Metaphysical Realism

This article springs from my belief that often a work of sf buds from the subconscious workings of the mind, perhaps introducing an event, once painful, in a new guise, a kind of metaphor for which, to my mind, sf is ideally suited. ("Greybeard" [1964] is a world bereft of children and therefore going to the dogs; which dramatizes the fact that my first marriage had broken up and my children were taken from me.) In this respect, sf sets itself apart from ordinary literature. I do not think, as Asimov claimed, that sf is a method of prediction. It is richer, more various, than that. The plan is that this essay will appear shortly in a collection to be published by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. As yet, we haven't settled on a title. It has to be lyrical. exciting, serious, and bound to sell madly. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]