Harlan Ellison passed away recently and I just wanted to send him off as I feel like I can't quite let him go without leaving something to talk about how much he influenced me. He was one of my favorite science-fiction authors. His writing had a visceral feel that hit you on a primal level. His caustic words and cacophonous writing jarred me as a reader and drew my attention to his writing. He was a cantankerous person, and that bled into his writing.
If you want to get a feel for the vitriol and fervor he wrote with, give a listen to Harlan Ellison reading I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. It's forty minutes lone, but it's infinitely interesting to hear an author narrating their own story and the inflection and fanaticism and fervor he delivered those words.
Hearing about the passing of Harlan Ellison I keep thinking about my favorite Ellison line:
"God is within you, save yourselves.
Otherwise, why would you have traveled all this way... just to be alone?" ~ Harlan Ellison (Intro- The Waves in Rio)
I read that introduction to his book, "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" while in the Peace Corps when I felt like I was thousands of miles away from home (not realizing that Nicaragua would quickly become another place I call home) and helpless. The first few months when the community wasn't interested in my projects and the language barrier separated me from my community, I felt alone. I felt like I was stuck and powerless in that place.
That line always snapped me out of my funk and pushed me forwards. Self-pity and shoulder shrugging at the 'helplessness' of my situation wouldn't do anything. If I wanted to regain some control over my life, I would need to take it myself. I managed to find a place in my community to the point where I consider Nicaragua a home away from home. I have Ellison to thank for that.
Rest in peace, you'll be missed.
"For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I mattered." ~ Harlan Ellison.