Allison, Harlan

In his youth, he was expelled from the university for insulting a professor of literature, who said that Ellison had no talent and should not write. Allison took this as the most cruel insult, as the killing of the dream of his life, and responded in his rude manner without censorship, for which he was immediately expelled. Subsequently, he sent each of his publications to this professor, but did not receive a single response.

Growing up in a poor American-Jewish family and being of short stature ( 159 cm ), Harlan suffered from inferiority complex from childhood and tried to prove all his life that he was worth something.

After graduation from the university in the 1950s, a novice writer moved to New York without money. Due to the lack of housing, he often sleeps with friends, sometimes in general where it is necessary. The first story he wrote in two nights in the kitchen of his friends, where he spent the night. Offers it to all the leading magazines and receives a rejection. But then one of the editors agrees and issues a check for a fee of $ 40 . This gives Ellison the confidence that he can become a professional writer.

Over 50 years of creativity, he has written over 2,000 stories, articles, essays and essays. Allison never worked anywhere, doing only literary activities, he realized his dream - to become a professional writer.

Because of his lack of restraint and the desire to be free, to say and do whatever he pleases, the writer has amassed many enemies.

Once, when he was invited to collaborate with Walt Disney's studio, he asked his agent: “Have they lost their mind? Are you sure that they want exactly me, namely Harlan Ellison, and not Bob Ellison, for example? I am a crazy, radical, bomb-throwing dork who writes stories about things coming out of the toilets to bite off the backs of babies. ” At the presentation after his joke about the proposal to make sexual Mickey Mouse, his contract with the studio was canceled immediately.

The writer specialized in short stories and short stories of "shocking" nature. The beginning of literary activity - 1956, the story "Svetlyak". The story tells about the last man on Earth - experimental secret experiments, luminous mutant. Left alone, he decides to repair the spacecraft and go to the colony of people on Proxim II.

Allison is one of the most titled laureates of science fiction awards ^[8] , including the most prestigious ones - “ Hugo ” ( 11 times ), “ Nebula ” ( 5 times ), and many different literary awards. This was facilitated by the fecundity of the author ( 2000 stories), his participation in all competitions, the outrageous style and the fight against the developed inferiority complex.

The writer worked in a unique psychological shock. Often used a rough syllable, sometimes profanity, absurdity and excessive cruelty. He hated literary pirates and earned himself a reputation of not getting out of the constant lawsuits that he is raising for any reason.

One of the most famous "copyright wars", started by Ellison, is associated with the movie " Terminator ". After the release of the picture on the screens, Allison sued its creators, accusing them of plagiarism - borrowing the plot from his stories “The Soldier” and “The Demon with a Glass Hand”. The court satisfied the claim of Ellison.

When, in the 1990s, the first Russian translation of the three volumes of his stories “All sounds of fear” was published in the Azbuka publishing house in St. Petersburg, and the writer did not receive a single cent, he officially published his three volumes in another publishing house ( Polaris , 1997) and in the preface to the publication promised to blame the office of "ABC" dead brontosaurus .

A characteristic example of his style can serve as the dystopia "The guy and his dog." After the war in the world ruin, mutants and hooligan gangs reign. To survive, the main character must kill everyone around, using the help of his psychopathic dog. One day, he meets a girl and falls in love with her, which threatens a strong relationship with his dog. And the main character has to choose someone one.

The most famous story, “ I have no mouth, but I have to shout, ” tells of the supercomputer A. M. (“Nuclear Manipulator”), which destroyed all of humanity, but left only five people alive. Giving them immortality, he out of hatred for the creators of revenge on his prisoners. Computer starves five hunger, cold, torments them with fear and temptation for 109 years . As a result, the main character finds a way to kill his friends in misfortune in order to save them from torment, but the computer in retaliation deprives him of a human face and continues to actively torture. The story became so famous that its name was used as an advertisement for things that had nothing to do with the work. So, one little-known author, whose performance was on the stage at that time, decided to change the name of his performance to the title of the story. After several similar cases, Harlan Ellison started a lawsuit. The judge’s conclusion was in favor of Ellison with the following wording: “Although the title of the story cannot be fully copyrighted and cannot be fully protected, it is still a brand and should be protected.” The plot of the story formed the basis of the computer game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995), in which the writer also voiced the main negative character - the global computer "AM". In the same game, Allison finally completed the story, answering questions such as “Why A.M. I chose these five people exactly? ”and“ What past lies behind each person? ”.

Harlan Ellison was a friend of well-known authors and collaborated with them: Henry Slezar (a humorous story “The Green Guest”), Robert Sheckley (the story “I see: a man sits in a chair, and a chair bites his leg”).

On his page, Allison wrote about the three most important things in life. In his opinion, this is your gender (meaning the war of the sexes and the crazy confrontation and the difference between men and women), violence (that this world is built on it, and it is terrible) and relationships at work ( 99 people out of 100 are ready to go humiliation for the sake of saving work and career).

According to critics and readers, the best stories of the author are still few realistic stories in his work, essays about themselves, and not numerous phantasmagoric stories.

The author was known for his choleric temperament, rude antics, the absence of “brakes”, the desire to speak any truth in the face everywhere and everywhere, a penchant for black PR and verbal disorderly conduct.

Harlan Allison died in a dream on June 28, 2018, at the age of 85, at his home in California.

• “ Repent, Harlequin!” Said Tiktakschik (1965), the Nebula Prize of 1965
• “ I have no mouth, but I have to shout ” (1967), the 1968 Hugo Award
• “A creature that screamed of love in the very heart of the world ” (1968)
• "Erotofobiya." Penthouse, August 1971 ^[9]
• " Phoenix Without Ashes " (1975, in collaboration with Edward Bryant )
• “ Jeffty is five years old ” (1977)
• “ I, Robot ” (1994, script based on Isaac Asimov ’s short stories)

and etc.

• "The guy and his dog " (1974).
• “ I have no mouth, but I have to shout ” (video game, 1995).

• Bibliography on the Fantasy Laboratory site
• Allison, Harlan in Maxim Moshkov Library
• Allison, Harlan (Eng.) On the Internet Movie Database