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HUGO Winning Author Daniel Keyes Has Died

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-am-afraid-not-of-life-or-death-or-nothingness-but-of-wasting-it-as-if-I-had-never-been dept.

camperdave writes Author Daniel Keyes has died at 86. Keyes is best known for his Hugo Award winning classic SF story Flowers for Algernon and the film version Charly. Keyes was born August 9, 1927 in New York. He worked variously as an editor, comics writer, fashion photographer, and teacher before joining the faculty of Ohio University in 1966, where he taught as a professor of English and creative writing, becoming professor emeritus in 2000. He married Aurea Georgina Vaquez in 1952, who predeceased him in 2013; they had two daughters.

6 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Sad, but... by able1234au · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Sad, but he was 86. I am just not sure of the "News for Nerds" angle here...

  2. Great Author by relisher · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I remember reading this book in 8th grade. In all honesty, this is the only book I remember reading middle school. This may have been the first book to physically effect an emotion in me, and I loved it. And now, I feel an emotion again, a feeling of sadness because the author has passed away. Daniel Keyes will truly be missed, may he Rest in Peace.

  3. Sometimes one story is enough... by jeffb+(2.718) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have to admit that I haven't read any of his other stories, but Flowers was certainly an important one.

    When I first read it, I was a smart/nerdy kid, and I thought that being smart was the most important thing in the world; naturally, something that could make you smarter would be the best thing imaginable, and then having that blessing taken back would be the worst. Flowers planted a seed of the idea that increased intelligence (whatever that means, really) wouldn't necessarily be an unalloyed blessing.

    1. Re:Sometimes one story is enough... by Vyse+of+Arcadia · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I got much the same out of Flowers when I first read it in middle school, and also learned a little about what sorts of things can make a good book. It was the first book I ever enjoyed in which the protagonist made questionable decisions, experienced things that never got explained, and didn't save the world. Charlie was the first character I encountered that I can recall who acted like a person and had nuances. It really broadened my horizons.

  4. Placing flowers on Algernon's grave by ZeroSerenity · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Go in peace friend.

    --
    For those who seek perfection there can be no rest on this side of the grave.
  5. Flowers for Algernon by Oligonicella · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That has been my all time favorite story from the first reading.