RIP David Hartwell

[Monte Davis]

When I was reading SF omnivoraciously in the 1960s and early 1970s, I
inhaled the current books and magazines -- but also anthologies of
1930s-40s-50s stories edited by Groff Conklin, Judith Merrill, Fred Pohl,
Boucher, Bleiler & Dikty, et al. If I liked something, I'd keep an eye out
for more by that author when trawling the used book stores. To the extent I
have a grasp of the genre before my own obsessive phase, it's through the
eyes and judgment of those editors.

After that, SF tapered down to a small share of my reading: a mix of new
books by authors I already knew and best-of-the-year anthologies to spot
rising writers. I've just glanced over the SF bookcases in the big shed
where most of my books live. It doesn't surprise me at all that Hartwell's
anthologies (many with Kathryn Cramer) dominate the latter category. But if
I were to add tags with "edited / mentored / promoted by Hartwell" to the
novels by new-to-me writers of the last 30+ years, he'd damn near *own*
those shelves. I'm grateful for his eyes, and judgment, and life.

On Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 5:58 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> If you read SF, this usually-smiling, happy guy who kept his brilliance
> humble shaped some of your reading.
>
> http://www.tor.com/2016/01/20/tor-books-editor-david-g-hartwell-1941-2016/
>
> I knew him glancingly, hence my description.
>
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