Anne McCaffrey – RIP
Posted by tmycann on Dec 21st, 2011 in Review, writing | 7 comments
Today is the one-month anniversary of Anne McCaffrey’s death. I can’t imagine what her family has been going through in the aftermath of losing their mother/grandmother, but I know for myself, hearing the news that my favorite story-teller of all time would no longer be around to share her wit and wisdom any more marked a significant and sad day for me. Ironically, I found out about it in the midst of the NaNoWriMo whirl, and discovered that she too had written her first book at 40–and therefore gave me hope and a little perspective that maybe another career could start off slowly for me at this late date.
I remember reading her books starting in about 8th grade; she was a working author who could be reliably counted on to have a new book out every year. And she had a back catalog that allowed me to live long stretches in Pern even while waiting for her newest books to be released.
Her ability to build strong female characters set her apart from otherwise good and enjoyable male authors like Heinlein, Asprin, and Asimov who regularly frustrated me as a young woman looking for characters to emulate and admire. And the aspirational worlds she built in Pern, and later with the Federated Sentient Planets, became clear beacons for what a utopian life might look like in the future: meritocracies where the basic social needs of food and shelter were met on a consistent basis.
I’ve frequently said over the years that when I am asked to “go to your happy place”, that place is Pern: A world where a special class of animals are granted psi powers and live in close working partnerships with their humans, and there is little danger of killing the planet based on man-made disasters. I re-read the several series she wrote in that world on a regular basis, including stand-alone “histories” like Nerilka’s Story and Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (which never fails to leave me weepy-eyed). The fact that McCaffrey was able to build a complete story arc–from colonization to “present”–over the course of hundreds of Pern years, that remained consistent and believable is a true achievement, and an object lesson for any author on the levels of detail available when world-building. And discovering dolphins “enhanced with mentasynth” at the “present” end of the story spectrum after two decades of enjoying Pern was just the icing on the cake for me.
So, here it is, a month later, and I’m still mourning the fact that I never made the effort to attend one of her readings or get a book signed or otherwise let her know how much I valued her contributions to the literary world. Watching Menolly grow up and become valued for her musical, communication, and empathetic skills, and Lessa overcome the horror inflicted on her family, to say nothing of Nerilka’s pragmatic realism, or even Killashandra‘s evolution to overcome supreme self-centeredness, on top of Damia‘s evolution from a hyper-intelligent and willful child to an extraordinarily deep and successful parent… these were all pictures of what it meant to be a strong woman that helped form who I’ve become today. So this is my tribute to the wonder Anne McCaffrey’s work has continued to inspire in me: I wish I had gotten the chance to know her in real life, but she left a proxy of such amazing female characters I’m confident she will be well-remembered and well-loved long into the future.
May she rest in peace. (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011)
7 Responses to “Anne McCaffrey – RIP”
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She is very much missed! I re-read my 1978 copy of “The Dragonriders of Pern” in memory right after she passed away.
What? She’s…gone? (Bawls) I…oh man. I really didn’t know. I love her books and the worlds she weaved. Wow. Our literary landscape just a got a bit dimmer.
What a beautiful tribute, Tonya. Thanks for making such wonder a part of my day today. 🙂
A very heartfelt tribute that made me think about opportunities lost. We overlook these things all of the time. It’s very poignant. I recently thanked Frank Oz in writing for making me laugh and for giving me so much joy. We thanked a few people like Elmore Leonard and Stan Lee and it does not matter if they don’t respond, we know that we have sent the message and that’s all that counts. One of Australia’s favourite rock guru’s Molly Meldrum is in a coma. I met him once and never thanked him. I was a bit nervous! Your writing has inspired me to go and buy a card and send it to the hospital for him. Thanks!
What a beautiful tribute – I’m sure Anne’s family would find it very comforting to know she had such adoring fans!
Kaitlin: Thanks for stopping by! I just read Alanna: The First Adventure this summer, and was quite intrigued, but hadn’t gotten a chance to read any of the follow-on books yet. I will have to remedy that after such a tribute to that author. 🙂 (And after I got home & re-read my entry, I decided to add elements to it, too, because McCaffrey also wrote her first book at 40, so she an inspiration both as someone eminently worth reading as well as someone who shows it’s never too late to begin writing for publication.)
A lovely tribute. It reminds me that I should make an effort to meet my similar idol (amazingly, I also wrote a tribute today) Tamora Pierce.