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A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
Letters to Tiptree by Alexandra Pierce, Alisa Krasnostein
4.0
This collection of "letters" (and letters) to [a:James Tiptree Jr.|9860453|James Tiptree Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1425083616p2/9860453.jpg] (and [a:Raccoona Sheldon|1134987|Raccoona Sheldon|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Alice Sheldon|5807501|Alice Sheldon|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]) alongside other selected writings to give us an "insight" into the character of that particular trinity of writers, is divided into four sections. I am going to divide this review into two, to cover the "letters" written to Tiptree on the centenary of Alice Sheldon's birth alongside the letters of the late '70s and early '80s between Tiptree/Shedon and [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] and those from [a:Joanna Russ|52310|Joanna Russ|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1423801257p2/52310.jpg] to Tiptree/Sheldon, and the additional writing all together.
Letters to Tiptree
The idea behind the volume Letters to Tiptree sounds great in practice. Asking a diverse group of mostly female writers to write their thoughts and feelings about James Tiptree Jr. in the form of a letter to the writer? Sounds brilliant! And to a degree, it is. The problems lie, largely, in the execution. Many of the letters repeat the same details about Tiptree's life, with minimal reflections on the stories written under that name and Alice Sheldon. This leads to a somewhat repetitive first half of the book, as few of the authors choose to reveal much about themselves in the process. That so few of them seemed willing to write as if writing an actual letter means that it's difficult to identify each writer until their signature (often only a first name), and the (very long) author biographies are entirely separate from the letters themselves. Thus, I can remember quite a few details about the letters by [a:Catherynne M. Valente|338705|Catherynne M. Valente|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220999852p2/338705.jpg] and [a:Nicola Griffith|90780|Nicola Griffith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336097341p2/90780.jpg] - authors I already knew and liked - but it is difficult, especially when reading an ebook, to figure out who the authors whose letters did interest me actually were. It wasn't great, I discovered, for learning about new authors.
Following these letters is a collection of letters between Tiptree and Ursula le Guin in which Tiptree reveals to le Guin that behind the pseudonym is Alice Sheldon, a 61 year-old woman living in Virginia. The difference in these letters is startling, I think, largely because these are genuine letters written to Tiptree (and by Tiptree) which treat Tiptree/Sheldon as a human being. The feelings le Guin has for Tiptree are astounding. Her response to Tiptree's revelation is one of the most wonderful things I've read by le Guin, and I love le Guin's writing. Following these letters are several by Joanna Russ, but this section only includes one by Tiptree, the "revelation" letter (with the significant line: "Oh Joanna, will I have any friends left?") I don't know if this was a choice on behalf of the editors, or if Tiptree's letters to Russ are simply unavailable, but the one-sided conversation is a little frustrating. But there is still much of interest in here.
Everything but the signature is me
The third section of the volume, which collects various non-fiction writing about Tiptree, emphasises that the obsession with this writer revolves largely around perceptions of gender and the "big reveal" that Tiptree was Sheldon (whatever "was" means in this context). There is more discussion of the author's actual works in this section, but it seems something of a shame that even in a celebration of James Tiptree Jr., Raccoona Sheldon, and Alice Sheldon the discussion revolves around their identity (identities?) rather than the words they actually wrote. The discussion in the excerpts from [b:The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction|729861|The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction |Justine Larbalestier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348323347s/729861.jpg|716060] is most interesting in this regard, because it discusses how certain Tiptree stories might be read differently depending on what one thinks the gender of the author might be. Indeed, one of the things which I found most interesting in the first section of the volume was the betrayal felt by [a:Gwyneth Jones|7272|Gwyneth Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277604289p2/7272.jpg] when it turned out Tiptree wasn't a man who actually understood women. It's an under-valued perspective on the SF field in the '70s, I think.
The volume left me with a desire to re-read certain Tiptree stories, and when I have some more space for books I plan to seek out different Tiptree collections. It is certainly worth a read, although I recommend taking your time over the new letters.
Letters to Tiptree
The idea behind the volume Letters to Tiptree sounds great in practice. Asking a diverse group of mostly female writers to write their thoughts and feelings about James Tiptree Jr. in the form of a letter to the writer? Sounds brilliant! And to a degree, it is. The problems lie, largely, in the execution. Many of the letters repeat the same details about Tiptree's life, with minimal reflections on the stories written under that name and Alice Sheldon. This leads to a somewhat repetitive first half of the book, as few of the authors choose to reveal much about themselves in the process. That so few of them seemed willing to write as if writing an actual letter means that it's difficult to identify each writer until their signature (often only a first name), and the (very long) author biographies are entirely separate from the letters themselves. Thus, I can remember quite a few details about the letters by [a:Catherynne M. Valente|338705|Catherynne M. Valente|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220999852p2/338705.jpg] and [a:Nicola Griffith|90780|Nicola Griffith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336097341p2/90780.jpg] - authors I already knew and liked - but it is difficult, especially when reading an ebook, to figure out who the authors whose letters did interest me actually were. It wasn't great, I discovered, for learning about new authors.
Following these letters is a collection of letters between Tiptree and Ursula le Guin in which Tiptree reveals to le Guin that behind the pseudonym is Alice Sheldon, a 61 year-old woman living in Virginia. The difference in these letters is startling, I think, largely because these are genuine letters written to Tiptree (and by Tiptree) which treat Tiptree/Sheldon as a human being. The feelings le Guin has for Tiptree are astounding. Her response to Tiptree's revelation is one of the most wonderful things I've read by le Guin, and I love le Guin's writing. Following these letters are several by Joanna Russ, but this section only includes one by Tiptree, the "revelation" letter (with the significant line: "Oh Joanna, will I have any friends left?") I don't know if this was a choice on behalf of the editors, or if Tiptree's letters to Russ are simply unavailable, but the one-sided conversation is a little frustrating. But there is still much of interest in here.
Everything but the signature is me
The third section of the volume, which collects various non-fiction writing about Tiptree, emphasises that the obsession with this writer revolves largely around perceptions of gender and the "big reveal" that Tiptree was Sheldon (whatever "was" means in this context). There is more discussion of the author's actual works in this section, but it seems something of a shame that even in a celebration of James Tiptree Jr., Raccoona Sheldon, and Alice Sheldon the discussion revolves around their identity (identities?) rather than the words they actually wrote. The discussion in the excerpts from [b:The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction|729861|The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction |Justine Larbalestier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348323347s/729861.jpg|716060] is most interesting in this regard, because it discusses how certain Tiptree stories might be read differently depending on what one thinks the gender of the author might be. Indeed, one of the things which I found most interesting in the first section of the volume was the betrayal felt by [a:Gwyneth Jones|7272|Gwyneth Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277604289p2/7272.jpg] when it turned out Tiptree wasn't a man who actually understood women. It's an under-valued perspective on the SF field in the '70s, I think.
The volume left me with a desire to re-read certain Tiptree stories, and when I have some more space for books I plan to seek out different Tiptree collections. It is certainly worth a read, although I recommend taking your time over the new letters.