The Foundation of S.F. Success
Encyclopedia
"The Foundation of S.F. Success" is a pastiche, written in 1954 by Isaac Asimov
, of the patter song
"If you're anxious for to shine" from the Gilbert and Sullivan
comic opera
Patience
, describing the easy way to become a successful writer. Asimov borrows Gilbert's rhythm and rhyme schemes in the song. It includes the classic lines: With a tiny bit of cribbin' from the works of Edward Gibbon
and that Greek, Thucydides
, in which Asimov is lampooning himself, referring to the inspiration for the Foundation stories.
The piece was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1954, p. 69. It is included in Asimov's short story collection Earth is Room Enough
(1957) and his later The Complete Stories, vol. 1.
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, of the patter song
Patter song
The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...
"If you're anxious for to shine" from the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
, describing the easy way to become a successful writer. Asimov borrows Gilbert's rhythm and rhyme schemes in the song. It includes the classic lines: With a tiny bit of cribbin' from the works of Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
and that Greek, Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, in which Asimov is lampooning himself, referring to the inspiration for the Foundation stories.
The piece was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1954, p. 69. It is included in Asimov's short story collection Earth is Room Enough
Earth Is Room Enough
Earth Is Room Enough is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse published by Isaac Asimov in 1957. In his autobiography In Joy Still Felt, Asimov wrote, "I was still thinking of the remarks of reviewers such as George O. Smith . . ....
(1957) and his later The Complete Stories, vol. 1.