This really isn’t a quote, but a marketing point. If Ian and Betty Ballantine, who started Ballantine Books in the 1950s, and who published Mildred Clingerman’s A Cupful of Space believed that women didn’t read science fiction, they never would…
Tag: Mildred Clingerman
Birds Can’t Count by Mildred Clingerman
A companion story to “Minister Without Portfolio,” (listed below). A disgruntled housewife, reading about birds, makes a strange discovery with the help of her cat. The story’s witty and the payoff is such fun. I can’t say much more than…
Minister Without Portfolio by Mildred Clingerman
This one’s a favorite of mine. Mrs. Chriswell has moved in with her son and daughter-in-law after her husband’s death. She pretends to bird watch to get out of the house. While on one of those pretend bird-watching missions, she…
Stair Trick by Mildred Clingerman
Clingerman’s short stories often rely on a shift in perception. So if I tell you what the story’s about, I will ruin it. “Stair Trick” centers on Dick the bartender who would entertain his customers by pretending to go down…
Stickney and the Critic by Mildred Clingerman
As I’ve delved deeper into the research for the essay I’m writing for Women of Futures Past, I’m learning a bunch of things about my field that I didn’t know. For example, I didn’t know that James Blish, and the…