Oregon Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 9 (1995) Special Award
Damon Knight
デイモン・ナイト
Deimon Naito
Pen Names:
Conanight（Used jointly for 1942 illustrations (with Chester Cohen)）,
Stuart Fleming（Pen name used for several short stories in 1943–1944）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1922-09-19 （Baker City, Oregon, U.S.）
- Died
- 2002-04-15 （Eugene, Oregon, U.S.） age 79
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Baker City, Oregon (birthplace) → Hood River, Oregon (grew up) → New York (early career/fandom activity) → Eugene, Oregon (later life)
Career
- Occupations
- Author, Editor, Critic
- Active Years
- 1940-2002
- Affiliations
- The Futurians, Founder, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Co-founder, National Fantasy Fan Federation, Co-founder, Milford Writer's Workshop, Co-founder, Clarion Writers Workshop
- Memberships
- The Futurians, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
- Influenced By
- Ray Bradbury (contemporary, early fandom association), The Futurians (fandom group), Donald A. Wollheim (editor/peer)
- Influenced
- Many science fiction short-story writers and critics (influenced craft and criticism), Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (institutional influence), Later SF critics (popularized concepts like the 'idiot plot')
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Retro-Hugo Award (Best Short Story) | To Serve Man | Best Short Story | World Science Fiction Society | Winner |
| 1956 | Hugo Award (Best Reviewer) | — | Best Reviewer | World Science Fiction Society | Winner |
| 1994 | SFWA Grand Master (13th) | — | Grand Master | Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) | Winner |
| 2003 | Science Fiction Hall of Fame | — | — | Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame / Museum of Pop Culture | Inducted (posthumous) |
Retro-Hugo Award (Best Short Story)
2001
Work:
To Serve Man
Category:
Best Short Story
Organization:
World Science Fiction Society
Result:
Winner
Hugo Award (Best Reviewer)
1956
Category:
Best Reviewer
Organization:
World Science Fiction Society
Result:
Winner
SFWA Grand Master (13th)
1994
Category:
Grand Master
Organization:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result:
Winner
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
2003
Organization:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame / Museum of Pop Culture
Result:
Inducted (posthumous)
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
To Serve Man
1950 Science fiction (short story)A short story in which seemingly benevolent aliens visiting Earth are revealed to have a sinister purpose: humans as food. Famous for its twist ending.
Alien contactLanguage and translationSatire
Adaptations
- [Television] The Twilight Zone: "To Serve Man" / Richard L. Bare (1962)
Translations
- To Serve Man (Japanese translation)
The Country of the Kind
1955 Science fiction (short story)A short story examining how an antisocial individual fits into a peaceful, controlled society; notable for its stark view of violence and social norms.
Society and devianceSuppression of violenceIsolation
The Earth Quarter
1955 Science fiction (novella)A novella about social reorganization and changing human relationships; one of Knight's pieces featured on magazine covers in 1955.
Changing social structuresHuman relationships
Hell's Pavement
1955 Science fiction (novel)A novel containing dystopian elements that probe social and psychological themes.
DystopiaSocial criticism
Bibliography
- The Best of Damon Knight (selected short stories)
- In Search of Wonder
- Hell's Pavement
- A for Anything
- Masters of Evolution
Adaptations
- To Serve Man — The Twilight Zone (TV, 1962)
Translations of Works
- To Serve Man and other short stories (have Japanese translations)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, tightly written short fictionUse of satire and ironyCritical, essayistic prose in reviews
- Recurring Motifs
- Miscommunication with aliensProblems of language and translationSociety vs. outsidersIronic twist endings
Legacy
Damon Knight significantly contributed to the craft of the science-fiction short story and to SF criticism; he also helped build institutional foundations for the field (e.g., SFWA). His story "To Serve Man" remains widely known, and his legacy is honored through awards and hall-of-fame inductions.
Academic Societies
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Archives
- University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives
- Syracuse University (Damon Knight papers guide)
In Popular Culture
- Television adaptation of "To Serve Man" on The Twilight Zone (1962)
Quotes
-
A. E. van Vogt is not a giant as often maintained. He's only a pygmy who has learned to operate an overgrown typewriter.
Source: Review from 1945 (collected in In Search of Wonder) (1945) -
Frequently used the concept of the 'idiot plot' — a story that only works because nearly everyone in it is an idiot.
Source: Critical essays (1950)
Trivia
- His first professional sale was a cartoon to a science-fiction magazine.
- The pen name 'Conanight' was used jointly with Chester Cohen.
- Co-founder of SFWA and named its 13th Grand Master in 1994 (presented 1995).
- 'To Serve Man' (1950) was adapted for television on The Twilight Zone (1962).