existencial singular. Y puede ayudar a entender la perspectiva del votante Republicano de toda la vida en las antípodas de la deriva populista de ultraderecha que ha tomado la base del partido.
August 21, 2017
Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg, by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro and Robert Silverberg, is one of the nominees for the 2017 Hugo awards in the Related Works category. It is a collection of interviews on a variety of subjects conducted by Zinos-Amaro with legendary sf writer Robert Silverberg.
In the Preface, Zinos-Amaro tells us that he became a devoted fan of Silverberg's work when he was still a teenager, an admiration that led to correspondence, then friendship, then a collaboration of sorts, in which Zinos-Amaro completed an unfinished novella by Silverberg, When the Blue Shift Comes. This long association, Zinos-Amaro suggests, was invaluable in helping him frame the interviews, based on his knowledge of Silverberg the writer snd Silverberg the man.
"Thus, while it is true in a literal sense that the conversations comprising Traveler of Worlds unfolded over four weekends in 2015, they were informed and shaped by years of deep, abiding curiosity about Silverberg’s art and life, his experiences, his attitudes and beliefs."
Each of the seven interviews is directed around a theme, but conducted with sufficient flexibility to embrace a variety of related thoughts. The first interview, titled "The Vividness of Landscape," explores Silverberg's experiences as a world traveller, and how these influenced his work.
The next interview, "Aesthetics," which is one of the largest sections of the book, looks at Silverberg's ideas about writing as an artform - influences, theories, approaches to the structure and realisation of story, craft and technique - and art in general, from painting to opera, landscaping to film. The interview also devotes considerable time to Silverberg's assessment of many of the great writers of literature, including a longish discourse on various translations of Verne's works.
"In the Continuum" is a discussion of day-to day life for Silverberg, retired writer. In talking about his daily activities - professional, personal, and those shared with his wife Karen - Silverberg seems very conscious of the differences in his activities and schedules as a younger man, as someone still actively writing fiction as his job, and what he does now. At one point, he says: "Getting yourself to old age involves excusing yourself from a lot of things you once did. Saying, “I don’t need to do this,” or “I can’t do this, so don’t fool yourself into trying.” One by one, you let go of a lot of things that you formerly did. Or if you’re wise you do, instead of frantically running after them." This section also explores Silverberg's political views. He identifies himself as fiscally conservative - in the traditional sense, he accepts the idea that there should be some taxes, some regulation and some social network for the poor and disadvantaged - and socially libertarian, in that he rejects government intervention in non-economic matters. He has tended to support Republican politicians and expressed criticism of both Obama and Hilary Clinton. I wish I knew what he thinks of Trump.
The next section, "Enwonderment" takes its title from a word coined by Silverberg, who explains: "There are words like “empowerment” that are bandied about very freely, especially here in California. Enlightenment is also frequently heard. As well as I can remember this, I thought I would create “enwonderment” as a kind of analogous noun that explains what science fiction is supposed to do." In this section, Zinos-Amaro inquires about what things in his life have given Silverberg a sense of wonder, from his horticultural hobby to new developments in science, to, of course, science fiction and fantasy.
In "Libraries," Zinos-Amaro talks to Silverberg about libraries - the public and school libraries he frequented as a child and adolescent, the Columbia University library, the various international libraries he has visited as an adult, and his own personal library, which he began to seriously cultivate when as a working writer he had less time to spend doing reading and research outside his home. "So all through, from the Schenectady Avenue branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to my various school libraries—and I always took advantage of those—to the wonderfully sheltering high school library with the red leather banquettes, where I’d sit near a stained-glass window high above the quadrangle, to Columbia, libraries were always important to me. But when I became a professional writer I needed the time to work. I couldn’t spend my time commuting to libraries, especially as I got more and more remote from the nearest good library. I lived in Upper Manhattan, near Columbia, but I no longer had the stack pass, because I was no longer a student. Then I moved to a suburb where there was no library."
In the section titled "Potpourri," Zinos-Amaro poses Silverberg some questions submitted by fans as beginning points of conversation. A question about whether there is, or ever will be, a complete bibliography of all Silverberg's works in all genres, under all pseudonyms, leads to an anecdote about being investigated by the FBI for writing pornography. Silverberg also talks about what he considers to be good and bad writing, with examples from Thomas Hardy, Hemingway and Graham Green.
