Emil Petaja
Encyclopedia
Emil Petaja was an American science fiction
and fantasy
writer whose career spanned seven decades. He was the author of 13 published novels, nearly 150 short stories, numerous poems, and a handful of books and articles on various subjects. Though he wrote science fiction, fantasy, horror stories, detective fiction, and poetry, Petaja considered his work part of an older tradition of "weird fiction
." Petaja was also a small press publisher. In 1995, he was named the first ever Author Emeritus
by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
Of Finnish descent, Petaja's best known works are a series of science fiction novels based on the Kalevala
, the Finnish verse epic. Petaja's series brought him readers from around the world, while his particular mythological approach to science fiction has been discussed in scholarly publications and included in related anthologies.
In a statement published in Contemporary Authors (Gale Research, 1984), Petaja commented, "My writing endeavors have mainly been to entertain, except for the factual material concerning Hannes Bok and fantasy art in general, which serves to indicate my enthusiasm for these subjects. My novels about the Finnish legendary epic Kalevala: The Land of Heroes spring from a lifelong interest in this fine poetic work. I own six translations of the Kalevala, as well as the work in the original. Both of my parents were Finnish."
– a small lumber town in the western part of the state. He was the youngest of 10 children born to John and Hanna Petaja. The future author attended schools in Bonner and Missoula, Montana.
According to an autobiographical account, Petaja's introduction to fantastic literature came in 1931 when he came across a copy of Weird Tales
. Reading the magazine changed his life, and he became a lifelong devotee of fantasy and science fiction. Petaja started out as a fan and immersed himself in the genres by befriending other interested individuals, by collecting pulp and science fiction magazine
s, and by forming clubs and associations. During this time, Petaja also struck-up correspondence with, and sometimes befriended, such early luminaries as H. P. Lovecraft
, Clark Ashton Smith
, Robert E. Howard
, and August Derleth
. Notably, Petaja is part of a unique group of individuals in the history of the genres who turned their fandom
into literature. He was also a member of First Fandom
– a group which honors fans from the time when science fiction was known as "scientification." Petaja corresponded with Lovecraft in late 1934, and the next year proposed teaming with Duane W. Rimel to form a fan magazine, The Fantaisiste's Mirror, that would resume serializing Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature from the point it had left off in the defunct Fantasy Fan. However, the magazine never materialized. Petaja and Lovecraft continued corresponding until the latter's death in 1937.
The author's first published writings date from 1935 with the short story, "Two Doors," for the semi-prozine Unusual Stories. Another early work, "Weird Music" (written with Duane W. Rimel), appeared in 1936 in The Phantagraph. Other short fiction and verse was published in The Californian (alongside the efforts of Lovecraft), Futuria Fantasia, The Acolyte, and other small press and regional publications.
Much of Petaja's early literary efforts were verse – and according to the author, he won a "couple of minor regional poetry contests." In 1936, Petaja self-published a chapbook of poems, Brief Candle, running-off copies on the mimeograph machine at Montana State University, where he was a student majoring in creative writing. Brief Candle contained cover art and illustrations by Petaja's friend, Hannes Bok
, whom he had met that same year. The chapbook marked the first book publication for each author. According to Petaja, approximately 40 to 50 copies were printed with many "given to friends and well wishers." Some of these early pieces were later collected in As Dream and Shadow (SISU, 1972). Other poems from throughout his career remain unpublished.
In 1937, Petaja moved to Los Angeles
, California. There, he settled into the Los Angeles sci-fi scene, befriending Ray Bradbury
– then still a teenager – as well as Henry Kuttner
, Henry Hasse
, Forrest J. Ackerman and others. Throughout 1937 and 1938, Petaja and Bok shared an apartment, and together they attended fan meetings, haunted second-hand book shops, went to the movies, and helped each other with their poems and stories.
In an autobiographical account, Petaja stated: "Perhaps when all is washed down over the dam, my major claim to fame will rest in the fact that it was I who got Hannes down to Los Angeles and I who dragged him, reluctantly, to the meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Where we met Ray Bradbury." "It was at Clifton's Cafeteria on Broadway. We couldn't afford to eat there, usually, but we took advantage of the free lime sherbet. In that fabled back room where so many of the s-f elite have sat around the long table chewing the fat, fanwize, Hannes first met Forrie Ackerman, Henry Kuttner, et al."
