An Upcoming Presentation on the Sublime in Science Fiction

I’m giving a presentation on “Science Fiction Writing,and the Sublime” in the Uniontown Public Library Author Series on Saturday, September 16. So I want to give a quick preview here—a taste, a titillation, and an obvious come-on invitation. (The talk is open to the public.) I’ll be discussing what the sublime is, showing some classic examples of it in both art and interplanetary photography, then making links to science fiction, showing more visual art and reading from my own writing. I’ll include selections from The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes, and possibly something from my upcoming In a Suspect Universe. 

I’m still putting the lecture together, the slides, artwork, photographs, and readings, so all of this is tentative and might change.  But I thought I’d include a few possible examples with just a line or two to indicate what I’ll be dealing with.  Beware that the labels at the end might sound a bit odd and over-the-top . . . but that’s the nature of The Sublime!  Hope you enjoy.  

The sublime in photography:

The sublime in art: 

The sublime in outer space: 

The sublime in science fiction: 

And a few choice topics and quotes to think about: 

• The overwhelming
• The unexplainable 
• The inexpressible 
• The terrifying
• The "shock of imaginative expansion"
• The ego made "to feel small in the world"
• The "defeat" of apprehension, knowledge, and expression.  

(Hey, they didn't call it Astounding Science Fiction for nothing.) 

Hope to see you there.