C. J. Cherryh | |
|---|---|
 Cherryh atNorWesCon in 2006 | |
| Born | Carolyn Janice Cherry (1942-09-01)September 1, 1942 (age 83) |
| Pen name | C. J. Cherryh |
| Occupation | Novelist,short story author,essayist,high school teacher |
| Education | University of Oklahoma (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Period | 1976–present |
| Genre | Science fiction,fantasy |
| Notable works | Alliance–Union universe,Foreigner series |
| Notable awards | Hugo Award,Locus Award,Prometheus Award |
| Spouse | [1][2] |
| Relatives | David A. Cherry (brother) |
| Website | |
| cherryh | |
Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by thepen nameC. J. Cherryh, is an American writer ofspeculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including theHugo Award–winning novelsDownbelow Station (1981) andCyteen (1988), both set in herAlliance–Union universe, and herForeigner series. She is known forworldbuilding, depicting fictional realms with great realism supported by vast research in history, language, psychology, and archeology.
Cherryh (pronounced "Cherry") appended a silent "h" to her real name because editorDonald A. Wollheim felt "Cherry" sounded too much like aromance writer.[3] She used only her initials, C. J., to disguise that she was female at a time when the majority of science fiction authors were male.[4]
The asteroid77185 Cherryh is named in the author's honor. The asteroid's discoverers wrote of Cherryh: "She has challenged us to be worthy of the stars by imagining how mankind might grow to live among them."[5]
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Cherryh was born in 1942 inSt. Louis, Missouri and raised primarily inLawton, Oklahoma. She began writing stories at the age of ten when she became frustrated with the cancellation of her favorite TV show,Flash Gordon. In 1964, she received aBachelor of Arts degree inLatin from theUniversity of Oklahoma (Phi Beta Kappa), with academic specializations inarchaeology,mythology, and the history ofengineering. In 1965, she received aMaster of Arts degree inclassics fromJohns Hopkins University inBaltimore,Maryland, where she was a Woodrow Wilson fellow. In the early 1980s, she was an artist in residence at the University of Central Oklahoma.[6]
After graduation, Cherryh taught Latin, Ancient Greek, the classics, and ancient history atJohn Marshall High School in theOklahoma City public school system.[7]: 79 While her job was teaching Latin, her passion was the history, religion, and culture of Rome and Ancient Greece. During the summers, she would conduct student tours of the ancient ruins in England, France, Spain, and Italy. In her spare time, she would write, using themythology of Rome andGreece as plots for her stories of the future. Cherryh did not follow the professional path typical of science fiction writers at the time, which was to first publishshort stories in science fiction and fantasy magazines and then progress to novels; she did not consider writing short stories until she had had several novels published.
Cherryh wrote novels in her spare time away from teaching and submitted these manuscripts directly for publication. Initially, she met with little success; various publishers lost manuscripts she had submitted.[7]: 80 She was thus forced to retype them from her own carbon copies, time-consuming but cheaper than paying forphotocopying. (Usingcarbon paper to make at least one copy of a manuscript was standard practice until the advent of thepersonal computer.)
Cherryh's breakthrough came in 1975 whenDonald A. Wollheim purchased the two manuscripts she had submitted toDAW Books,Gate of Ivrel andBrothers of Earth.[7]: 80 About the former, Cherryh stated in an interview onAmazing Stories:
It was the first time a book really found an ending and really worked, because I had made contact with Don Wollheim at DAW, found him interested, and was able to write for a specific editor whose body of work and type of story I knew. It was a good match. It was a set of characters I'd invented when I was, oh, about thirteen. So it was an old favorite of my untold stories, and ended up being the first in print.[8]
The two novels were published in 1976,Gate of Ivrel precedingBrothers of Earth by several months (although she had completed and submittedBrothers of Earth first). The books won her immediate recognition and theJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1977.
Although not all of her works have been published by DAW Books, during this early period Cherryh developed a strong relationship with the Wollheim family and their publishing company, frequently travelling toNew York City and staying with the Wollheims in theirQueens family home. Other companies who have published her novels includeBaen Books,HarperCollins,Warner Books, andRandom House (under itsDel Rey Books imprint). She published six additional novels in the late 1970s.