The final interview, "After the Myths Went Home," is devoted to Silverberg's responses to a question about "your perspective on age, and on what it’s like to look back on a professional writing career that’s lasted over six decades." The book concludes with a brief essay from Silverberg's wife, Karen Haber, about her life with Silverberg.
I enjoyed reading the interviews, seeing Silverberg's responses to some of Zinos-Amaro's questions, and came out with a sense of the man behind the books, although with a somewhat disjointed idea of the shape of his life. Worth reading for anyone who has enjoyed the works, and is curious about the man.
In the Preface, Zinos-Amaro tells us that he became a devoted fan of Silverberg's work when he was still a teenager, an admiration that led to correspondence, then friendship, then a collaboration of sorts, in which Zinos-Amaro completed an unfinished novella by Silverberg, When the Blue Shift Comes. This long association, Zinos-Amaro suggests, was invaluable in helping him frame the interviews, based on his knowledge of Silverberg the writer snd Silverberg the man.
"Thus, while it is true in a literal sense that the conversations comprising Traveler of Worlds unfolded over four weekends in 2015, they were informed and shaped by years of deep, abiding curiosity about Silverberg’s art and life, his experiences, his attitudes and beliefs."
Each of the seven interviews is directed around a theme, but conducted with sufficient flexibility to embrace a variety of related thoughts. The first interview, titled "The Vividness of Landscape," explores Silverberg's experiences as a world traveller, and how these influenced his work.
The next interview, "Aesthetics," which is one of the largest sections of the book, looks at Silverberg's ideas about writing as an artform - influences, theories, approaches to the structure and realisation of story, craft and technique - and art in general, from painting to opera, landscaping to film. The interview also devotes considerable time to Silverberg's assessment of many of the great writers of literature, including a longish discourse on various translations of Verne's works.
"In the Continuum" is a discussion of day-to day life for Silverberg, retired writer. In talking about his daily activities - professional, personal, and those shared with his wife Karen - Silverberg seems very conscious of the differences in his activities and schedules as a younger man, as someone still actively writing fiction as his job, and what he does now. At one point, he says: "Getting yourself to old age involves excusing yourself from a lot of things you once did. Saying, “I don’t need to do this,” or “I can’t do this, so don’t fool yourself into trying.” One by one, you let go of a lot of things that you formerly did. Or if you’re wise you do, instead of frantically running after them." This section also explores Silverberg's political views. He identifies himself as fiscally conservative - in the traditional sense, he accepts the idea that there should be some taxes, some regulation and some social network for the poor and disadvantaged - and socially libertarian, in that he rejects government intervention in non-economic matters. He has tended to support Republican politicians and expressed criticism of both Obama and Hilary Clinton. I wish I knew what he thinks of Trump.
The next section, "Enwonderment" takes its title from a word coined by Silverberg, who explains: "There are words like “empowerment” that are bandied about very freely, especially here in California. Enlightenment is also frequently heard. As well as I can remember this, I thought I would create “enwonderment” as a kind of analogous noun that explains what science fiction is supposed to do." In this section, Zinos-Amaro inquires about what things in his life have given Silverberg a sense of wonder, from his horticultural hobby to new developments in science, to, of course, science fiction and fantasy.
In "Libraries," Zinos-Amaro talks to Silverberg about libraries - the public and school libraries he frequented as a child and adolescent, the Columbia University library, the various international libraries he has visited as an adult, and his own personal library, which he began to seriously cultivate when as a working writer he had less time to spend doing reading and research outside his home. "So all through, from the Schenectady Avenue branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to my various school libraries—and I always took advantage of those—to the wonderfully sheltering high school library with the red leather banquettes, where I’d sit near a stained-glass window high above the quadrangle, to Columbia, libraries were always important to me. But when I became a professional writer I needed the time to work. I couldn’t spend my time commuting to libraries, especially as I got more and more remote from the nearest good library. I lived in Upper Manhattan, near Columbia, but I no longer had the stack pass, because I was no longer a student. Then I moved to a suburb where there was no library."
In the section titled "Potpourri," Zinos-Amaro poses Silverberg some questions submitted by fans as beginning points of conversation. A question about whether there is, or ever will be, a complete bibliography of all Silverberg's works in all genres, under all pseudonyms, leads to an anecdote about being investigated by the FBI for writing pornography. Silverberg also talks about what he considers to be good and bad writing, with examples from Thomas Hardy, Hemingway and Graham Green.
