Brian Aldiss and the Natural World
Author of over forty novels and numerous short stories, poems, and plays, Aldiss is perhaps best known for his short story 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long' (1969), which formed the basis of the film A. I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Beyond his fiction Aldiss tirelessly promoted science fiction through his work as a critic, historian, anthologist, and public figure.
Aldiss viewed science fiction to be at its core about the interaction of people and their environment. In his influential history of science fiction, Billion Year Spree (1973), he wrote that at its best, the genre explores humanity 'in relation to [its] changing surroundings and abilities: what might loosely be called environmental fiction.' Aldiss's fiction returns again and again to this theme: the complex and fragile relationship between humans and the natural world.
In a time of impending climate catastrophe, Aldiss's work speaks to us of the bonds that tie us to the world around us and reminds us of the need to care for, protect, and maintain the environment, as much for our own survival as for the survival of the ecosystems that sustain us.
Image credit: photograph of Brian W. Aldiss by Wendy Aldiss.
Brian Aldiss and the Natural World
Author of over forty novels and numerous short stories, poems, and plays, Aldiss is perhaps best known for his short story 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long' (1969), which formed the basis of the film A. I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Beyond his fiction Aldiss tirelessly promoted science fiction through his work as a critic, historian, anthologist, and public figure.
Aldiss viewed science fiction to be at its core about the interaction of people and their environment. In his influential history of science fiction, Billion Year Spree (1973), he wrote that at its best, the genre explores humanity 'in relation to [its] changing surroundings and abilities: what might loosely be called environmental fiction.' Aldiss's fiction returns again and again to this theme: the complex and fragile relationship between humans and the natural world.
In a time of impending climate catastrophe, Aldiss's work speaks to us of the bonds that tie us to the world around us and reminds us of the need to care for, protect, and maintain the environment, as much for our own survival as for the survival of the ecosystems that sustain us.
Image credit: photograph of Brian W. Aldiss by Wendy Aldiss.
Explore the Exhibition
The items in the exhibition are drawn from the Science Fiction Collections held in the Special Collections and Archives department at the University of Liverpool and include materials from the Brian Aldiss Library, archival items from the section of the Brian W. Aldiss archive held at the University of Liverpool, and books and magazines from the Science Fiction Foundation Collection.
The exhibition traces Aldiss's ecological thinking in four sections each of which looks at a different era of the author's life and career.
Click the thumbnails below to explore material from each period:
Copyright Information
All of the items featured in the 'Brian Aldiss and the Natural World' exhibition are physical artefacts cared for by the Science Fiction Collections. Descriptions and images of the items are provided here for purposes of illustration in support of the exhibition of said items for non-commercial public benefit and education. Images are provided sufficient to enable understanding of the accompanying text but their usage seeks to remain proportional, insubstantial, and fair. The exhibition features text that examines and analyses the items in detail. Limited quotation is provided for the purposes of criticism and review, as permitted by Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988). If you are a rights holder and feel copyright has been infringed, please refer to our Takedown Statement and Procedure.
Copyright Information
All of the items featured in the 'Brian Aldiss and the Natural World' exhibition are physical artefacts cared for by the Science Fiction Collections. Descriptions and images of the items are provided here for purposes of illustration in support of the exhibition of said items for non-commercial public benefit and education. Images are provided sufficient to enable understanding of the accompanying text but their usage seeks to remain proportional, insubstantial, and fair. The exhibition features text that examines and analyses the items in detail. Limited quotation is provided for the purposes of criticism and review, as permitted by Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988). If you are a rights holder and feel copyright has been infringed, please refer to our Takedown Statement and Procedure.