Darko Suvin
Encyclopedia
Darko Ronald Suvin, FRSC (born July 19, 1930) is a Yugoslav
-born academic and critic of Jewish descendance, who became a Professor at McGill University
in Montreal — now emeritus
. He was born in Zagreb
, Yugoslavia
(now capital of Croatia
), and after teaching at the department for comparative literature at Zagreb University, moved to Canada
in 1968.
He is best known for several major works of criticism and literary history devoted to science fiction
. He was editor of Science-Fiction Studies (later respelled as Science Fiction Studies
) from 1973 to 1980. After his retirement from McGill in 1999, he has lived in Lucca
, Italy
. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
(Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences).
In 2009, he received Croatian SFera Award
for lifetime achievement in science fiction. Also, he is member of both Croatia's writers association, Croatian Writers Society (HDP), and Croatian Writers' Association (DHK).
Recently, he published the series of his memoirs on his youth as member of the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia
during the Nazi occupation of Croatia and Yugoslavia, and first years of Josip Broz Tito
's Yugoslavia, in the Croatian cultural journal Gordogan.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
-born academic and critic of Jewish descendance, who became a Professor at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal — now emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. He was born in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
(now capital of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
), and after teaching at the department for comparative literature at Zagreb University, moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1968.
He is best known for several major works of criticism and literary history devoted to science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. He was editor of Science-Fiction Studies (later respelled as Science Fiction Studies
Science Fiction Studies
Science Fiction Studies is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R.D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year by DePauw University. As the name implies, the journal publishes articles and book reviews on science fiction, but also occasionally on fantasy and horror when the topic...
) from 1973 to 1980. After his retirement from McGill in 1999, he has lived in Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences).
In 2009, he received Croatian SFera Award
SFera
SFera is a science fiction society from Zagreb, Croatia. It was founded in 1976, thus marking the beginnings of organised science fiction fandom in the region....
for lifetime achievement in science fiction. Also, he is member of both Croatia's writers association, Croatian Writers Society (HDP), and Croatian Writers' Association (DHK).
Recently, he published the series of his memoirs on his youth as member of the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia
Young Communist League of Yugoslavia
Young Communist League of Yugoslavia, commonly known by its abbreviation SKOJ was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from 1919 to 1948...
during the Nazi occupation of Croatia and Yugoslavia, and first years of Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Yugoslavia, in the Croatian cultural journal Gordogan.
Works
- Dva vida dramaturgije: eseji o teatarskoj viziji (Zagreb 1964) — "Two aspects of dramaturgy: essays on theatrical vision", in Croatian language
- Od Lukijana do Lunjika (Zagreb 1965) — "From LucianLucianLucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature.His ethnicity is disputed and is attributed as Assyrian according to Frye and Parpola, and Syrian according to Joseph....
to LunikLuna programmeThe Luna programme , occasionally called Lunik or Lunnik, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration...
