I am going to have to do a research paper on an American author, and I was hoping to do mine on OSC. Where could I find some good biographical information on him (besides what little there is on Hatrack and Wikipedia)?
Thank you very much!
Posted by Mark (Member # 6393) on :
Fair warning, most professors probably wouldn't appreciate citing from wikipedia. Most high school teachers wouldn't either.
Although I don't know any sources, I notice you're new here. You may not know that OSC posts every now and then himself. You might be able to ask him a thing or two.
Posted by Schwartz (Member # 9339) on :
Thanks for the welcome. I know Wikipedia can be quite inadequate, which is why I want other sources. Google didn't help much. I guess people would just rather write about an author's works instead of the author himself.
Posted by kacard (Member # 200) on :
Check out the "About Orson Scott Card" and "Research Area" -- buttons above.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
So, which schools did OSC go to in Mesa? Not listed in biography. Just curious if he was at the same one as my parents (at about the same time).
Posted by forensicgeek (Member # 8430) on :
I wrote a biographical paper on Mr. Card and how his life is reflected in his writings, when I was in high school, a good source that your library might have is a program that has biographies for most authors. It's called DISCovering Authors. And if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.
Posted by Schwartz (Member # 9339) on :
Heh, that's exactly what my paper is about.
Posted by Mankind (Member # 2672) on :
Card's books are actually a great biographical source. Nearly all of them have detailed introductions or postscripts about what led to the writing of the book.
The most detailed of these is his book of short stories, Maps in a Mirror. It contains a tremendous amount of biographical material, in the form of introductions and afterwards to each of the short stories. In many cases, these are as interesting as the story.
That's one of the biggest reasons so many of us want another short fiction book. It's not for the new stories--a lot of us have hunted them down and read them already--but for the informational bits, too.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I attended East Mesa Jr. High, and then Kino Jr. High (9th grade), followed by one year at Mesa High School. But this was back in 1964-67, when Mesa was still 50% Mormon and there was still open country between Mesa and Tempe. Casagrande was separated from Mesa by miles and miles of sagebrush and cactus. Now it's all grown together into a huge megalopolis ... so when I go back there, it barely feels like the town I knew.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
Ok- so you were a year too young to go to school with my dad. But yeah, when we drove through town, my dad would point out where the old boundaries where and such. As far as Kino- it was a good school when I went there. Of course, I am told it is totally ghetto now. My high school (Mt. View) still had greater than 35% seminary attendance. A guy I know actually used that as a pickup line.
Posted by Kit the Odd (Member # 4975) on :
scholar,
Better Dead than Blue and Red!
One of the fun things about going from Mesa High to Arizona State was being able to keep that chant.
Of course, the building that OSC went to was not the same as the one I went to. I know that because while I was there (Class of '95) we had the 20th anniversary of the campus Mesa High has now. Which means they must have just celebrated the 30th anniversary. Dang...I'm getting old.
And Mesa had 3-4 seminary classes w/ 20-30 students each for all 7 class periods when I was there.
As far as the growth of Mesa and the whole Phoenix area, I've only been away for 4 years and it looks different every time I go back to visit family.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
Kit- looks like the rivalry extended. I proudly kept my school colors throughout college as well. But yeah, Mesa has totally exploded. Coming home it is like, um, when did that city get built? (like Queen Creek)
Posted by Schwartz (Member # 9339) on :
I'm writing the rough draft today and tomorrow.
So far for sources I have Maps in a Mirror, Characters and Viewpoint, some stuff from the database at my public library, and Hatrack.com. I'll be borrowing some Ender books later today from a friend, and some more books just came in at the library. I guess I could use this thread as a "personal interview"!
Posted by Schwartz (Member # 9339) on :
This paper is turning out to be easier than I thought it would be. I thought I would need a lot of biographical information but I really didn't... the introductions in Maps in a Mirror are probably my main source.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
There are three books that might help you out greatly. The best would be by Michael R. Collings called: “Storyteller: The official Orson Scott Card Bibliography and Guide”. Michael also wrote “In the Image of God - Theme, characterization, and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card”. Another book by Edith S. Tyson called : “Orson Scott Card: Writer of the Terrible Choice” tries to get into Scott’s head also, but might deal with more of Scott’s stories instead of his life. Good luck with your report and if you post it somewhere or email it please let me know. I’d enjoy seeing it.
Posted by Schwartz (Member # 9339) on :
I will post it, probably in this thread.
I wish I knew about those books a while ago... the rough draft is due Tuesday.
It's shaping up to be pretty good as it is.
Posted by macnewbold (Member # 7660) on :
Does anyone know a good place to find any of the books Jay mentioned for a reasonable price? Or even a library system in Utah that has them?
Posted by BeautyandtheBrains (Member # 9443) on :
Does anyone know OSC's motivation for writing, and specifically his motivation for writing "The Ender's Game"? I am working on an essay about him as well.
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
"Enders Game" the novel, at least the printing I read, had a good bit about his motivations in it.
Posted by forensicgeek (Member # 8430) on :
quote:Originally posted by macnewbold: Does anyone know a good place to find any of the books Jay mentioned for a reasonable price? Or even a library system in Utah that has them?
Try overstock.com they usually have decent prices and shipping is the cheapest I've seen anywhere.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Of course, I am told it is totally ghetto now. My high school (Mt. View) still had greater than 35% seminary attendance. A guy I know actually used that as a pickup line.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)