Dirk_Wylie

Dirk Wylie

Dirk Wylie

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Joseph Harold ("Harry") Dockweiler (1920- August 1948) was a science-fiction author and literary agent. Dockweiler was best known by his pen name Dirk Wylie. Dockweiler was a member of The Futurians, a 1940s-era science-fiction fan community.[1]

Biography

Dockweiler attended Brooklyn Technical High School in the 1930s, where he became friends with fellow student Frederik Pohl.[2]

In 1934, a teen Dockweiler had a letter published in periodical Wonder Stories inquiring about "Science Fiction Week".[3] Both Dockweiler and Pohl dropped out of Brooklyn tech after their junior year.[4]

In 1937, Dockweiler published a fanzine titled Fantasy Mirror.[4] As an adult, Dockweiler wrote stories in collaboration with Frederik Pohl, Arnold Kummer Jr. and Cyril M. Kornbluth.[5] Dockweiler also used the pen names "Dennis Lavond" and "Elliott Whitney".

In 1937, Dockweiler joined the Committee for the Political Advancement of Science Fiction (CPASF), a left-wing group of Futurians who supported the views of fellow member John B. Michel.[6]

When the Futurians group fractured, Dockweiler and Pohl followed Michel and Donald Wollheim to form the East New York Science Fiction League.[2] In 1940, Dockweiler married fellow Futurian Rosalind "Roz" Cohen.[2][4]

Dockweiler was drafted and served as a sergeant in a military police company in World War 2. He was stationed in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge.[2] Dockweiler suffered a spine injury after jumping from a transport truck; he was evacuated from theater and spent two years in a Veterans Administration hospital.[4] While hospitalized, Dockweiler penned a letter to Amazing Stories in which he reported two instances of having witnessed an unidentified objects, in some cases rise from the ocean and returning to it.[7]

In 1947, Dockweiler and Pohl set up the "Dirk Wylie Literary Agency".[8][9] In August 1948, Dockweiler died from tuberculosis of the spine.[2] After his death, Pohl and Rosalin continued to run the agency.[2]

Works

  • "Stepsons of Mars" (April 1940 Astonishing Stories) (with C M Kornbluth and Richard Wilson)
  • "Vacant World" (January 1941 Super Science Stories) (with C M Kornbluth)
  • Stuff (1940)
  • The Mantle of Graag (1941) with Robert A. W. Lowndes and Frederik Pohl
  • Something from Beyond (1941) with Robert A. W. Lowndes and Frederik Pohl
  • Highwayman Of The Void [10][11]
  • Asteroid of the Damned (1942) [12][13]
  • Sky Test (1942)
  • Outpost of the Eons (1943)
  • Star of the Undead(1948) with Robert A. W. Lowndes and Frederik Pohl
  • When Time Went Mad (publish posthumously in 1950) with Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.

References

  1. [1]
    Davin, Eric Leif (August 25, 2006). Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965. Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739112670 – via Google Books.
  2. [2]
    Page, Michael R. (September 30, 2015). Frederik Pohl. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252097744 – via Google Books.
  3. [3]
    Ashley, Mike; Ashley, Michael; Lowndes, Robert A. W. (January 1, 2004). The Gernsback Days: A Study of the Evolution of Modern Science Fiction from 1911 to 1936. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9780809510559 – via Google Books.
  4. [4]
    https://efanzines.com/Chunga/pdfs/chunga-25-lores.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. [5]
    Knight, Damon (August 29, 2013). The Futurians. Orion. ISBN 9780575111417 – via Google Books.
  6. [6]
    "The Immortal Storm a History of Science Fiction Fandom (1954) Sam Moskowitz (SiPDF)".
  7. [7]
    "Amazing Stories v20n02 (1946 05.Ziff Davis)(cape1736)". May 1946.
  8. [8]
    Williamson, Jack (August 25, 2005). Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction. BenBella Books. ISBN 9781932100570 – via Google Books.
  9. [9]
    Rich, Mark (January 13, 2010). C.M. Kornbluth: The Life and Works of a Science Fiction Visionary. McFarland. ISBN 9780786457113 – via Google Books.
  10. [10]
    Wylie, Dirk (September 23, 2020). Highwayman Of The Void. Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US. ISBN 9798689630854 – via Google Books.
  11. [11]
    Wylie, Dirk; Doolin, Joseph (September 12, 2020). Highwayman of the Void – via Project Gutenberg.
  12. [12]
    Wylie, Dirk (November 17, 2020). Asteroid of the Damned. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781649740854 – via Google Books.
  13. [13]
    Pohl, Frederik; Wylie, Dirk (May 18, 2020). Asteroid of the Damned – via Project Gutenberg.
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