# Peter S. Beagle - SFWA Grand Master **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311 "2018-01-23T17:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/1 "2018-01-23T17:58:15Z")
> **[Beagle Named SFWA Grand Master](http://locusmag.com/2018/01/beagle-named-sfwa-grand-master/)** > > The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have named Peter S. Beagle the 34th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. SFWA president Cat Rambo said, “Beag… “The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have named Peter S. Beagle the 34th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. SFWA president Cat Rambo said, “Beagle’s work has been the gateway for multitudes of fantasy readers, but also writers as well, including myself. His work shines a light on the human heart and its beauties even when that heart is flawed and wanting, showing how that beauty arises from such imperfect conditions.”” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/2 "2018-01-23T18:13:31Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > [Beagle Named SFWA Grand Master – Locus Online](http://locusmag.com/2018/01/beagle-named-sfwa-grand-master/) > > “The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have named Peter S. Beagle the 34th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. SFWA president Cat Rambo said, “Beagle’s work has been the gateway for multitudes of fantasy readers, but also writers as well, including myself. His work shines a light on the human heart and its beauties even when that heart is flawed and wanting, showing how that beauty arises from such imperfect conditions.”” I just received a notice about this. I might be something of a philistine, but I didn’t much care for **The Last Unicorn**. I was also completely unaware of his other works – The Innkeeper’s Song, Two Hearts, The Folk of the Air, Tamain. The only one I’ve ever seen in the bookstores is The Last Unicorn. the Internet Speculative Fiction Database lists five novels, eight collections (one unpublished), 54 shorter works, and two poems. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1039](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1039) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/3 "2018-01-23T18:57:33Z")
Call me an old fogey, but my count of Grandmasters still ends at three. It sort of cheapens it, if there’s a new one every year. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/4 "2018-01-23T19:15:34Z")
The first three SFWA Grandmasters were Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, and Clifford D. Simak, I wouldn’t have stopped there. Yeah, yeah, I know you probably mean that the only grandmasters were Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke. But that argument just sends my blood pressure up. Back in 1999 SFWA put out a limited edition poster of all the grandmasters up to that point. Hal Clement was the awardee that year and I got him to autograph it. I don’t mind that there are sixteen other pictures on it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/5 "2018-01-23T20:03:22Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Back in 1999 SFWA put out a limited edition poster of all the grandmasters up to that point. Hal Clement was the awardee that year and I got him to autograph it. I don’t mind that there are sixteen other pictures on it. That’s probably a big collector’s item, even without the signature (it had to be withdrawn when the photographers complained they hadn’t granted permission). I do love _The Last Unicorn_, but Beagle is probably less prolific than any other grandmaster. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/6 "2018-01-23T20:32:36Z")
To be clear, I’m not saying that Clement isn’t a great writer. He is. But there’s great, and then there’s top-of-the-field, contender for greatest of all time, great. And there should be some sort of formal recognition of that latter category. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/7 "2018-01-23T20:38:29Z")
I don’t recall the _Last Unicorn_, although I did read it, but I do recall that I truly enjoyed _A Fine and Private Place._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/8 "2018-01-23T20:48:38Z")
I very much liked _TLU_, but it was a long time ago that I read it. Oddly enough, just a few week ago I was thinking it might be time to re-read it and see how it stands up. I think I was in high school when I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/9 "2018-01-23T21:00:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > That’s probably a big collector’s item, even without the signature (it had to be withdrawn when the photographers complained they hadn’t granted permission). Dave Truesdale put it together. Dave had lots of energy and enthusiasms that got away from him. > [@](#): > > I do love _The Last Unicorn_, but Beagle is probably less prolific than any other grandmaster. I should have mentioned that but I got distracted. 