Chad Oliver

Chad Oliver
Chad Oliver c, 1953
Chad Oliver c, 1953
Born30 March 1928
Cincinnati, Ohio
Died9 August 1993 (age 65)
Austin, Texas
Occupation
  • Writer
  • anthropologist
  • professor
Period1940s–1980s
GenreScience fiction, Western

Symmes Chadwick Oliver (30 March 1928 – 9 August 1993) was an American anthropologist and science fiction and Western writer.[1] He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a surgeon and his mother a nurse. When he was young he had rheumatic fever and as a result spent considerable time at home, a time during which he became interested in science fiction. He spent most of his life in Austin, Texas where he was twice chairman of the department of anthropology of the University of Texas. He was also one of the founders of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop. He first attended the university in 1946 as a student and, apart from a brief sojourn to UCLA to obtain his Ph.D., he remained there in some capacity until his death, 47 years later.

He first had a story published in 1950. His science fiction is generally classified as anthropological science fiction because he often used insights from his professional work to inform his fictional writing.[1]

An avid fly fisherman, Professor Oliver supported the Guadalupe River Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the cold water fishery downstream from Canyon Dam. Numerous scenes in his writings made reference to actions and experiences related to fishing in moving water (e.g. wading a river in "Shores of Another Sea").

  1. ^ a b Collins, S. G (2004). "Scientifically Valid and Artistically True: Chad Oliver, Anthropology, and Anthropological SF". Science-Fiction Studies. 31: 243–263. ISSN 0091-7729. OCLC 109862666.