Exhibit Notes: Harlan Ellison

 Lilly call number: PS3555.L62

Items in the exhibit:

• "The City on the Edge of Forever"
• Twilight Zone: Crazier than a Soup Sandwich
• Strange Wine
• Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled
• Alone Against Tomorrow

"Here I stand before them...a man with a substantial body of work behind him, books that express the artist's view of the world (and after all, isn't that why they paid me to come speak?  Surely it can't be my winsome manner!), and they persist in asking me what it was like to work on Star Trek or what Jimmy Caan is really like...I get angry with them...And they don't like me for it." - Harlan Ellison, in "Revealed at Last! What Killed the Dinosaurs! And You Don't Look So Terrific Yourself," the introduction to Strange Wine (1978).

When I read Isaac Asimov's letters to Anthony Boucher, I wanted to meet him because he seemed like he would be the nicest, sweetest man I would have ever met.  When I read stories by Harlan Ellison, or his introductions to these stories, I want to meet him because he seems like a guy who it would be fun to have an argument with.  He is that most frustrating of people: someone who thinks highly of himself and has the talent to justify it. 

I always saw Ellison's books on my parents' bookcase growing up.  In high school, they convinced me to read two stories by him: "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," and "Repent, Harlequin! said the Ticktockman."  I only remembered the first as being pretty strange, and I remembered the second being funny and involving Harlequin throwing jelly beans at people.  I have re-read both since starting this exhibit.  The first was profoundly disturbing and I must not have understood it all when I first read it, or I would have remembered it as more than just "strange."  The second was just as wonderful as I remembered it being. I have read more of his work since, and I have enjoyed it all (I highly recommend "A to Z in the Chocolate Alphabet." It's priceless).

Because I like his work so much, I was saddened that the Lilly had comparatively few items by Ellison.  Whereas there was a treasure trove of items to choose from for Clarke, Asimov, and Bradbury, Ellison was underrepresented.  I had to request some of what I wanted from the ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility, which is off-site storage).  Things only end up in the ALF if they are items that are not in high demand.  Since exhibits are meant to expose people to the variety of collections available at the library, I'm hoping that seeing his work in the exhibit will inspire more people to read him.  After all, who can resist a short story collection called Love Ain't Nothing But Sex Misspelled?  If I could easily get a copy of it (which I cannot, at least not form local libraries) I would be reading it.  So, to everyone who is reading this: read some Harlan Ellison.  Check out some of the most brilliant, twisted writing you will ever encounter.  And then move on to some of the sane writers.