Harry Harrison (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harry Harrison
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Harrison in 2005
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| Born | Henry Maxwell Dempsey March 12, 1925 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | August 15, 2012 (aged 87) Brighton, England |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Nationality | American, Irish |
| Period | 1951–2010 |
| Genre | Science fiction, satire |
| Notable awards | Inkpot Award (2004) |
| Spouse | Evelyn Harrison (div. 1951) Joan Merkler Harrison (1954–2002, her death) |
| Children | 2 |
Harry Max Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey; March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was a famous American science fiction author. He was best known for his exciting character The Stainless Steel Rat. He also wrote the important novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). This book was later used as a rough idea for the movie Soylent Green (1973).
Harry Harrison lived in both Ireland and the United Kingdom for a long time. He helped start the Irish Science Fiction Association. He was also a co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group with his friend Brian Aldiss. Brian Aldiss called him "a great family friend."
His friend, author Michael Carroll, said Harry Harrison's books were like "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" but in space! He said they were thrilling adventures with a lot of heart. Another novelist, Christopher Priest, described Harrison as a very popular person in the science fiction world. He was known for being friendly, honest, and always funny.
Contents
Harry Harrison's Amazing Career
Before becoming a writer, Harry Harrison started as an illustrator. He drew for comic books like Weird Fantasy and Weird Science from EC Comics. He often worked with Wally Wood, who would add ink to Harrison's drawings. They worked on many types of comics, including westerns and horror stories.
Harrison also used different pen names, like Wade Kaempfert and Philip St. John, to edit magazines. He wrote other stories under the names Felix Boyd and Hank Dempsey. He even secretly wrote one of the "The Saint" novels, called Vendetta for the Saint. Harrison also wrote stories for the "Flash Gordon" newspaper comic strip.
His very first short story, "Rock Diver", was published in 1951. While living in New York, he met other science fiction writers at the Hydra Club. Famous writers like Isaac Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon were part of this group.
Popular Humorous Science Fiction
Harrison became very well known for his funny and satirical science fiction stories. His most famous works include Stainless Steel Rat series and his novel Bill, the Galactic Hero. This last book made fun of another famous science fiction novel, Starship Troopers.
Christopher Priest explained that Harrison's popular books were exciting space adventures. They were also very funny. But beneath the humor, they were serious about important ideas. His stories were often anti-military and anti-authority. They showed his strong belief in peace and fairness.
Adi Robertson, another writer, agreed. She said his books mixed adventure, humor, and satire. They often had a strong anti-military message. This came from his own time in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
Serious Themes and Collaborations
Not all of Harrison's writing was funny. He wrote many stories about serious topics. His most famous serious novel is Make Room! Make Room! (1966). This book is about too many people on Earth and running out of resources. It was the basis for the 1973 movie Soylent Green.
For a while, Harrison worked closely with Brian Aldiss. They put together many collections of short stories. They also helped improve how science fiction was reviewed in the 1970s. They even helped create the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
Harrison and Aldiss also started SF Horizons, the first serious magazine for science fiction criticism. They edited many anthologies, which are collections of short stories. These books helped show the main themes of science fiction. They also created World SF, an organization to support non-English science fiction writers.
Awards and Recognition
Harry Harrison did not win a major award for a single book. However, he received many honors for his entire career. In 2004, he was added to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. In 2008, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him their 26th SFWA Grand Master. This is a very high honor for science fiction writers. He also became a cult hero in Russia. There, he won the Golden Roscon award in 2008 for his lifetime achievements in science fiction.
Harry Harrison's Personal Life
Early Years and Military Service
Harry Harrison was born on March 12, 1925, in Stamford, Connecticut. His birth name was Henry Maxwell Dempsey. His father, Henry Leo Dempsey, was a printer with Irish roots. He changed the family name to Harrison soon after Harry was born. Harry didn't find this out until he was 30 years old! Then he legally changed his name to Harry Max Harrison. His mother, Ria, was from a Russian Jewish family. She was born in Latvia and grew up in Russia.
After finishing high school in 1943, Harrison joined the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He worked as a gunsight technician and a gunnery instructor. He became a sharpshooter and a military policeman. This army experience made him dislike the military, which later influenced his writing.
In 1946, he went to Hunter College in New York City. Later, he ran a studio where he sold illustrations to comics and science fiction magazines.
Family Life
Harry Harrison married Evelyn Harrison in 1950. They divorced in 1951. Evelyn later married another science fiction writer, Lester del Rey.
In 1954, Harrison married Joan Merkler Harrison. They were married until Joan passed away from cancer in 2002. They had two children, Todd (born in 1955) and Moira (born in 1959). He dedicated his novel Make Room! Make Room! to them.
Learning Esperanto
In his middle years, Harrison became a big supporter of Esperanto. This is a language created to be easy for people from different countries to learn and use. He said he could speak and write Esperanto very easily, almost like his native English. He learned it while in the military because he was bored!
Esperanto often appears in his novels, especially in his Stainless Steel Rat and Deathworld series. He was the honorary president of the Esperanto Association of Ireland. He also held memberships in other Esperanto groups around the world.
Where He Lived
Harry Harrison lived in many different places around the world. These included Mexico, England, Italy, Denmark, and Ireland.
He moved a lot, especially when the comic book market changed. He moved his family to Mexico for a year. Then they went to Britain, Italy, and Denmark. He liked Denmark and stayed there for seven years, thinking it was a great place for his children. But he eventually decided to move back to the U.S. to San Diego, California. By the mid-1970s, he was back in the UK.
He spent most of his later years living in Ireland. Because one of his grandparents was Irish, he was able to become an Irish citizen. This also allowed him to enjoy tax-free status as an artist in Ireland.
Harrison also had an apartment in London for many years. Later, he had one in Brighton, England. These were for his frequent visits to England. After his wife Joan died in 2002, his British home became his permanent residence.
Harry Harrison passed away on August 15, 2012, at his apartment in Brighton, England. When he heard the news, fellow author Harlan Ellison said, "It's a day without stars in it."
See also
- Societics
