Il parle de son premier roman
Rhys: The first novel I read of yours was the first novel you ever wrote, the hugely enjoyable Involution Ocean, and I read it because Harlan Ellison recommended it so highly. In my mind it’s almost a fable rather than an orthodox novel and doesn’t give any clues as to how your work would subsequently develop. How do you regard that novel now?
Bruce Sterling : The Parthenopean ScalpelBruce: Harlan Ellison was my literary mentor. He commissioned that book from a college student. That novel of mine would never have been written without his guidance and his sponsorship. When I think about that book in hindsight, I think about the importance of literary mentors. Publishing can't function like that any more. It's like receiving some important royal heirloom, and then realizing that you live in a republic.
Harlan Ellison is 76 years old now, and he's ill, and he says publicly that he cannot last much longer. People who read my first novel probably never know that. I know it, and I feel it. Literature is not about one's personal effort to push the pen on the page. Literature is all about heritage and futurity. I learned that truth from Harlan Ellison. I must find some effective way to act in modern circumstances.