Cyril M. Kornbluth

Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 23, 1923–March 21, 1958 — pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S.D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park) was a science fiction author and a notable member of the Futurians. Kornbluth was born in New York City.

Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, he returned to finish his education at the University of Chicago, which had been interrupted by the war.

Kornbluth began writing at fifteen. His first solo work, "King Cole of Pluto," was published in May 1940 and appeared in Super Science Stories ("Stepsons of Mars," written with Richard Wilson and published under the name "Ivar Towers" appeared in the April 1940 Astonishing). His other short fiction includes "The Little Black Bag," "The Marching Morons," "The Altar at Midnight," "Ms. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie," "Gomez," and "The Advent on Channel 12."

"The Little Black Bag" was adapted for television by the BBC in 1969 for its Out of the Unknown series. In 1970, the same story was adapted by Rod Serling for an episode of his Night Gallery series. This dramatization starred Burgess Meredith as the alcoholic Dr. Full, who has lost his license and become a derelict. He finds the advanced medical technology, which, after being unable to pawn, he uses benevolently — reclaiming his career and redeeming his soul ... but not that of the guttersnipe he takes in as his receptionist/assistant.

"The Marching Morons" was one of Kornbluth's most famous short stories; it is a satirical look at an overpopulated future, with a population consisting of a few geniuses and a huge number of idiots, in which the few geniuses are working desperately to keep things running behind the scenes. Part of its appeal is that readers identify with the beleaguered geniuses. Few people realize that "The Marching Morons" is a direct sequel to "The Little Black Bag": it is easy to miss this, as "Bag" is set in the contemporary present while "Morons" takes place several centuries from now, and there is no character who appears in both stories. The titular black bag in the first story is actually an artifact from the time period of "The Marching Morons": a kit filled with self-driven instruments enabling a far-future moron to "play doctor."

Many of Kornbluth's novels were written as collaborations: either with Judith Merril (using the pseudonym Cyril Judd), or with Frederik Pohl. By far the most successful and important of these was the novel The Space Merchants (first published in Galaxy magazine in 1952, in book form in 1953), which contributed significantly to the maturing and to the wider academic respectability of the science fiction genre, not only in America but also in Europe.

A number of short stories remained unfinished at Kornbluth's death; these were eventually completed and published by Pohl.

Kornbluth died at the age of thirty four of a heart attack in Waverly, New York although he had lived primarily in Chicago, Illinois.

All of Kornbluth's short stories have been collected as His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth (NESFA Press, 1997).

Kornbluth was also mentioned in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events as a member of V.F.D.

Personality and habits

Frederik Pohl (in his autobiography The Way the Future Was) and Damon Knight (in his memoir The Futurians) both give vivid descriptions of Kornbluth as a man of odd personal habits and vivid eccentricities. Among the traits which they describe:

Kornbluth decided to educate himself by reading his way through an entire encyclopedia from A to Z; in the course of this effort, he acquired a great deal of esoteric knowledge that found its way into his stories ... in alphabetical order by subject. When Kornbluth wrote a story that mentioned the ancient Roman weapon ballista, Pohl knew that Kornbluth had finished the "A" volume and had started the "B".
According to Pohl, Kornbluth never brushed his teeth, and they were literally green. Deeply embarrassed by this, Kornbluth developed the habit of holding his hand in front of his mouth when speaking.
Kornbluth disliked black coffee, but felt obliged to acquire a taste for it because he believed that professional authors were "supposed to" drink black coffee. He trained himself by putting gradually less cream into each cup of coffee he drank, until he eventually "weaned himself" (Knight's description) and switched to black coffee.

It should be noted that Pohl and Knight both had deep friendships with Kornbluth, and their affection for him is made clear in their respective memoirs. The first of these stories should be treated as apocryphal because there is a similar story told by Bertrand Russell about Aldous Huxley.

Selected bibliography

The Marching Morons
Outpost Mars (with Judith Merril, writing as Cyril Judd), first published as a Galaxy serial entitled Mars Child and reprinted in Galaxy novel #46 as Sin in Space in 1961.
The Space Merchants (with Frederik Pohl), first published as a Galaxy serial entitled Gravy Planet, 1952
Gunner Cade (with Judith Merril, writing as Cyril Judd, 1952)
Takeoff (1952)
The Syndic (1953)
Gladiator at Law (with Frederik Pohl, first published as a Galaxy serial, 1954)
Search the Sky (with Frederik Pohl, 1954)
Wolfbane (with Frederik Pohl) (first published as a Galaxy serial, 1954)
Not This August (AKA Christmas Eve, 1955)
Valerie (1953, as Jordan Park), a novel about the hypocrisy of the "witch" hunters
Half (1953, as Jordan Park), a novel about a hermaphrodite; somewhat dated but remarkable for its time

He also published several mystery novels, including A Man of Cold Rages (1958, as Jordan Park).

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Personality and habits

Selected bibliography

See also