The final interview, "After the Myths Went Home," is devoted to Silverberg's responses to a question about "your perspective on age, and on what it’s like to look back on a professional writing career that’s lasted over six decades." The book concludes with a brief essay from Silverberg's wife, Karen Haber, about her life with Silverberg.
I enjoyed reading the interviews, seeing Silverberg's responses to some of Zinos-Amaro's questions, and came out with a sense of the man behind the books, although with a somewhat disjointed idea of the shape of his life. Worth reading for anyone who has enjoyed the works, and is curious about the man.
May 25, 2017
Zinos-Amaro clearly did a lot of research before he sat down with Silverberg for these interviews. He quotes not only from Silverberg's books, but from magazine articles and other sources. He doesn't retread areas of Silverberg's life that Silverberg has previously written about. These interviews are a peek into Silverberg's private life, his likes and dislikes, hobbies, and perhaps most telling, his feelings on reaching 80 and what his life has in store in his remaining years. Silverberg is quite practical in noting that he has to make choices about his limited time left; for example, should he read (or reread) certain long works? This is somewhat depressing, although I suspect Silverberg doesn't see it that way.
Silverberg comes across as somewhat of an elitist. He went to good schools, did well as a writer almost immediately, and has a sort of curmudgeonly view of modern writers and modern communications. His tastes in art, music, and literature are quite refined, and it seems he looks down on some of the more popular genres in those fields. I found it quite telling that in the afterward by Silverberg's wife, Karen Haber, that she essentially calls him a grumpy old man, but one whose humor and vast knowledge endear him to her and many of his friends.
This really isn't a book for casual readers. But if you're a Silverberg fan, you will probably enjoy a glimpse into his life and what makes him tick.
Silverberg comes across as somewhat of an elitist. He went to good schools, did well as a writer almost immediately, and has a sort of curmudgeonly view of modern writers and modern communications. His tastes in art, music, and literature are quite refined, and it seems he looks down on some of the more popular genres in those fields. I found it quite telling that in the afterward by Silverberg's wife, Karen Haber, that she essentially calls him a grumpy old man, but one whose humor and vast knowledge endear him to her and many of his friends.
This really isn't a book for casual readers. But if you're a Silverberg fan, you will probably enjoy a glimpse into his life and what makes him tick.
June 16, 2017
I found this interesting but probably in a different way from most readers.
For I am not a fan of Silverberg's writing (I have only read one novel of his and a handful of short fiction, none of which appealed to me) and only picked this up because it was in the Hugo Packet.
Throughout the long sprawling series of interviews I was able to understand why I think I didn't get on with his work. His views on science fiction, art and society are so fundementally different from mine we are simply not on the same wavelength.
As such it was fascinating to read the thoughts of someone who I can appreciate as very articulate and highly intelligent but who I disagreed with almost entirely.
For I am not a fan of Silverberg's writing (I have only read one novel of his and a handful of short fiction, none of which appealed to me) and only picked this up because it was in the Hugo Packet.
Throughout the long sprawling series of interviews I was able to understand why I think I didn't get on with his work. His views on science fiction, art and society are so fundementally different from mine we are simply not on the same wavelength.
As such it was fascinating to read the thoughts of someone who I can appreciate as very articulate and highly intelligent but who I disagreed with almost entirely.
July 9, 2017
This is a well put together series of interviews that read as a conversation between Zinos-Amaro and Robert Silverberg, that take an in-depth look at Silverberg's life, times, and insights about his written works, other writers, travel, aging, and a variety of other topics.
June 6, 2017
Robert Silverberg is one of the best SF writers the field has known. He's also knowledgeable on numerous subjects, a world traveller, and an incredibly erudite speaker. Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, himself also knowledgeable and well spoken, interviews Silverberg on a number of topics, ranging from travel to politics to the books that Silverberg loves (and doesn't). As I reader, I felt like I was listening into a great conversation.
June 23, 2018
Robert Silverberg has always been a paradox to me.
On the one hand, I've read some very good stories of his. like "To See the Invisible Man" and "A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa," but I've never been driven to track down and read a lot of Silverberg's work. Of the New Wave writers, I respond far more to Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny and Ursula Le Guin.
So I read this book to see if it gave me a way "into" Silverberg's fiction.
Another paradox. I enjoyed reading this book, but I don't feel any closer to wanting to read Silverberg's fiction. Silverberg comes across as a fascinating guy who has seen much of the world and read a ton of classic literature, but he remains remarkably closed on the subject of his own work.
