Does Gene Wolfe read Cordwainer Smith?

James Jordan · 09 Sep 2002, 22:23 · from urth-v0209.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at cox.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Does Gene Wolfe read Cordwainer Smith?
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 17:23:37 -0500
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At 01:11 PM 9/9/2002, you wrote:

>Hmmm.
>
>Actually I can see that he might not like the religious themes involved.
>They are powerful and fundamental to the science fiction, but they are not
>particularly conventionally Catholic: more Teilard de Chardan.

That's often said, but I'm not at all sure of it. My impression is that=20
this notion started up out of people who were not much aware of Teilhard,=20
and found him kind of like Smith, etc. I've never read that Linebarger=20
actually read Teilhard de Chardin.
         Smith is pretty orthodox, allowing for SF conventions, IMO. If=20
Wolfe doesn't groove on Smith, it is likely stylistic.

Nutria

--=20

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