Pat Frank and Alas Babylon

As something of a bookworm and literary voyeur, I'm always interested in various authors' lives, writing processes and working environments. With such a bounty of literary treasure here on the peninsula, the opportunities abound for interacting with top writers. I've met a number through readings and writers' groups. I've had them speak at the college.

And I've seen Jacksonville show up in stories by Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiaasen, Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, but I never knew science fiction writer Pat Frank lived and worked out in Atlantic Beach.

We go there all the time. We just got back an hour ago from dipping a toe there in the Atlantic (96 today--stinking hot!).

Writer and film critic Matt Soergel is a kind man and a very good writer. He stopped by a section of the film class I teach at the college last year (I met him at a reading; go figure) and spoke with my students for an hour on the topic of writing about film. He's a perceptive critic and I like his taste in films, but his feature writing is probably his strong suit. He just covers a lot of territory easily and his work is very fluid.

Take a look at this piece. It's an excellent look into the life of an eccentric writer and an important voice in the sub-genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. Alas Babylon just turned fifty, but it sounds like it's had some tremendous staying power. I'll be reading it soon and writing it up when I'm finished...