Still, it takes all kinds, and Silverberg is a giant in the science fiction field. I feel I understand him better after reading "Traveler of Worlds," even if I am not driven to read him.
On the one hand, I've read some very good stories of his. like "To See the Invisible Man" and "A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa," but I've never been driven to track down and read a lot of Silverberg's work. Of the New Wave writers, I respond far more to Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny and Ursula Le Guin.
So I read this book to see if it gave me a way "into" Silverberg's fiction.
Another paradox. I enjoyed reading this book, but I don't feel any closer to wanting to read Silverberg's fiction. Silverberg comes across as a fascinating guy who has seen much of the world and read a ton of classic literature, but he remains remarkably closed on the subject of his own work.
Still, it takes all kinds, and Silverberg is a giant in the science fiction field. I feel I understand him better after reading "Traveler of Worlds," even if I am not driven to read him.
March 30, 2019
Robert Silverberg has become my favorite old-school science fiction writer. I have read 6 Silverberg novels from his prolific period of 1967-1976 and I have liked all of them. I wanted to know a little more of about his writing career. Traveler of Worlds provides an excellent, behind-the-scenes of Silverberg reflecting on his sixth decade as a writer. Zinos-Amaro asks good questions in this back-and forth Q&A style of book. If you are a fan of Robert Silverberg, I would recommend Traveler of Worlds.
January 4, 2017
I'm the author of this book. TRAVELER OF WORLDS is a book of conversations in which I ask Robert Silverberg all sorts of questions about his life experiences, love of travel and art and music, and of course his long and prolific career, in and out of science fiction. These conversations happened over the course of 2015 in his living room and I transcribed and edited them, with his approval, for the book. Gardner Dozois wrote an Introduction and Karen Haber, Bob's wife, an Afterword.
The book was a passion project for me, and I hope it will be fun for casual readers wishing to learn more about the life and career of one of science fiction's great writers, as well as potentially useful for any researchers or scholars who may wish to consult it as a primary source regarding Silverberg.
Thanks for your interest, and I hope you enjoy it!
The book was a passion project for me, and I hope it will be fun for casual readers wishing to learn more about the life and career of one of science fiction's great writers, as well as potentially useful for any researchers or scholars who may wish to consult it as a primary source regarding Silverberg.
Thanks for your interest, and I hope you enjoy it!
October 24, 2018
Excursions thru the Mind of the Writer
Interesting conversations and mental excursions (though he's most of his thoughts to himself) throughout the landscapes he discusses with the interviewer whether it's the subject of travel, gardening, libraries, books, and exotic foods. Plus literary influences on writing, though he'd point out influences from himself. This book makes the reader part of the conversation.
Interesting conversations and mental excursions (though he's most of his thoughts to himself) throughout the landscapes he discusses with the interviewer whether it's the subject of travel, gardening, libraries, books, and exotic foods. Plus literary influences on writing, though he'd point out influences from himself. This book makes the reader part of the conversation.
November 18, 2017
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2903021.html
I'd have liked to hear more about Silverberg's attitude to his own work, and the book lacked a chronology or other analytical apparatus.
I'd have liked to hear more about Silverberg's attitude to his own work, and the book lacked a chronology or other analytical apparatus.
December 23, 2021
A very good introduction to Silverberg's reading and traveling history. I especially enjoyed his telling of his travels and how they influenced his writing. But what is especially telling is the limitations of the authors he has read. For someone who has lived as long as he has and read as many books as he has (I've seen photos of some of his library), this book makes it appear that he has read exclusively (or almost) works by white males. But that's just what I got from this book of conversations. Perhaps this is true only within the literary works but if it is true within his own field of science fiction and fantasy then he should be really ashamed.
May 27, 2017
Interesting, but imho doesn't carry the same worth as other contenders for this years Hugos.
July 12, 2017
Interesting conversations with Mr. Silverberg. Some more interesting than others.
February 24, 2023
Excellent book. Silverberg is one of my favorite writers. I have almost all of his books.
September 6, 2016
This book is not a bibliography its a interview. Conversations with Robert Silverberg opens up your mind to what you should know about his life and what he knows. Your only following his footsteps while traveling. It is a magnificent book that can read over and over!
https://youtu.be/DcUV-EW_hvg
https://youtu.be/DcUV-EW_hvg
September 25, 2016
A veces se va demasiado por los Cerros de Úbeda.
July 13, 2018
Both the interviewee and the interviewer come across as insufferably pretentious.
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