Disch, Thomas Michael

▪ 2009

      American science-fiction writer and poet

born Feb. 2, 1940, Des Moines, Iowa

died July 4, 2008, New York, N.Y.

authored works of scathing social commentary and dark humour, including consciously literary “New Wave” science fiction (which he preferred to call “speculative” fiction), poetry, criticism, opera librettos, and plays. His best-known science-fiction novels—Camp Concentration (1968), 334 (1972), and On Wings of Song (1979)—are distinguished by their dark themes and biting satire. In The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World (1998), however, Disch criticized the genre for encouraging foolish incredulity, angering many science-fiction fans but earning (1999) a Hugo Award. After his first short story was published in 1962, Disch dropped out of New York University's architecture program to become a writer; he produced his first novel, The Genocides, in 1965. Many of his later works reflect his rejection of his Roman Catholic upbringing, notably the Gothic novel The Priest (1994) and the irreverent The Word of God; or, Holy Writ Rewritten (2008). He also wrote sophisticated children's stories, notably “The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances” (1986), which was adapted into an animated film in 1987. Disch died by his own hand.

* * *