Zenna Henderson

Infobox Writer
name = Zenna Henderson


caption =
pseudonyms =
birthdate = Birth date|1917|11|1
birthplace = Tucson, Arizona
deathdate = May 11, 1983
deathplace = Tucson, Arizona
occupation = Teacher, novelist, short story author
genre = Science fiction, Fantasy
movement = Science Fiction, Fantasy
notableworks = "Pilgr

debut_works = "Come On, Wagon!"
influences =
influenced = Orson Scott Card
Kathy Tyerscite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Mormon Literature Database - Henderson, Zenna Chlarson | work = | publisher = Brigham Young University | date = 2003 | url = http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=2767 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-28]
website =
footnotes =

Zenna Chlarson Henderson (November 1, 1917 – May 11, 1983) was an American elementary school teacher who wrote a series of fantasy novellas and short stories.

Biography

She was born in 1917 in Tucson, Arizona,cite book | last = Smith | first = Curtis C. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers | publisher = St. Martin's | date = 1981 | location = New York | pages = | url = http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/henderson/henderson_bio.html | doi = | id = ] the daughter of Louis Rudolph Chlarson and Emily Vernell Rowley. She received a bachelor of arts in education from Arizona State College in 1940, and taught school in the Tucson area. She also taught in France, as well as to Japanese-American children in a Japanese relocation camp in Sacaton, Arizona, during World War II. She married Richard Harry Henderson in 1943, but they were divorced seven years later.

Henderson was one of the first female science fiction authors, and never used a male pen name. Henderson's portrayal of strong, capable female protagonists is not unique in the 1950s and 1960s, but she stands out as one of the most prominent writers to portray well-adjusted women in positions of power and authority, such as education, with consistent success. She began reading science fiction at age 12 from magazines such as "Astounding Stories", "Amazing Stories", and fantasy from "Weird Tales".cite book | last = Davin | first = Eric Leif | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965 | publisher = Lexington Books | date = | location = Lanham, Maryland | pages = p. 76 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=ZoNDebTvUnsC&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=%22zenna+henderson%22+%22paul+walker%22&source=web&ots=gjIlmMuYHA&sig=22yuQjw_90JKWtSn7r4QYNGpG38#PPA76,M1 | doi = | id = ]

The standard reference "Contemporary Authors" lists her religion as Methodist, though there is no known record of her being a member of any Methodist church. She was born and baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But after her marriage, she was no longer a churchgoing Latter-day Saint, though she never renounced her membership. In an interview, she stated that she often included religious themes because her readers, particularly her young readers, liked them. She felt it was good to offer a word for "Our Sponsor" in her stories. In her later years, she attended an independent charismatic fellowship.

Zenna Henderson died of cancer in 1983 in Tucson, Arizona, and was buried in the St. David Cemetery [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = FindAGrave.com - Zenna Chlarson Henderson | work = | publisher = FindAGrave.com | date = 2007 | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20691790 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] , St. David, Arizona.

Works

Most of her stories focus on the theme of being different, and often feature children or young people. Most are concerned with "The People", humanoid beings from a faraway planet who are forced to emigrate to (among other places) Earth when their home world is destroyed in a natural disaster. Scattered mostly throughout the American Southwest during their landing before 1900, they are set apart by their desire to preserve their home culture, including their religious and spiritual beliefs. Their unusual abilities ("Gifts") include telepathy, telekinesis, prophecy and healing, mostly manipulated through the "Signs and Persuasions". The stories describe groups of The People, as well as lonely isolated individuals, most often as they attempt to find communities and remain distinct in a world that does not understand them. This aspect of individuality was a common theme in most of Henderson's writing.

Beginning with "Ararat" (1952), Henderson's People stories appeared in magazines and anthologies, as well as the novelized "Pilgr
cite web | last = Wands | first = D. C. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Bibliography of Zenna Henderson's Books | work = | publisher = Fantastic Fiction | date = May 22, 2007 | url = http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/zenna-henderson/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-28 ]

Unlike the People stories, a more bitter, angry tone can be seen in stories collected in two volumes, "The Anything Box" and "Holding Wonder". She touches on mental illness in several tales, including obsessive-compulsive disorder in "Swept and Garnished", and agoraphobia in "Incident After". In "One Of Them", a woman's latent telepathic powers cause her to lose her identity as she unwittingly probes the minds of her co-workers.

In the short story "The Closest School", a xenophobic school board president reaches outside himself to admit a gentle little girl who happens to be a furry, purple 14-eyed alien.

Cultural impact

In 1971, Henderson's story "Pottage" was made into an ABC-TV Movie, "The People", starring William Shatner, Kim Darby and Diane Varsi, and following the story of a group of humanoid extraterrestrials who live in an isolated rural community, disguised as a religious commune. [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The People (1972) (TV) | work = | publisher = Internet Movie Database, Inc. | date = 2007 | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069072/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-28 ] It was the directorial debut for John Korty and was produced by his sometime partner Francis Ford Coppola. [cite news|title=Film studios beckon but director John Korty prefers freedom of TV|date=1995-04-21|work=San Jose Mercury News|author=Miller, Ron]

The dance band Anything Box took its name from Henderson's book. [cite news|title=Dance band Anything Box starts anew with 'Hope'"|work=Fayetteville Observer|date=1993-02-05|author=Futch, Michael]

Awards

She was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1959 for her novelette "Captivity", and remains a favorite author of many science fiction fans worldwide, despite the fact that her books were long out of print until the 1995 release of "Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson", published by the New England Science Fiction Association Press.

Bibliography

* "Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson" (ISBN 0-915368-58-7)
* "The Anything Box" (1965)
* "Holding Wonder" (1972)

Notes

References

*cite web | last = Wands | first = D. C. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Bibliography of Zenna Henderson's Books | work = | publisher = Fantastic Fiction | date = May 22, 2007 | url = http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/zenna-henderson/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-28

External links

* [http://www.adherents.com/lit/bk_Zenna.html Zenna Henderson Home Page] Unofficial fan page with many commentaries and reviews
* [http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=2767 Mormon Literature Database]
*
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069072/ The People] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://helixsf.com/archives/Apr07/pastmasters.htm Past Masters - Zenna Henderson] at Helix SF