C. M. (Cyril M.) Kornbluth

Born in New York City on July 2, 1923, Cyril M. Kornbluth became a published science fiction writer while still a teenager. He was part of the Futurians, the influential New York fan-and-writer circle that also included figures such as Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl.

Kornbluth became known for fiction with a tough, energetic edge and a darkly comic sense of the future. Reference works describe his writing as satirical and acerbic, and he is especially remembered for stories and novels that took aim at conformity, consumer culture, and the weaknesses people carry into every imagined tomorrow.

He also wrote frequently with Frederik Pohl, and that partnership produced some of his best-known work. Kornbluth died young, on March 21, 1958, in Waverly, New York, but his reputation has lasted because his stories remain vivid, clever, and unsettling in all the right ways.