Los Angeles is well-known for its brilliant citizens. Here, notable politicians, authors, poets, singers, actors and journalists were born, studied and worked. Today we will discuss a fellow countryman, the well-known science fiction writer Henry Kuttner. Read more about the writer’s life and work at losangeles1.one.
Childhood and education
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles. Henry’s father died relatively young when Henry was just five years old. Raising the children alone was a great challenge for the mother, so the family relocated to San Francisco. They moved back to Los Angeles when Henry was a teenager. Following graduation, the aspiring author landed a position at a literary agency. It should be emphasized that Henry had a lifelong passion for literature. Initially, he was drawn to science fiction, later, he developed an interest in horror stories.
Career development
Henry Kuttner had a watershed moment in 1936. After all, his poem “Ballad of the Gods” was published in Weird Tales magazine this year. In the same year, this journal published a young writer’s short tale “The Graveyard Rats”. It was a significant accomplishment for our fellow citizen. “The Graveyard Rats” story was immensely popular with readers, and most assumed that the name Henry Kuttner was a pen name for an experienced writer.
The editor of Weird Tales, Farnsworth Wright, denied all rumors and in one of the issues stated that Henry Kuttner was a young and brilliant writer who would achieve success in the future. Henry’s work continued to be published in the magazine. The young author also became a member of the Science Fiction League’s Los Angeles chapter. A year later, our fellow countryman collaborated with Robert Bloch, then with Catherine Moore.
Henry’s latter years were not quite pleasant. He was obliged to write nasty detective novels and erotic mystical fiction to make a living. After all, there were insufficient fees for standard stories.
Marrying Catherine Moore. A long-lasting harmonious cooperation
In July 1940, Henry married his colleague Catherine Moore. The couple became inseparable since then. They worked together as well. Catherine edited Henry’s work and vice versa. He gave dynamism and rigidity to her stories, while she added elegance and charm to his. Their publications were authored under many pen names, including Lawrence O’Donnell, Lewis Pagett, Catherine Moore and Henry Kuttner. It was a harmonious collaboration that was a huge success. They collaborated on the stories “Mimsy Were the Borogoves”, “The Ego Machine”, “Housing Problem”, “Juke-Box” and “Vintage Season”.
Henry Kuttner did not have star disease because of his success. He, on the other hand, was intensely conscious of his lack of knowledge. That is why the author and his wife enrolled at the University of Southern California. Henry completed his studies in three and a half years and started working on his master’s thesis. He also lectured at the university on literary skills. Following that, he wrote more stories, and one of them was adapted into a film in 1952. After, the pair of writers were offered work in Hollywood. However, Henry Kuttner died unexpectedly of heart failure in 1958. Catherine, Henry’s wife, completed the script that Henry began, taught his pupils for four years, wrote new stories and novellas and lived a lonely life.
This is the life narrative of the great American writer Henry Kuttner, who left a legacy of short stories and novellas. We hope that the information was useful to you and that you learned more about our hometown and our fellow resident.
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