During the 1940s, Petaja continued to write, turning out dozens of stories for many of the pulp fiction magazines. A prolific author, his science fiction
, fantasy
, and weird fiction
stories appeared in Fantastic Adventures
, Worlds of Tomorrow
, Weird Tales
, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Future Science Fiction Stories, and elsewhere. One story, "Dinosaur Goes Hollywood," published in Amazing Stories
in 1944, features a dinosaur on the loose of a movie set. Some of these early works were brought together in the author's only short story collection, Stardrift and Other Fantastic Flotsam (Fantasy Press, 1971).
Petaja also published under the name of Theodore Pine (Theodore was the author's middle name, and Petaja is Finnish for "pine"). As Pine, Petaja sold stories to detective and western story magazines of the period such as Crack Detective, Ten Detective Aces, Ten Story Detective, Mammoth Western, Western Action, and Western Trails. Many of these stories have evocative titles like "The Corpse Wants Company," "Good Night, Dream Bandit," "The Perfumed Peril," "Satan Hogs the Camera," "Bullets on the Downbeat," "Sixgun Serenade," and "Trigger Surgery." During the 1940s, Petaja unsuccessfully attempted to publish a detective novel. One of his last detective stories, "Stirred Ashes," appeared in the Saint magazine in 1967. Petaja had also been a member of the Mystery Writers of America
.
into a profession. He traveled the state as a school photographer, and at times maintained studios in Sausalito and San Francisco, California. He was the house photographer for local theater groups, and wrote articles for magazines such as Popular Photography.
Having largely given up writing by the early 1950s, Petaja resumed literary work in the early 1960s. His first published novels were Alpha Yes, Terra No! (Ace Books, 1965) and The Caves of Mars (Ace Books, 1965). These works, like a number of Petaja's subsequent novels, were published as part of the paperback series of Ace doubles. As such, Petaja was published alongside emerging writers like Samuel R. Delany
, Michael Moorcock
, Brian Stableford
, and Dean Koontz
.
Of Finnish descent, Petaja's best known works make up a series based on the Kalevala
, the Finnish verse epic. In each of the books which comprise the "Otava Series" – Saga of Lost Earth's (Ace Books, 1966), Star Mill (Ace Books, 1966), The Stolen Sun (Ace Books, 1967), and Tramontane (Ace Books, 1967), an Earth descendant of one of the four main heroes of the Kalevala is reborn into an avatar's role in order to re-enact adventures on Otava, the planet of origin of the Kalevala pantheon. The series brought Petaja readers from around the world; while his mythological approach to science fiction – an early example within the genre – was discussed in scholarly papers presented at academic conferences. In 1979, two omnibus editions of the "Otava Series" were published by DAW Books. A fifth novel in the cycle, Return to Otava (1970), remains unpublished. Another novel unconnected with the series but related to the Kalevala is The Time Twister (Dell, 1968).
The Green Planet books – Lord of the Green Planet (Ace Books, 1967) and Doom of the Green Planet (Ace Books, 1968) – recounts similar adventures befalling its Irish protagonist, who finds himself role-playing Celtic deities for the benefit of a madman armed with instruments of coercion.
Other novels dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s include The Prism (Ace Books, 1968), The Nets of Space (Berkley, 1969), The Path Beyond the Stars (Dell, 1969), and Seed of the Dreamers (Ace Books, 1970). Four other novels remain unpublished, Glory Stone (1970), Little Gods (1972), Spin the Star Wheel (1975), and Zodiac World (1980). This latter work concerns a planet whose population is ruled by astrological beliefs.
As chairman of the Golden Gate Futurians – an informal club for writers and fans – Petaja hosted meetings for friends and colleagues at his home in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. Among the regular attendees were local noted authors like Fritz Leiber
, Avram Davidson
and E. Hoffmann Price. Writers and editors who might be visiting from out of town – such as Donald Wollheim or Harlan Ellison
– would also attend and there, have a chance to meet local figures like the Satanist Anton LeVay or the film maker Kenneth Anger
. Petaja enjoyed the company of other writers and artists, and was acquainted with a number of individuals who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Warren Hinkle (his upstairs neighbor), Anthony Boucher
, Frank M. Robinson
, Poul Anderson
, Philip K. Dick
and Robert A. Heinlein
.