🙂 _The Last Unicorn_ is wonderful. _A Fine and Private Place_ is even better, and probably the best book ever written in the field by an undergraduate. The best of all is the 1982 animated version of \*Unicorn \*with a script by Beagle. I’m not much of an autograph hound, despite this thread, but I had him sign my much read paperback copies of those two books the first time I had a chance to meet him. > [@Chronos](#): > > To be clear, I’m not saying that Clement isn’t a great writer. He is. But there’s great, and then there’s top-of-the-field, contender for greatest of all time, great. And there should be some sort of formal recognition of that latter category. Yeah, but Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke are not even on the short list for greatest _writers_, a distinction that an outfit like SFWA should care about. Historically important, certainly. Popular, obviously. Influential, too. But many, many other historically important, popular, and/or influential names fill the field. Just for the record, the Grandmaster must be living at the time the award is **announced**. Alfred Bester, e.g. got named “out of turn,” meaning others were sorta unofficially cued up ahead of him, and early, meaning in September, because nobody expected him to live even to the usual January announcement time. He died in September, in fact. Roger Zelazny’s early and unexpected death kiboshed his otherwise certain award. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/10 "2018-01-23T21:06:07Z")
Lifetime fan of Beagle here. I discovered _I See By Your Outfit_, _A Fine and Quiet Place_ and _The Last Unicorn_ whilst in college. I’ve read _The Folk of the Air_ twice, and most everything else once. I got to meet him at a convention once, and he seemed to be a very humble person. I’m happy for him. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/11 "2018-01-23T21:17:03Z")
The Folk of the Air. I’d forgotten were the quote came from, I thought of it last night. “He smiled like a zipper.” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/12 "2018-01-23T21:30:20Z")
I didn’t finish **The Folk of the Air** : after about halfway through, I just gave up. It never grabbed my attention. Is it one of those “you had to be there” novels about VW-bus-riding hippies? It’s been a couple decades since I tried, so maybe I should revisit it. I just read his latest, **In Calabria** , a couple weeks ago. It was fine, beautifully written, but not especially interesting in plot. I had a similar reaction to **A Fine and Private Place**. His prose shines. **The Last Unicorn** is the definitive unicorn novel; I can’t imagine another being written that should shape unicorn mythology so effectively for the modern era. It is simultaneously a modern novel and a crackerjack piece of folklore. **The Innkeeper’s Song** , however, is my favorite. It’s not particularly definitive in any way, but it’s really goddamned **fun** , and is as gorgeously crafted as everything else by him. Yeah, I know Clarke and Asimov and (barf) Heinlein are enormously influential; but I’ll take Beagle’s beautiful writing, keen sense of humanity, and gift for archetype any day over any of those three. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/13 "2018-01-23T21:36:01Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Just for the record, the Grandmaster must be living at the time the award is **announced**. Alfred Bester, e.g. got named “out of turn,” meaning others were sorta unofficially cued up ahead of him, and early, meaning in September, because nobody expected him to live even to the usual January announcement time. He died in September, in fact. Roger Zelazny’s early and unexpected death kiboshed his otherwise certain award. P. K. Dick and Frank Herbert also died young, and would otherwise (in my opinion) have been designated as Grand Masters. I expected this year to be the year for Vinge (Joan or Vernor), but there’s always next year (and both Vinges are younger than Beagle). ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/14 "2018-01-23T21:38:03Z")
This is right on target and I’m chuffed to see it happen. **happydances** **The Folk Of The Air** ought to be required reading for anyone in the SCA, just aside from the general loveliness of the story and language. I met Beagle at a poorly attended booth at some sort of event held at a park in Sacramento, back in that long dry spell that seemed like it was going to go on forever. I had him sign a couple of my well worn copies of **Folk Of The Air** and **A Fine And Private Place** and sat and talked with him a while. I was very pleased to be able to tell him that a poem from **The Last Unicorn** was still being performed regularly in the SCA, set to the tune of _The Ash Grove._ He liked that a lot and it made me happy to be able to bring a smile to a writer who had given me so many nice moments. He’s a good human and a fine writer, this is well deserved. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/15 "2018-01-23T23:17:40Z")
Interesting that this was announced on the same day Ursula K. Le Guin died Brian ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/16 "2018-01-24T00:04:27Z")
Talk about your good news/bad news situations. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-s-beagle-sfwa-grand-master/807311/17 "2018-01-24T00:08:24Z")
Guess she died yesterday, but still a close thing Brian