[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 17 (Friday, February 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                           JO CLAYTON, AUTHOR

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise in this body to pay tribute 
to the gifted science fiction and fantasy writer Jo Clayton, who died 
Friday, February 13, in Portland, Oregon, two days short of her 59th 
birthday. Clayton was hospitalized in July 1996 with the multiple 
myeloma that eventually killed her. Her fight against the cancer of the 
bone marrow (plasma cells), mobilized the science fiction community and 
led to a national fund raising campaign to help her deal with the 
financial burden of her illness.
  Jo Clayton was the author of 35 published novels and many short 
stories. She wrote in both the fantasy and the SF genres. In her best 
known work, ``The Diadem'' series (1977), she anticipated by many years 
the current technology which may allow development of computerized 
components that can be integrated with a human mind. Jo Clayton's 
writing was marked by complex, beautifully realized societies set in 
exotic worlds, lyrical prose, and compelling characters, both male and 
female.
  Not counting sales of her last series, DRUMS OF CHAOS, Clayton's 
works sold over 1,250,000 copies. While in the hospital, Clayton 
impressed everyone with her courage by finishing DRUM CALLS, writing a 
number of short stories, and completing approximately half of the third 
volume in the DRUMS trilogy, titled DRUMS OF CHAOS. San Francisco 
writer Katharine Kerr, who worked with Clayton on a number of writing 
and editing projects, is Clayton's literary executor as well as good 
friend. Kerr is expected to either finish the third book herself or 
select a writer who will complete it.
  Jo Clayton's impact on the science fiction community goes far beyond 
the numbers of books sold which bear her name. Many people who didn't 
know her personally were touched by her humor, compassion and zest for 
living, even some who knew her only through the medium of electronic 
communications. It was an unexplained interruption in those 
communications which alerted friends to her health problems and led to 
her hospitalization. Those friends and others from afar supported her 
battle with the illness which took her life 21 months later. Even those 
with only fleeting contact were stirred by the courage and 
determination she displayed during that struggle.
  Her legacy will live on not only in her books but in the memories of 
her friends and fans. Toward the end of her life, her friends gathered 
in person and on-line to honor her achievements and remember her 
enjoyment of things large and small. One friend, a fellow Portlander, 
John C. Bunnell, composed a poem for that evening, which I would like 
to share with you.

                               Au Revoir

     Joy shared with friends is what we'll think of first,
     Or stories in a book too good to close.

     Comes now a twilight, bringing with it tears;
     Let no one shed them for her spirit, though,
     As after evening, morning reappears,
     Yet where the new day beckons, none here know.
     Tomorrows without number yet remain
     On printed page, or on some other plane;
     No need to weep: her words will be her rose.

  Mr. President, I submit that we all should be fortunate enough to 
have friends willing to bear witness in ways such as this.

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