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Philip José Farmer

フィリップ・ホセ・ファーマー

Firippu Hose Faamaa

Pen Names: Kilgore Trout（Used as the byline for Venus on the Half-Shell (the fictional author Kilgore Trout from Kurt Vonnegut's works)）, Cordwainer Bird（Used for some pseudonymous works (name related to the pseudonym invented by Harlan Ellison)）, Jonathan Swift Somers III（Used as the fictional-author byline for some short stories）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1918-01-26 （North Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.）
Died
2009-02-25 （Peoria, Illinois, U.S.） age 91
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Raised in Christian Science; became agnostic/atheist in youth; later expressed interest in Roman Catholicism
Residence History
Peoria, Illinois (grew up and long-term residence) → Syracuse, New York (worked for a period) → Los Angeles, California (worked for a period)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short story writer, Technical writer (early career)
Active Years
1952-2009
Influenced By
Leslie Fiedler (critic), Robert A. Heinlein (contemporary author/colleague), Frederik Pohl (contemporary author/colleague)
Influenced
Roger Zelazny (acknowledged influence), Numerous later science fiction and fantasy writers (influence on religious/sexual themes and pulp-hero reworkings)
Nominations
1960 Hugo Award for Best Short Story — "The Alley Man", 1961 Hugo Award for Best Short Story — "Open to Me, My Sister", 1966 Hugo Award for Best Short Story — "The Day of the Great Shout", 1967 Nebula Award for Best Novella — "Riders of the Purple Wage", 1972 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel — "To Your Scattered Bodies Go", 1974 Nebula Award for Best Short Story — "After King Kong Fell"

Education

Peoria High School
Country: United States
Attended high school in Peoria; later continued education while working
Bradley University
English
Degree: 学士
Period: 1946–1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United States
Earned a bachelor's degree in English at age 32

Awards

Hugo Award (Best New SF Author or Artist)
1953
Work: The Lovers
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award for Best Novella
1968
Work: Riders of the Purple Wage
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award for Best Novel
1972
Work: To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
2000
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: 受賞（生涯功労）
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement
2001
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: 受賞（生涯功労）
Forry Award for Lifetime Achievement
2003
Organization: Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society
Result: 受賞（生涯功労）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

To Your Scattered Bodies Go

1971 Science fiction (novel) 304 pages

Centers on the premise that every human who ever lived is resurrected along a single river on a strange world; characters confront survival, morality, and questions of salvation. First novel in the Riverworld series.

immortality and afterlifereligion and salvationreappearance of historical figures
Adaptations
  • [TV/film adaptation] Riverworld (screen adaptations) (2003)
Translations
  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go

The Maker of Universes

1965 Fantasy/Science fiction (series)

Set in artificially constructed tiered universes created by godlike humans; follows Earthmen and powerful beings. First book of the World of Tiers series.

divinity vs. humanitymultiverseadventure and power struggles

The Lovers

1952 Science fiction (novella; later expanded)

Story of a sexual relationship between a human and an alien; notable for breaking taboos about sexual content in 1950s science fiction. One of Farmer's early breakthrough works.

sex and taboointer-species/intercultural relationships

Riders of the Purple Wage

1968 Science fiction (novella; satire)

A satire on a cradle-to-grave welfare state; formally a pastiche influenced by James Joyce.

satirewelfare statelinguistic/formal experimentation

Bibliography

  • World of Tiers series (major works)
  • Riverworld series (major works)
  • The Lovers
  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go

Adaptations

  • Riverworld screen adaptations (TV/film projects, including a 2003 adaptation)

Translations of Works

  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Japanese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
bold treatment of religious and sexual themesreworking and blending of pulp-hero lore and existing fictional charactersnarration that mixes humor and satire
Recurring Motifs
immortality and afterlifeappearance and reinterpretation of historical figuresartificially constructed universes

Legacy

Philip José Farmer brought religious and sexual themes into science fiction and was notable for reworking pulp heroes and existing fictional characters; he influenced the genre substantially. A multiple Hugo winner and recipient of several lifetime achievement honors, he is highly regarded by subsequent writers and scholars.

Academic Societies

  • Recognized by SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America)

Archives

  • Philip Jose Farmer papers at the American Heritage Center

In Popular Culture

  • Screen adaptations of Riverworld and references to his Wold Newton family scheme in popular culture

Quotes

  • Religion is the earliest form of science fiction
    Source: Philip José Farmer (statement/essay) (1977)

Trivia

  • His middle name was originally 'Josie' but he later changed the spelling to 'José'.
  • Won Hugo Awards in 1953, 1968 and 1972 (multiple Hugo winner).
  • Known for metafictional works presenting pulp heroes (e.g., Tarzan, Doc Savage) as if they were real people.