Slonczewski, Joan 1956–

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Slonczewski, Joan 1956–

(Joan Lyn Slonczewski)

PERSONAL: Born August 14, 1956 in Hyde Park, NY; Married Michael J. Barich, 1977; children: two sons. Education: Bryn Mawr College, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1977; Yale University, Ph.D., 1982.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Biology, Higley Hall, Kenyon College, 202 North College Road, Gambier, OH 43022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Biologist, educator, and writer. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, postdoctoral fellow, 1982–1984; Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, assistant professor, 1984–91, associate professor, 1991–2000, chair of biology, 1993–96, professor of biology, 2000–. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, National Science Foundation visiting professorship for women, 1990–1991; University of Maryland at Baltimore visiting associate professor, 1998–99. Served in administrative positions, including chair of Division K. Microbial Physiology and Metabolism, American Society for Microbiology, 1996–97; director of Elementary School Science Month and Elementary School Scientists program for grades K-6 at elementary and middle schools in Mount Vernon City and Knox County, 1992–94; panelist for NASA Gravitation Ecology and Microbiology, 2002–03; panelist for National Science Foundation, Prokaryotic Genetics Study Section, 1990–95, 2003–; director of Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program Award, 1996–.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Institutes of Health Research Service Award, 1982–84; John Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science-Fiction Novel, 1987, for A Door into Ocean; Robert Tomsich Award, for science research, Kenyon College, 1997, 2001; Vector Laboratories Young Investigator Travel Award, 1987, for outstanding research presented at the American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting; Silver Medal, National Professor of the Year program, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, 1989; numerous educational and research grants from various organizations, including National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

WRITINGS:

SCIENCE FICTION

Still Forms on Foxfield, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1980.

A Door into Ocean, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1985.

The Wall around Eden, Morrow (New York, NY), 1989.

Daughter of Elysium, Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

The Children Star, Tor (New York, NY), 1998.

Brain Plague, Tor (New York, NY), 2000.

Contributor of short stories to anthology Year's Best in Science Fiction, 1986. Author of science-based books Genomics and SF and Future Biology of Reproduction. Contributor to numerous periodicals and scientific journals, including Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, Kenyon Review, Nature, Science Fiction Research Association Review, Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Cell Biology, and Writer. Contributor to science books, including Cellular and Molecular Biology, American Society for Microbiology Press (Washington DC), 1996; Methods in Enzymology, Bacterial Pathogenesis Part C, Academic Press, 2002; and Microbiology: A Genomic Perspective, W.W. Norton (New York, NY).

SIDELIGHTS: Joan Slonczewski is a biology professor who uses her knowledge of science to write science-fiction stories and novels focusing on biology, ethics, and politics. In the St. James Guide to Science-Fiction Writers, the author noted that her fiction addresses a myriad of questions, including: "What does it mean to be a human being? What do we seek and desire most? Do women and men, and individuals of varied genetic and cultural backgrounds, share the same quest; or do they differ?" For example, in her first novel, Still Forms on Foxfield, the author addresses these issues via her story of the United Nations Interplanetary (UNI) culture, which her heroine, Allison, rejects as being necessary for all human cultures because of the violence the UNI perpetuates.

In A Door into Ocean Slonczewski presents pacifism as a more powerful force than war as she tells of two worlds: one a traditional patriarchal world and the other, named Shora, a more matriarchal world with no centralized government or sense of hierarchies. A contributor to St. James Guide to Science-Fiction Writers called the novel "remarkable for several reasons, including the careful character development and multiple viewpoints." In her novel The Wall around Eden, most biological life on Earth has perished after a nuclear holocaust and the surviving humans live in domes created by aliens. "The work is tantalizing for its misdirection," noted the St. James Guide to Science-Fiction Writers contributor, pointing out that most of the Earth's inhabitants mistakenly think that the aliens are responsible for the Earth's near destruction.

In Daughter of Elysium Slonczewski returns to the world of Shora, which now includes a new society of humans who appear to be almost ageless. When a family comes to the planet to live with the "Elysiums," they soon learn that this seemingly advanced society is caught up in universal political intrigues. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that Slonczewski's "settings and alien cultures are rich and detailed, her characters memorable and often extremely endearing." The Children Star continues the story of the Elysium and their control of the politics within the confederation of worlds known as the Fold, often in conflict with the Sharers, an environmentally conscientious people. When an Elysian capitalist sets his sights on developing a planet, its ecology and many life forms—including colonists who have been genetically altered—are threatened. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the book "features enough absorbing material on genetics and planetary ecology to satisfy any aficionado of hard SF." The reviewer added that the author "tackles a wide range of moral issues … in a story that is not only exciting but also is filled with memorable characters." Jackie Cassada, writing in Library Journal, called the story "imaginative and compelling." In a review for the New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jonas wrote that "this novel's fireworks in the final third admirable justify its long, slow fuse."

With her novel Brain Plague, Slonczewski further develops the worlds and the story she began in A Door into Ocean. The focus this time is on symbiotic, sentient microbes that have distinct personalities and political systems. As a result, sometimes they benefit and sometimes they harm the humans they inhabit. Chrys is a struggling artist, and when she becomes inhabited by the microbes, they help refine her art and make her so successful that she begins to believe she is a god. But the microbes also have their own agenda. Jackie Cassada, writing in Library Journal, noted that the novel contains "a quirky humor with deep insights into the human mind." A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the "narrative … is rich in subtle analyses of the relationships between individuals and societies, art and life, the organic and inorganic, health and disease, free will and personal responsibility, and spiritual and scientific aspirations." In a review for Booklist, Roland Green felt that the author's "world building is magnificent" and added that the "tale is impossible to dismiss."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Science-Fiction Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2000, Roland Green, review of Brain Plague, p. 2125.

Library Journal, August, 1998, Jackie Cassada, review of The Children Star, p. 139; July 2000, review of Brain Plague, p. 147.

New York Times Book Review, October 4, 1998, Gerald Jonas, review of The Children Star, p. 30; September 3, 2000, Gerald Jonas, review of Brain Plague, p. 21.

Publishers Weekly, June 7, 1993, review of Daughter of Elysium, p. 57; July 27, 1998, review of The Children Star, p. 57; July 31, 2000, review of Brain Plague, p. 76.