Thomas M. Disch
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas.[4][8] Having begun his literary career, he did not return to NYU but rather took another series of odd jobs such as bank teller, mortuary assistant, and copy editor —all of which served to fuel what he referred to as his night-time "writing habit".Over the next few years he wrote more science fiction stories but also branched out into poetry; his first published poem, "Echo and Narcissus", appeared in the Minnesota Review's Summer 1964 issue.[10] Much of his early science fiction was published in English author Michael Moorcock's New Wave magazine, New Worlds, including his sixth novel Camp Concentration in two installments.[13] However, in his final novel, The Word of God, Disch got his revenge with a story in which Dick is in Hell, unable to write because of writer's block.Disch also referred to Dick in a blog post stating "May he rot in hell, and may his royalties corrupt his heirs to the seventh generation."[14] Disch shared his Manhattan apartment and a house in Barryville, New York, with his partner of three decades, poet and fiction writer Charles Naylor.[15] After Naylor's death in 2005, Disch had to abandon the house, as well as fight attempts to evict him from his rent controlled apartment, and he became steadily more depressed.[14] His final published work, the posthumous story collection The Wall of America, contains speculative fiction from the last half of Disch's career.It showcased Disch's vivid writing, a stark contrast to other game-programmer-written text adventures of the time, and his passion for the energy of the city of New York.Although the text adventure format was dying by the time Amnesia was released and it enjoyed limited success, the game pioneered ideas that would later become popular in game design by modeling the entire Manhattan street map south of 110th St. and allowing the player to visit any street corner in that part of the city in their quest to advance the story.Ben-Hur not only told the story of the famous Biblical novel but delved into the life and times of its author, General Lew Wallace.Disch proffers the theory that Wallace penned Ben-Hur, in part, to assuage his guilt over his role in the execution of Mary Surratt.The Cardinal Detoxes had a simple conceit: a Catholic bishop has committed vehicular homicide while driving intoxicated and is imprisoned in a monastic "drying tank" where he is sure he is being bugged by the higher-ups.The play was performed at RAPP, located in the former Most Holy Redeemer School, and drew a cease and desist order from the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.An article written by The New York Times' Mervyn Rothstein got picked up around the world on the AP wire and the play became one of the most notable censorship controversies of the 1990s.After the American Civil Liberties Union declined to take the case, Disch and RAPP were represented by William Kunstler and Ron Kuby, and the Archdiocese lost in court.In 1985, his short story "The Squirrel Cage", included in his book Fun With Your New Head, was adapted for the stage by Robin Willoughby of Buffalo, New York.
Des Moines, IowaManhattan, New York CityJohn Sladekspeculative fictionchildren's fictionNew Wavescience fiction writerHugo AwardNebula AwardJohn W. Campbell Memorial AwardRhysling AwardSeiun AwardsThe GenocidesCamp ConcentrationNational Book Critics Circle AwardThe Dreams Our Stuff Is Made OfMichael Braude Award for Light VerseThe New York TimesThe NationManhattanDubuque, IowaDes Moineshome-schooledkindergartenMinnesotaCatholicdraftsmanMetropolitan Opera HouseSpartacusBolshoi BalletSwan LakeRoyal BalletDon Giovannimental hospitalCooper UnionNew York UniversityutopianFantasticbank tellermortuaryMinnesota Reviewpulp adventureBrian W. AldissSF ImpulseMichael MoorcockNew WorldsgothiclibrettoFrankensteinThe Weekly StandardHarper'sThe Washington PostLos Angeles TimesEntertainment WeeklyCollege of William & MaryPhilip K. DickPhilip K. Dick Awardwriter's blockThomas MannHitlerWorld War IIBarryville, New YorkThe Body Politicrent controlledLiveJournalPeter SwirskiTachyon PublicationsAmnesia (1986 video game)New JerseyCognetics CorporationElectronic Artsinteractive fictionAmnesiaCommodore 64IBM PC compatiblesApple IIDon Daglowfloppy diskAlphabet CityLew WallaceMary SurrattPeabody ConservatoryBaltimorecease and desistArchdiocese of New YorkAmerican Civil Liberties UnionWilliam KunstlerRon KubysonnetMarilyn HackerHaikusEcho Round His BonesBlack AliceOn Wings of SongThe Man Who Had No IdeaOne Hundred and Two H-BombsFun with Your New HeadUnder CompulsionWhite Fang Goes DingoGetting into DeathGetting into Death and Other StoriesSamuel R. DelanyThe Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small AppliancesFantasy and Science FictionGrafton BooksCharles PlattThe Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the WorldThe New Improved SunThe Brave Little ToasterThe Brave Little Toaster Goes to MarsThe Brave Little Toaster to the RescueLGBT culture in New York CityList of LGBT people in New York CityList of horror fiction authorsThe College of William and MaryStrange HorizonsAnaheimSwirski, PeterThe New York SunMoorcock, MichaelThe Daily TelegraphWayback MachineJeschke, WolfgangProject GutenbergInternet ArchiveLibriVox