In 1979, her short story "Cassandra" won theBest Short Story Hugo, and she quit teaching to write full-time. She has since won theHugo Award for Best Novel twice, first forDownbelow Station in 1982 and then again forCyteen in 1989.
In addition to developing her ownfictional universes, Cherryh has contributed to severalshared world anthologies, includingThieves' World,Heroes in Hell,Elfquest,Witch World,Magic in Ithkar, and theMerovingen Nights series, which she edited. Her writing has encompassed a variety of science fiction and fantasy subgenres and includes a few short works of non-fiction. Her books have been translated intoCzech,Dutch, French, German,Hebrew,Hungarian, Italian,Japanese,Latvian,Lithuanian,Polish,Portuguese,Romanian,Russian,Slovak, Spanish, andSwedish. She has also translated several published works of fiction from French into English.
She now lives nearSpokane, Washington with her wife,[1][2] the science fiction/fantasy author and artistJane Fancher. She enjoys skating and travelling and regularly makes appearances atscience fiction conventions.
Her brotherDavid A. Cherry is a science fiction and fantasy artist.[9]
Cherryh uses a writing technique she has variously labeled "very tight limitedthird person", "intense third person", and "intense internal" voice.[10] In this approach, the only things the writer narrates are those that the viewpoint character specifically notices or thinks about.[10] The narration may not mention important features of the environment or situation with which the character is already familiar, even though these things might be of interest to the reader, because the character does not think about them owing to their familiarity.
Cherryh's works depictfictional worlds with great realism supported by her strong background inlanguages,history,archaeology, andpsychology. In her introduction to Cherryh's first book,Andre Norton compared the effect of the work toTolkien's: "Never since readingThe Lord of the Rings have I been so caught up in any tale as I have been inGate of Ivrel." Another reviewer commented, "Her blend of science and folklore gives the novels an intellectual depth comparable toTolkien orGene Wolfe." Cherryh creates believablealien cultures, species, and perspectives, causing the reader to reconsider basic assumptions abouthuman nature. Her worlds have been praised as complex and realistic because she presents them through implication rather than explication. She describes the difficulties of translating/expressing concepts between differing languages. This is best demonstrated in both theChanur andForeigner series.
She has described the process she uses to create alien societies for her fiction as being akin to asking a series of questions, and letting the answers to these questions dictate various parameters of the alienculture. In her view, "culture is howbiology responds to itsenvironment and makes its living conditions better." Some of the issues she considers critical to take into account in detailing an intelligent alien race are:
In a 2005 interview, the interviewer asks Cherryh, “How much science is there in science fiction?” Cherryh responds with “Quite a bit and if I get something wrong, I know I’m going to hear about it.” (Minute 2:15) She later states, “I’ve had operational conferences with astronauts.” (Minute 3:03)[11]
Her protagonists often attempt to uphold existing social institutions and norms in the service of the greater good while the antagonists often attempt to exploit, subvert or radically alter the predominant social order for selfish gain. She uses the theme of the outsider finding his (or her) place in society and how individuals interact with The Other. A number of Cherryh's novels focus on military and political themes. One underlying theme of her work is an exploration of gender roles. Her characters reveal both strengths and weaknesses regardless of their gender, although her female protagonists are portrayed as especially capable and determined, and many of her male characters are portrayed as damaged, abused, or otherwise vulnerable.
Her career began with publication of her first books in 1976,Gate of Ivrel andBrothers of Earth. Since that time, she has published over 80 novels, short-story compilations, with continuing production as herblog attests.[12] Cherryh has received the Hugo, Locus, and Prometheus Awards for some of her novels. Her novels are divided into various spheres, focusing mostly around theAlliance–Union universe,The Chanur novels, theForeigner series, and her fantasy novels.[13]
Cherryh has also received the following honors:
,Blog andE-Book store run by Cherryh| Science fiction series | |
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