R. A. Lafferty

R. A. Lafferty (1914-2002) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer whose work is among the most original and idiosyncratic in the field. Born Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, he came to fiction relatively late and developed a voice unlike almost anyone else's: comic, mythic, eccentric, tall-tale-like, deeply learned, and often deliberately strange. His stories can seem at once futuristic and ancient, mixing science fiction premises with folklore, theology, satire, linguistic play, and wild narrative invention.Lafferty's best-known works include the novel Past Master and short stories such as "Nine Hundred Grandmothers," "Continued on Next Rock," "Slow Tuesday Night," and "The Six Fingers of Time." He won the Hugo Award for short fiction and developed a devoted readership among writers and fans who admired his refusal to write conventional stories in conventional ways. His work is often funny, baffling, profound, and explosive with invention, making him one of the great originals of twentieth-century speculative fiction.