The Foundation of S.F. Success

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"The Foundation of S.F. Success" is a 1954 pastiche by American writer Isaac Asimov, of the patter song "If you're anxious for to shine" from the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Patience , describing the easy way to become a successful writer. Asimov borrows Gilbert's rhythm and rhyme schemes in the song. [1] It includes the lines: With a tiny bit of cribbin' from the works of Edward Gibbon and that Greek, Thucydides , in which Asimov is lampooning himself, referring to the inspiration for the Foundation stories. [1] It was the first poem that Asimov ever sold. [1]

Contents

The piece was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1954. [2] It was later included in Asimov's short story collection Earth is Room Enough (1957) and his The Complete Stories, vol. 1 (1990).

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Asimov, Janet. It's Been a Good Life, Prometheus Books (2009) ISBN 1615921931
  2. Asimov, Isaac. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , October 1954, p. 69