William Gibson
Last Thursday I reached a new height of geekery with the attendance of a reading by William Gibson.
The William Gibson.
Writer of science fiction. Grandfather of the cyberpunk genre. Creator of the term 'cyberspace'. Foreshadower of the reality television craze. And from what I gathered from other fans present, fomenter of the steam punk movement (his collaboration with Bruce Sterling on The Difference Engine pub. in 1990 was referred to as the source of this current fan fad by more than one attendee...)
It was such an honor and a privilege to hear this man speak. Humble in appearance, he strode across the stage in a gangly, awkward gait. He fumbled through pages, apologizing for the delay as he was used to grabbing the nearest crisp new copy of the book from the stack inevitably for sale at such readings. A slight stutter flavored his words, and he shifted and fidgeted. A fellow geek and introvert through and through.
But through the Q and A his true strength, that of an observer, came very apparent. He diminished his role as a predictor of how technology came to pass, dismissing 'cyberspace' as a meaningless bit of babble that just rolled of the tongue when he first coined it for a short story many years ago. On futurists and other science fiction writers he waxed "science fiction develops a charming patina of anachronism." Like all technology, the words become obsolete as soon as they touch the page.
His texts, like the answers to his questions, betray a stream of consciousness approach...he proudly admitted never knowing the ending to a story before he begins to write...instead lets the story develop as it will, constantly revising as he goes. His approach to writing gripping science fiction stems not from a prediction of what technology may come, but by latching onto what appears to be the most prevalent item...what appears to have the legs to carrying on to new developments...and latching onto the ideas of how WE will interact with the technology. Humans being, throughout history, fairly predictable. He made detached and bemused comments at our country's own ability to architect our own fictions and frameworks..including a 'cryptomuslimsocialist president'
One of my favorite question was with regard to his highly textural and vivid writing style. A woman asked if he had a favorite texture or reflective surface. He responded "all of them" and proceeded to wax on about how as you age, lists and favorites cease to define who you are and how you carry yourself. I couldn't help but smirk at this slap in the face to all Facebook and Myspace fanatics presents who neatly and eagerly distilled themselves into such lists and categories...
Every word he spoke was tinged with detached bemusement...I left with the sense he was observing more from his word famished fans then we were from the evening he was providing.
I had, last minute, grabbed my beaten copy of Neuromancer, which he graciously signed along with a first edition of the book he was promoting that evening. And now I have new worlds to dive into.
The William Gibson.
Writer of science fiction. Grandfather of the cyberpunk genre. Creator of the term 'cyberspace'. Foreshadower of the reality television craze. And from what I gathered from other fans present, fomenter of the steam punk movement (his collaboration with Bruce Sterling on The Difference Engine pub. in 1990 was referred to as the source of this current fan fad by more than one attendee...)It was such an honor and a privilege to hear this man speak. Humble in appearance, he strode across the stage in a gangly, awkward gait. He fumbled through pages, apologizing for the delay as he was used to grabbing the nearest crisp new copy of the book from the stack inevitably for sale at such readings. A slight stutter flavored his words, and he shifted and fidgeted. A fellow geek and introvert through and through.
But through the Q and A his true strength, that of an observer, came very apparent. He diminished his role as a predictor of how technology came to pass, dismissing 'cyberspace' as a meaningless bit of babble that just rolled of the tongue when he first coined it for a short story many years ago. On futurists and other science fiction writers he waxed "science fiction develops a charming patina of anachronism." Like all technology, the words become obsolete as soon as they touch the page.
His texts, like the answers to his questions, betray a stream of consciousness approach...he proudly admitted never knowing the ending to a story before he begins to write...instead lets the story develop as it will, constantly revising as he goes. His approach to writing gripping science fiction stems not from a prediction of what technology may come, but by latching onto what appears to be the most prevalent item...what appears to have the legs to carrying on to new developments...and latching onto the ideas of how WE will interact with the technology. Humans being, throughout history, fairly predictable. He made detached and bemused comments at our country's own ability to architect our own fictions and frameworks..including a 'cryptomuslimsocialist president'
One of my favorite question was with regard to his highly textural and vivid writing style. A woman asked if he had a favorite texture or reflective surface. He responded "all of them" and proceeded to wax on about how as you age, lists and favorites cease to define who you are and how you carry yourself. I couldn't help but smirk at this slap in the face to all Facebook and Myspace fanatics presents who neatly and eagerly distilled themselves into such lists and categories...
Every word he spoke was tinged with detached bemusement...I left with the sense he was observing more from his word famished fans then we were from the evening he was providing.
I had, last minute, grabbed my beaten copy of Neuromancer, which he graciously signed along with a first edition of the book he was promoting that evening. And now I have new worlds to dive into.
posted by Unknown at
9:15 AM
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