To date, Petaja's fiction have been translated and published in England, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, and Finland
. In 1995, in recognition of a lifetime of significant achievement, Petaja was named an "Author Emeritus" by the Science Fiction Writers of America. The award was created "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer active or whose excellent work may no longer be as widely known as it once was." As Author Emeritus, Petaja was invited to speak at the annual Nebula Awards banquet.
Petaja died of heart failure on August 17, 2000. He had suffered complications brought on from the treatment of a blood clot. After his death, obituaries appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world.
, Petaja founded the Bokanalia Foundation in 1967, three years after the artist's death. According to a published statement, the foundation was set up "with the help and encouragement of Harold Taves of Seattle and Ray Bradbury of Los Angeles and the Golden Gate Futurians of San Francisco . . . . The avowed intention of Bokanalia is simply to keep the great imaginative art of Hannes Bok from slipping into oblivion, and to make new (better than pulp) prints available to his many admirers all over the world". Between 1967 and 1970, Petaja published three portfolios of Bok's art. Those portfolios include Variations on Bok Theme, (black & white portfolio, 1967); The Famous Power Series, (black & white portfolio, with text by Bok, 1969); and A Memorial Portfolio, (color portfolio, with booklet with text by Petaja, 1970).
Petaja also authored a commemorative volume, And Flights of Angels: The Life and Legend of Hannes Bok (Bokanalia Memorial Foundation, 1968). Along with brief contributions from Wollheim, Roger Zelazny
, Jack Gaughan
, and others, And Flights of Angels contains Petaja's long biographical essay on the artist, a checklist of Bok's published artwork and writings, and reproductions of a substantial number of drawings, prints and illustrations. Later, under the SISU imprint (and on behalf of the Bokanalia Foundation), Petaja published an illustrated volume of Bok's poetry, Spinner of Silver and Thistle (1972), as well as editing The Hannes Bok Memorial Showcase of Fantasy Art (1974).
s, the movie tie-in books of the silent and early sound era. Petaja based the book on his personal collection, which at the time of publication numbered more than eight hundred books. As the author of Photoplay Edition, Petaja was a special guest at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
in 1998 and 1999.
While living in Los Angeles, Petaja worked in the labs at Technicolor
, and wrote a handful of stories set in and around the movie capital. His interest in movies and film making continued through the years. Petaja made two short dramatic films, Dread Return in 1949, and The Call in 1950. These 8mm independent films, shot in San Francisco, utilized local actors and scenery.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
writer whose career spanned seven decades. He was the author of 13 published novels, nearly 150 short stories, numerous poems, and a handful of books and articles on various subjects. Though he wrote science fiction, fantasy, horror stories, detective fiction, and poetry, Petaja considered his work part of an older tradition of "weird fiction
Weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction...
." Petaja was also a small press publisher. In 1995, he was named the first ever Author Emeritus
Author Emeritus
Author Emeritus award is an honorary title bestowed by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. It was created "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer...
by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
Of Finnish descent, Petaja's best known works are a series of science fiction novels based on the Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
, the Finnish verse epic. Petaja's series brought him readers from around the world, while his particular mythological approach to science fiction has been discussed in scholarly publications and included in related anthologies.
In a statement published in Contemporary Authors (Gale Research, 1984), Petaja commented, "My writing endeavors have mainly been to entertain, except for the factual material concerning Hannes Bok and fantasy art in general, which serves to indicate my enthusiasm for these subjects. My novels about the Finnish legendary epic Kalevala: The Land of Heroes spring from a lifelong interest in this fine poetic work. I own six translations of the Kalevala, as well as the work in the original. Both of my parents were Finnish."
Early life and work
Emil Petaja was born on April 12, 1915 in Milltown, MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
– a small lumber town in the western part of the state. He was the youngest of 10 children born to John and Hanna Petaja. The future author attended schools in Bonner and Missoula, Montana.
