Frederik Pohl, R.I.P.

Fred Pohl died yesterday.  I learned about it online while on a plane home from the WorldCon.  With his passing, our field has again lost one of its giants.  He was also one of the last of the first generation of great SF writers: his first publication appeared in the thirties, and his most recent in 2011. 

If you haven't read his fiction, you owe it to yourself to check out such wonderful works as The Space Merchants, a collaboration with C.M. Kornbluth from 1953, Man Plus, and Gateway, to name but a few. 

I did not know Fred Pohl.  I met him once, at my very first science fiction convention.  He was a guest, and a fan friend introduced us.  He wouldn't remember me, of course; I was just another nervous fan.  I mumbled a few words about wanting to be a writer, and he smiled and told me to get to it.  There really is no better writing advice. 

We are poorer for his passing.