Poul Anderson

Dennis Wilson Wise (University of Arizona)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Sean Seeger (University of Essex), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 1926
Died 2001

Places

Born in United States
Active in

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Resources

Poul Anderson (1926-2001), a paragon of late Golden Age science fiction, was a prolific and award-winning author of fantasy, SF, and historical fiction, known for his fast-paced adventure-story plots, a strong knowledge of hard science, and libertarian political leanings. He won several lifetime achievement awards over his career, including election as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Early Life and Career in SF

Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Anderson spent his childhood between Texas, Denmark, and Minnesota. His father, Anton, was an engineer and a First World War veteran; his mother, Astrid, worked mostly as a librarian. Anderson’s Danish heritage would greatly influence his future work. Both he and his brother grew up bilingual, speaking Danish at home, and Poul, already fascinated by science and astronomy, would read deeply in medieval Norse...

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2131 words

Citation: Wise, Dennis Wilson. "Poul Anderson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 June 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14611, accessed 14 December 2025.]