According to an autobiographical account, Petaja's introduction to fantastic literature came in 1931 when he came across a copy of Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
. Reading the magazine changed his life, and he became a lifelong devotee of fantasy and science fiction. Petaja started out as a fan and immersed himself in the genres by befriending other interested individuals, by collecting pulp and science fiction magazine
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
s, and by forming clubs and associations. During this time, Petaja also struck-up correspondence with, and sometimes befriended, such early luminaries as H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
, Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
, and August Derleth
August Derleth
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
. Notably, Petaja is part of a unique group of individuals in the history of the genres who turned their fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
into literature. He was also a member of First Fandom
First Fandom
First Fandom is an association of experienced science fiction fans.In 1958 a number of fans at Midwestcon realized amid table-talk that they all had been active in fandom for more than 20 years. This inspired the creation of an organization for longstanding fans under the initial chairmanship of...
– a group which honors fans from the time when science fiction was known as "scientification." Petaja corresponded with Lovecraft in late 1934, and the next year proposed teaming with Duane W. Rimel to form a fan magazine, The Fantaisiste's Mirror, that would resume serializing Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature from the point it had left off in the defunct Fantasy Fan. However, the magazine never materialized. Petaja and Lovecraft continued corresponding until the latter's death in 1937.
The author's first published writings date from 1935 with the short story, "Two Doors," for the semi-prozine Unusual Stories. Another early work, "Weird Music" (written with Duane W. Rimel), appeared in 1936 in The Phantagraph. Other short fiction and verse was published in The Californian (alongside the efforts of Lovecraft), Futuria Fantasia, The Acolyte, and other small press and regional publications.
Much of Petaja's early literary efforts were verse – and according to the author, he won a "couple of minor regional poetry contests." In 1936, Petaja self-published a chapbook of poems, Brief Candle, running-off copies on the mimeograph machine at Montana State University, where he was a student majoring in creative writing. Brief Candle contained cover art and illustrations by Petaja's friend, Hannes Bok
Hannes Bok
Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard , was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various science fiction, fantasy, and detective fiction magazines, as well as contributing hundreds...
, whom he had met that same year. The chapbook marked the first book publication for each author. According to Petaja, approximately 40 to 50 copies were printed with many "given to friends and well wishers." Some of these early pieces were later collected in As Dream and Shadow (SISU, 1972). Other poems from throughout his career remain unpublished.
In 1937, Petaja moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California. There, he settled into the Los Angeles sci-fi scene, befriending Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
– then still a teenager – as well as Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
, Henry Hasse
Henry Hasse
Henry Louis Hasse was an American science fiction author and fan. He is probably known best for being the co-author of Ray Bradbury's first published story, "Pendulum" ....
, Forrest J. Ackerman and others. Throughout 1937 and 1938, Petaja and Bok shared an apartment, and together they attended fan meetings, haunted second-hand book shops, went to the movies, and helped each other with their poems and stories.
In an autobiographical account, Petaja stated: "Perhaps when all is washed down over the dam, my major claim to fame will rest in the fact that it was I who got Hannes down to Los Angeles and I who dragged him, reluctantly, to the meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Where we met Ray Bradbury." "It was at Clifton's Cafeteria on Broadway. We couldn't afford to eat there, usually, but we took advantage of the free lime sherbet. In that fabled back room where so many of the s-f elite have sat around the long table chewing the fat, fanwize, Hannes first met Forrie Ackerman, Henry Kuttner, et al."
During the 1940s, Petaja continued to write, turning out dozens of stories for many of the pulp fiction magazines. A prolific author, his science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and weird fiction
Weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction...
stories appeared in Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Ray Palmer, who was also the editor of Amazing Stories, Ziff-Davis's other science fiction title. The first nine issues were in bedsheet format, but in June 1940...
, Worlds of Tomorrow
Worlds of Tomorrow (magazine)
Worlds of Tomorrow was an American science fiction magazine published from 1963 to 1967, after it was merged into If. It briefly resumed publication in 1970 and 1971. The magazine was edited by Frederik Pohl in its first period of publication, and by Ejler Jakobsson in the second. It has published...
, Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Future Science Fiction Stories, and elsewhere. One story, "Dinosaur Goes Hollywood," published in Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
in 1944, features a dinosaur on the loose of a movie set. Some of these early works were brought together in the author's only short story collection, Stardrift and Other Fantastic Flotsam (Fantasy Press, 1971).
