Rather than having been released in 1968, as would have been expected after the publication of SF 11 in 1967, the 12th volume of Judith Merril’s SF anthology – specifically, SF12 – appeared in 1969. Marking the end of the series, this last? (see SF: The Best of The Best) anthology marked a return to direct and representational space art, albeit of a diminutive form: Paul Lehr’s spacecraft-flying-above-a-moonscape occupies only a small portion of the cover. But, the minimalism of the scene – the near-black and vaguely starlit background of space fading indistinguishably into the darkness of the rest of the cover – is appealing and very effective. On first glance I assumed this was the earth and moon, but on second view this seems not so.
What about the content? This last volume furthers a trend seem in earlier editions of the series, with emphasis: A full twelve stories – over a third of the thirty items comprising the book’s content – were (I guess commissioned?) and written specifically for this book. Alas, with the exception of Bob Shaw’s “Light of Other Days” – a genuinely moving and very well written story firmly rooted in an intersection between scientific speculation and the human nature – the content is not all that memorable.
Still, here’s the book:
Lots and lots of stories ‘n stuff!
Introduction: Fish Out of Water, Man Beside Himself, Essay by Judith Merril
“The Cinemagicians”, by Tuli Kupferberg,
specifically for this volume
“In Seclusion”, by Harvey Jacobs,
from New Worlds, #179, February, 1968
“The Food Farm”, by Kit Reed,
from Orbit 2, June, 1967
“Gogol’s Wife”, by Tommaso Landolfi (trans. of La moglie di Gogol 1944),
from book Gogol’s Wife & Other Stories, 1963
“The Balloon”, by Donald Barthelme,
from The New Yorker, April 16, 1966
“The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D” (Vermilion Sands series), by J. G. Ballard,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December, 1967
“Luana”, by Gilbert Thomas,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September, 1966
“W-a-v-e-r”, by Tuli Kupferberg,
specifically for this volume
“During the Jurassic”, by John Updike,
from Transatlantic Review, Summer, 1966
“The Fall of Frenchy Steiner”, by Hilary Bailey,
from New Worlds SF, July-August, 1964
“Light of Other Days” (Slow Glass series) by Bob Shaw,
from Analog Science Fiction -> Science Fact, August 1966
“Beyond the Weeds”, by Peter Tate,
specifically for this volume
“Crab-Apple Crisis”, by George MacBeth (variant of Crab Apple Crisis),
specifically for this volume
“The Primary Education of the Camiroi” (Camiroi series),
by R. A. Lafferty (variant of Primary Education of the Camiroi 1966),
specifically for this volume
“When I Was Miss Dow”, by Sonya Dorman,
from Galaxy Magazine, June, 1966
“A Vacation on Earth”, by Thomas M. Disch,
specifically for this volume
“Confluence”, by Brian W. Aldiss,
from Punch, August 30, 1967
Journal from Ellipsia (excerpt), by Hortense Calisher,
specifically for this volume
“An Ornament to His Profession” (Conrad Patrick series), by Charles L. Harness,
from Analog Science Fiction -> Science Fact, February 1966
“Narrow Valley”, by R. A. Lafferty,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September, 1966
“They Do Not Always Remember”, by William S. Burroughs (as by William Burroughs),
from Argosy (UK), March, 1967
“The Winter Flies”, by Fritz Leiber,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October, 1967”
“When I First Read …” (1966) by Dick Allen,
specifically for this volume
“You: Coma: Marilyn Monroe”, by J. G. Ballard,
from New Worlds, June, 1966
“And More Changes Still”, by Henri Michaux (trans. of Encore des changements 1929),
specifically for this volume
“The Other”, by Katherine MacLean,
from New Worlds SF, July, 1966
“Chicken Icarus”, by Carol Emshwiller (variant of A Dream of Flying),
specifically for this volume
“In the Egg”, by Günter Grass, (translation of Im Ei 1958),
specifically for this volume
“The Star-Pit”, by Samuel R. Delany (variant of The Star Pit),
from Worlds of Tomorrow, February, 1967
“Personal”, by Tuli Kupferberg,
specifically for this volume
We come to a conclusion, sans confusion.
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Published Variants of This Book (Four and no more, but not a bore!)
