On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!

William Tenn, known as the father of the science fiction satire, visits Spinning On Air to give a lively reading of his story "On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!" Honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1999, Tenn (the pen name of Philip Klass) was born in London, but was raised in New York City, and began to sell his science fiction short stories in 1946. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia calls him "one of the genre's very few genuinely comic, genuinely incisive writers of short fiction." In addition to reading his story, Tenn discusses his career with host David Garland, who adds some out-of-this-world music to the mix.
About William Tenn

William Tenn is the pen name of London-born Philip Klass. He began writing in 1945 after being discharged from the Army, and his first story, "Alexander the Bait," was published a year later. His stories and articles have been widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of -the-year collections. He was a professor of English at the Pennsylvania State University, where he taught -- among other things -- a popular course in science fiction . In 1999, he was honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at their annual Nebula Awards Banquet. He, along with Fruma, his wife of 44 years, and Adina, his daughter, lives in Pittsburgh.

William Tenn's works are currently collected in two volumes published by NESFA Press: Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Vol 1

Read an interview with William Tenn conducted in 1975.

Check out a William Tenn bibliography.