Petaja also published under the name of Theodore Pine (Theodore was the author's middle name, and Petaja is Finnish for "pine"). As Pine, Petaja sold stories to detective and western story magazines of the period such as Crack Detective, Ten Detective Aces, Ten Story Detective, Mammoth Western, Western Action, and Western Trails. Many of these stories have evocative titles like "The Corpse Wants Company," "Good Night, Dream Bandit," "The Perfumed Peril," "Satan Hogs the Camera," "Bullets on the Downbeat," "Sixgun Serenade," and "Trigger Surgery." During the 1940s, Petaja unsuccessfully attempted to publish a detective novel. One of his last detective stories, "Stirred Ashes," appeared in the Saint magazine in 1967. Petaja had also been a member of the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
.
Later life and work
In the late 1940s, Petaja moved to San Francisco, where he turned his interest in photographyPhotography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
into a profession. He traveled the state as a school photographer, and at times maintained studios in Sausalito and San Francisco, California. He was the house photographer for local theater groups, and wrote articles for magazines such as Popular Photography.
Having largely given up writing by the early 1950s, Petaja resumed literary work in the early 1960s. His first published novels were Alpha Yes, Terra No! (Ace Books, 1965) and The Caves of Mars (Ace Books, 1965). These works, like a number of Petaja's subsequent novels, were published as part of the paperback series of Ace doubles. As such, Petaja was published alongside emerging writers like Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, Brian Stableford
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
, and Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz
Dean Ray Koontz is a prolific American author best known for his novels which could be described broadly as suspense thrillers. He also frequently incorporates elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire. A number of his books have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with...
.
Of Finnish descent, Petaja's best known works make up a series based on the Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
, the Finnish verse epic. In each of the books which comprise the "Otava Series" – Saga of Lost Earth's (Ace Books, 1966), Star Mill (Ace Books, 1966), The Stolen Sun (Ace Books, 1967), and Tramontane (Ace Books, 1967), an Earth descendant of one of the four main heroes of the Kalevala is reborn into an avatar's role in order to re-enact adventures on Otava, the planet of origin of the Kalevala pantheon. The series brought Petaja readers from around the world; while his mythological approach to science fiction – an early example within the genre – was discussed in scholarly papers presented at academic conferences. In 1979, two omnibus editions of the "Otava Series" were published by DAW Books. A fifth novel in the cycle, Return to Otava (1970), remains unpublished. Another novel unconnected with the series but related to the Kalevala is The Time Twister (Dell, 1968).
The Green Planet books – Lord of the Green Planet (Ace Books, 1967) and Doom of the Green Planet (Ace Books, 1968) – recounts similar adventures befalling its Irish protagonist, who finds himself role-playing Celtic deities for the benefit of a madman armed with instruments of coercion.
Other novels dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s include The Prism (Ace Books, 1968), The Nets of Space (Berkley, 1969), The Path Beyond the Stars (Dell, 1969), and Seed of the Dreamers (Ace Books, 1970). Four other novels remain unpublished, Glory Stone (1970), Little Gods (1972), Spin the Star Wheel (1975), and Zodiac World (1980). This latter work concerns a planet whose population is ruled by astrological beliefs.
As chairman of the Golden Gate Futurians – an informal club for writers and fans – Petaja hosted meetings for friends and colleagues at his home in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. Among the regular attendees were local noted authors like Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
, Avram Davidson
Avram Davidson
Avram Davidson was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche...
and E. Hoffmann Price. Writers and editors who might be visiting from out of town – such as Donald Wollheim or Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
– would also attend and there, have a chance to meet local figures like the Satanist Anton LeVay or the film maker Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
. Petaja enjoyed the company of other writers and artists, and was acquainted with a number of individuals who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Warren Hinkle (his upstairs neighbor), Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
, Frank M. Robinson
Frank M. Robinson
Frank M. Robinson is an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer.-Biography:Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois. The son of a check forger, Frank started out working as a copy boy for International Service in his teens and then became an office boy for Ziff-Davis...
, Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
, Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
and Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
.
To date, Petaja's fiction have been translated and published in England, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. In 1995, in recognition of a lifetime of significant achievement, Petaja was named an "Author Emeritus" by the Science Fiction Writers of America. The award was created "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer active or whose excellent work may no longer be as widely known as it once was." As Author Emeritus, Petaja was invited to speak at the annual Nebula Awards banquet.
