Parke Godwin (January 28, 1929 – June 19, 2013) was an American writer. He won the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Best Novella in 1982 for his story " The Fire When It Comes". He was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1929. He was the grandson of Harry Post Godwin.

Works

Godwin is known for his novels of legendary figures placed in realistic historical settings, written in a lyrical yet precise prose style and sardonic humor. His retelling of parts of the Arthur legend, ''Firelord'' in 1980, ''Beloved Exile'' in 1984, and ''The Lovers: The Legend of Tristan and Yseult'' in 1999 (under the pseudonym Kate Hawks) is set in the 5th century during the collapse of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and his reinterpretation of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

(''Sherwood'', 1991, and ''Robin and the King'', 1993) takes place during the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

and features kings

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

and

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

as major characters. His other well-known works include '' Waiting for the Galactic Bus'' (1988) and its sequel, '' The Snake Oil Wars'', which is also known as '' The Snake Oil Variations'', in 1989. These were humorous critiques of American

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

and religion. His short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. His short story "Influencing the Hell out of Time and Teresa Golowitz" was the basis of an episode of the television series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. Godwin was also at various times a radio operator, a research technician, a professional actor, an advertising man, a dishwasher and a maitre d' hotel. In 2011, he was the Guest of Honor at the World Fantasy Con. He was placed in a close care facility in 2012 due to a decline in his long- and short-term memory. He died in 2013.Parke Godwin (1929–2013)
''

File 770 ''File 770'' is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published and administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first w ...

'', Mike Glyer.

Reception

Reviewing Godwin's novel ''Sherwood'' (1991), James Idema stated "Once into Parke Godwin's absorbing and highly original account of the ancient story, an appealing new Robin Hood will come to life... With impressive skill and vivid imagination, he portrays a hero, from childhood to young manhood, who is altogether credible in human terms".James Idema,
A New Robin Hood"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. August 6, 1991.Retrieved July 9, 2019.

Bibliography

* ''Darker Places'', 1973 * ''A Memory of Lions'', 1976 * ''A Cold Blue Light'', 1983 (with Marvin Kaye) (

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compa ...

, 1983) * ''The Fire When It Comes'', 1984 (collection of short stories) (Hugo nominee) * ''The Last Rainbow'', 1985 * ''A Truce with Time'', 1988 * ''Invitation to Camelot'', 1988 (editor) * ''Limbo Search'', 1995 * ''The Tower of Beowulf'', 1995 * ''Lord of Sunset'', 1998 * ''The Night You Could Hear Forever'', 1999 (collection of short stories and one play, CD-ROM release only) * ''Watch By Moonlight'', 2001 (as Kate Hawks) * ''Prince of Nowhere'', 2011

The Masters of Solitude series

* '' The Masters of Solitude'', 1978 (with Marvin Kaye) * '' Wintermind'', 1982 (with Marvin Kaye) The novel ''A Cold Blue Light'', 1983 (with Marvin Kaye), is sometimes listed as the third volume of the trilogy, but is unrelated. The third volume, ''Singer Among The Nightingales,'' was partially written by Godwin and Kaye before their respective deaths, but never completed.

Firelord series

* '' Firelord'', 1980 * '' Beloved Exile'', 1984 * '' The Lovers: The Legend of Trystan and Yseult'', 1999 (as Kate Hawks) The ''Firelord'' books deal with the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

and events before and after the time of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. '' Firelord'' is about Arthur's rise and his relationship with his powerful wife,

Guenevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an Early Middle Ages, early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in t ...

. '' Beloved Exile'' follows Guenevere after Arthur's death as different factions fight for control of Britain. Godwin's third novel featuring Arthurian material, ''The Lovers: The Legend of Trystan and Yseult'', was published in 1999 under the pseudonym Kate Hawks.

Snake Oil series

* '' Waiting for the Galactic Bus'', 1988 * ''The Snake Oil Wars: or Scheherazade Ginsberg Strikes Again'', 1989 (also published under the title ''The Snake Oil Variations'')

Robin Hood series

* ''Sherwood'', 1991. Historical novel with fantasy elements. * ''Robin and the King'', 1993 (also published under the title ''Return to Nottingham: A Novel'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, Parke 1929 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American historical novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of modern Arthurian fiction American male short story writers World Fantasy Award–winning writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers P 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers