Like many people, I’d always got so swept up in the Tiptree legend that I let Raccoona fall by the wayside. The technique allowing for personal impressions, those of strangers or authoritative voices, as well as the pure insular workings of the inner mind as the characters grapple and struggle with society devolving around them. She did her networking via correspondence, often by writing fan letters to her fellow writers, though she was also befriended by many editors who encouraged “Tip” in his work early on, giving personal feedback and demanding more work from him as his reputation grew. Oh horror! You can pledge for as little as $1 a month and contribute towards some exciting upcoming milestones as well as earning all manner of rewards, some of which aren’t even metaphorical. In this analysis I will portray my opinions on the short story The Screwfly Solution by Alice Sheldon, alias Raccoona Sheldon. He felt lost to her, and her depression overwhelmed her. "The Screwfly Solution" by Raccoona Sheldon March 12, 2004 Whether using her primary pseudonym of "James Tiptree, Jr." or the occasional "Raccoona Sheldon", Alice Sheldon was a woman who wasn't afraid of looking big philosophical and speculative questions in the face... sometimes to … But she’s terribly interesting, particularly in light of a recent article about the different reactions that an author received from agents who received her manuscript as being authored as a man, or as a woman. The next several months were poured into letters and phone calls, trying to save her professional friendships and relationships, one confession at a time, before the news became public. The centenary of Alice Sheldon’s birth is coming up on August 24, 2015. Leaving an emotional resonance. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Go ahead and look up about the germ of an idea which the story is based. But the science! You can also pre-order Letters to Tiptree, from Twelfth Planet Press. Returning in a moment of quiet contemplation of “What if….” and the thrilling silent shudder of terror which follows. She eventually became her own mentor, having Tiptree write cover letters for “his student” Raccoona, in order to have editors take her seriously. As the last piece of fiction Alli Sheldon wrote before her identity was revealed, I think it’s worth noting that the male narrator of “Screwfly” (who feels like nearly every male Tiptree hero ever) begins the story, but is eventually taken over and replaced by his wife, through letters and glimpses and then finally in very intense first person voice. Alan - Jon Fredette Anne - Miranda Friel Amy - Megan McIver Barney - Mats Bennett Prof. Ian … You can find me on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. In the midst of all this, Tiptree won a Hugo for “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” and Raccoona’s “The Screwfly Solution” was published in Analog in 1977. Whether through the written words of letters or articles or inner monologue, there is no distance here. But the idea of being seen a female writer (as opposed to a writer) was something that Alli always struggled with, and in the legend that is James Tiptree Jr, Raccoona seems to have come a distant third. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Julie Phillips, in the epic biography James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, tells the anecdote of how Harlan Ellison rejected a couple of Tiptree’s trunk stories from Again, Dangerous Visions in 1969, and gave the writer a second chance along with an ultimatum: “You can do better than this, and I expect you to do so.” In a later letter, he instructed Tiptree to write something that was “brilliant,” to “bust your ass” and demanded: “A story on which to build a first-rank reputation. Coming in 2020: The Great TansyRR Book Flood. They hold the heavy weight of scientific jargon, but with a vengeance that feels personal and familiar even to the wary head of a lay person such as myself. “The Screwfly Solution” didn’t only appeal to the close-knit SF writing community – the film rights were first sold in the 1980s, though it wasn’t until 2006 that it was adapted into a made-for-TV film as part of the Showtime’s Masters of Horror series. Raccoona Sheldon came into existence in 1974, so that Alli Sheldon could have an outlet for stories that felt more overtly female (Tiptree was acclaimed as a male feminist and an ally to women, but still mostly wrote fiction from the masculine point of view). This story is told mostly through letters from the wife or her husband, however these are intermixed with article clippings passed along by a friend and fellow scientist. Every emotional beat is meted out to drive the tension forward.