Petaja died of heart failure on August 17, 2000. He had suffered complications brought on from the treatment of a blood clot. After his death, obituaries appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world.
Emil Petaja and Hannes Bok
As a lifelong friend and collector of Hannes BokHannes Bok
Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard , was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various science fiction, fantasy, and detective fiction magazines, as well as contributing hundreds...
, Petaja founded the Bokanalia Foundation in 1967, three years after the artist's death. According to a published statement, the foundation was set up "with the help and encouragement of Harold Taves of Seattle and Ray Bradbury of Los Angeles and the Golden Gate Futurians of San Francisco . . . . The avowed intention of Bokanalia is simply to keep the great imaginative art of Hannes Bok from slipping into oblivion, and to make new (better than pulp) prints available to his many admirers all over the world". Between 1967 and 1970, Petaja published three portfolios of Bok's art. Those portfolios include Variations on Bok Theme, (black & white portfolio, 1967); The Famous Power Series, (black & white portfolio, with text by Bok, 1969); and A Memorial Portfolio, (color portfolio, with booklet with text by Petaja, 1970).
Petaja also authored a commemorative volume, And Flights of Angels: The Life and Legend of Hannes Bok (Bokanalia Memorial Foundation, 1968). Along with brief contributions from Wollheim, Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
, Jack Gaughan
Jack Gaughan
Jack Gaughan was an American science fiction artist and illustrator who won the Hugo Award several times. Working primarily with Donald A...
, and others, And Flights of Angels contains Petaja's long biographical essay on the artist, a checklist of Bok's published artwork and writings, and reproductions of a substantial number of drawings, prints and illustrations. Later, under the SISU imprint (and on behalf of the Bokanalia Foundation), Petaja published an illustrated volume of Bok's poetry, Spinner of Silver and Thistle (1972), as well as editing The Hannes Bok Memorial Showcase of Fantasy Art (1974).
Emil Petaja and film
Petaja was a life-long film buff and collector of movie memorabilia. He had a large library of film-related books, owned hundreds of 16mm films and videotapes, and enjoyed recounting stories about films and actors. Today, he is best known to film enthusiasts as the author of Photoplay Edition (SISU, 1975). This illustrated guide was the first book on the subject of photoplay editionPhotoplay edition
Photoplay edition refers to movie tie-in books of the silent film and early sound era at a time when motion pictures were known as "photoplays". Typically, photoplay editions were reprints of novels additionally illustrated with scenes from a film production. Less typically, photoplay editions were...
s, the movie tie-in books of the silent and early sound era. Petaja based the book on his personal collection, which at the time of publication numbered more than eight hundred books. As the author of Photoplay Edition, Petaja was a special guest at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is a film festival first held in 1996 and presented annually every July at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California, USA...
in 1998 and 1999.
While living in Los Angeles, Petaja worked in the labs at Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, and wrote a handful of stories set in and around the movie capital. His interest in movies and film making continued through the years. Petaja made two short dramatic films, Dread Return in 1949, and The Call in 1950. These 8mm independent films, shot in San Francisco, utilized local actors and scenery.
Books by Emil Petaja
- Brief Candle (1936)
- Alpha Yes, Terra No! (1965)
- The Caves of Mars (1965)
- Saga of Lost Earths (1966)
- The Star Mill (1966)
- The Stolen Sun (1967)
- Tramontane (1967)
- Lord of the Green Planet (1967)
- Doom of the Green Planet (1968)
- The Time Twister (1968)
- The Prism (1968)
- And Flights of Angels: The Life and Legend of Hannes Bok (1968)
- The Nets of Space (1969)
- The Path Beyond the Stars (1969)
- Seed of the Dreamers (1970)
- Stardrift and Other Fantastic FlotsamStardrift and Other Fantastic FlotsamStardrift and Other Fantastic Flotsam is a collection of science fiction short stories by Emil Petaja. It was first published in 1971 by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in an edition of 1,500 copies...
(1971) - As Dream and Shadow (1972) (verse)
- Hannes Bok Memorial Showcase of Fantasy Art (1974)
- Photoplay Edition (1975)
- Saga of Lost Earths and The Star Mill (omnibus edition, 1979)
- The Stolen Sun and Tramontane (omnibus edition, 1979)