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Suzette Haden Elgin is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction conlangs. Elgin also publishes non-fiction, of which the best-known is the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series

Born in 1936 in Missouri, Elgin attended the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in the 1960s, and began writing science fiction in order to pay tuition. She has a Ph.D. in linguistics, and was the first UCSD student to ever write two dissertations (on English and Navajo). She created the constructed language Láadan for her Native Tongue science fiction series. A grammar and dictionary was published in 1985.

In addition, she has published works of shorter fiction, and collaborated with Anne McCaffrey. Overlying themes in her work include feminism, linguistics and the impact of language, and peaceful coexistence with nature. Many of her works also draw from her Ozark background and heritage.

Elgin became a professor at her alma mater's cross-town rival, San Diego State University (SDSU). She retired in 1980, and currently lives in the Ozarks in Arkansas.

Bibliography

Fiction

Coyote Jones series
  • The Communipaths (1970)
  • Furthest (1971)
  • At the Seventh Level (1972)
  • Star-Anchored, Star-Angered (1979), ISBN 0385135645
  • Yonder Comes the Other End of Time (1986), ISBN 0886771102

The Ozark Trilogy (1981)
  • Twelve Fair Kingdoms, ISBN 0385158769
  • The Grand Jubilee, ISBN 0385158777
  • And Then There'll Be Fireworks, ISBN 0385158785

Native Tongue series
  • Native Tongue (1984), ISBN 0879979453
  • The Judas Rose (1987), ISBN 0886771862
  • Earthsong (1993), ISBN 0886775922

Other
  • Peacetalk 101 (2003), ISBN 1590210301

Short stories

Poetry

Non-Fiction

The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense
  • The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense (1980), ISBN 0133510808
  • More on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense (1983), ISBN 0136011209
  • The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense Workbook (1987)
  • The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense (1987), ISBN 0135240670
  • Language in Emergency Medicine (1987)
  • Growing Civilized Kids in a Savage World (1989)
  • The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense for Business Success (1989), ISBN 0139210326
  • Success with the Art of Verbal Self-Defense (1989), ISBN 0136885810
  • Staying Well with the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense (1990), ISBN 0138451168
  • GenderSpeak (1993), ISBN 0471580163
  • The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense (1993), ISBN 156731113X
  • The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense Letter Book (1993), ISBN 0133504220
  • Language in Law Enforcement (1993), ISBN 18787090406
  • Linguistics & Science Fiction Sampler (1994)
  • BusinessSpeak (1995), ISBN 0070200009
  • "You Can't Say That To Me!" (1995), ISBN 0471003999
  • The Gentle Art of Communicating with Kids (1996), ISBN 0471039969
  • How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable (1997), ISBN 0471157058
  • How to Turn the Other Cheek and Still Survive in Today's World (1997), ISBN 0785272496
  • The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense at Work (2000), ISBN 0735200890

Other
  • Guide to Transformational Grammar (with John Grinder) (1973), ISBN 0030801265
  • What is Linguistics? (1973), ISBN 0139523901
  • Bully for Us (with John Grinder) (1974)
  • Pouring Down Words (1975), ISBN 0136868576
  • A Primer of Transformational Grammar for Rank Beginners (1975), ISBN 0814136931
  • Never Mind the Trees (1980)
  • The Great Grammar Myth (1982)
  • A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan (1985, 2nd ed. 1988), ISBN 0961864109
  • Try to Feel It My Way (1997), ISBN 047100670X
  • The Grandmother Principles (1998), ISBN 0789204312
  • The Language Imperative (2000), ISBN 0738202541

External links

1936 births | American science fiction writers | American bloggers | Living people

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Suzette Haden Elgin".

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