", in Croatian, anthology and theory of science fiction. Major parts of this book and other early essays, published in the 1960s in Croatian language, were later reworked for Metamorphoses of Science Fiction. - Other Worlds, Other Seas: Science-Fiction Stories from Socialist Countries (1970) and later editions — editor, with preface
- Uvod u Brechta (Zagreb 1970) — "Introduction into BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
", in Croatian language - Russian Science Fiction, 1956-1970: A Bibliography (1971) and later editions
- Andere Welten, andere Meere (1972) and later editions — German translation of Other Wolds, Other Seas
- Autres mondes, autres mers (1973) — French translation of Other Worlds, Other Seas
- Science-Fiction Studies: Selected Articles on Science Fiction, 1973-1975 (1976) — editor with R. D. Mullen
- Dramatika Iva Vojnovića: geneza i struktura (Dubrovnik, Vol. 20, 1977, issue 5-6) — "Ivo Vojnovic's Dramatics: Genesis and Structure", the whole issue of the magazine printed Suvin's PhD from University of Zagreb; often wrongly cited as the book
- Pour une poétique de la science-fiction : études en théorie et en histoire d'un genre littéraire (Montreal 1977) — first world edition of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction; although in French, it seems it was translated from English manuscript
- H. G. Wells and Modern Science Fiction (1977) — edited by Darko Suvin, with Robert M. Philmus
- Science-Fiction Studies: Selected Articles on Science Fiction, 1976-1977 (1978) — editor with R. D. Mullen
- Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre (1979)
- Poetik und Science Fiction. Zur Theorie einer literarischen Gattung (1979) — German translation of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction
- Victorian Science Fiction in the UK: The Discourses of Knowledge and of Power (1983)
- To Brecht and Beyond: Soundings in Modern Dramaturgy (1984)
- Metamorfosis de la ciencia ficción (Mexico 1984 and 1987) - Spanish edition of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction
- Le Metamorfosi della fantascienza (Bologna 1985) - Italian translation of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction
- The Long March, Notes on the Way 1981-1984, Poems (1987)
- Positions and Presuppositions in Science Fiction (1988) — essays
- Armirana Arkadija (Zagreb 1990) — poems in Croatian
- SF no hen'yô (Tokyo 1991) - Japanese translation of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction
- Lessons of Japan: Assayings of Some Intercultural Stances (1997)
- Learning from Other Worlds: Estrangement, Cognition, and the Politics of Science Fiction and Utopia (Liverpool University Press, 2001) - edited by Patrick Parrinder, collection of essays on science fiction and utopian literature honouring the work of Darko Suvin, with Suvin's full and detailed bibliography in all languages
- US Science Fiction and War/Militarism (Fictions, Studi sulla narrativita, Anno III, Pisa 2004, issue 3: 1-166) — guest editor, with Salvatore Proietti, special issue in English
- Gdje smo? Kuda idemo? Za političku epistemologiju spasa: eseji za orijentaciju i djelovanje u oskudnom vremenu (Zagreb 2006) — "Where are we? What are we getting to? For a political epistemology of salvation: essays for the orientation and doing in time of needs", in Croatian language (translated from English manuscript with author's supervision)
- ""Of Starship Troopers and Refuseniks: War and Militarism in US Science Fiction", Part 2 ("1975-2001: Post-Fordism, and Some Conclusions") printed in Extrapolation, 48.1 (2007): 9-34; Part 1 ("1945-1974: Fordism"), in D.M. Hassler and C. Wilcox (eds.), New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction, University of South Carolina Press, 2008, 115-144; integrally printed (in Croatian language, authorised translation from the manuscript) in Ubiq, Zagreb 2009, No. 5
- "Spoznaja, sloboda, The Dispossessed kao klasik" (In: Ubiq, Zagreb 2008, No. 2) — "Cognition, Freedom, The Dispossessed as a Classic"; major work on Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's novel, in Croatian translation with author's supervision, English version partially printed in Paradoxa (2008, No. 21, Ursula K. Le Guin Issue) - Naučna fantastika, spoznaja, sloboda (Belgrade 2009) — "Science fiction, cognition, freedom", in Croatian and Serbian language, selected essays on science fiction translated from English manuscripts or printed in Croatian, from 1960s to 2000s; selection from Yugoslav, Croatian and Serbian journals
- Defined by a Hollow: Essays on Utopia, Science Fiction and Political Epistemology (Peter Lang Verlagsgruppe, 2010) — preface by Phillip Wegner
- Kje smo? Kam gremo? Za politično ekonomijo odrešitve (Ljubljana: Založba Sophia, 2010) — "Where are we? What are we getting to?" in Slovenian translation
- Metamorfoze znanstvene fantastike (Zagreb: Profil 2010) — Croatian version of Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, translated from English edition, with translated text adapted and proofed by author himself, with preface by Carlo Proietti and Suvin's commentary
- Darko Suvin, a Life in Letters (Washington 2011) — edited by Phillip E. Wegner, Paradoxa, No. 23, selected writings and poems
- Preživjeti Potop: fantasy, po-robljenje i granična spoznaja (Ubiq, 2011, forthcoming) — "Surviving the Deluge: fantasy, commodification and liminal cognition", in Croatian, the book which collects Suvin's recent writings on fantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...