II. THOMAS BURNETT SWANN:
LITERARY CRITICISM


Alotton, Marc, “Chez Swann,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2007 French edition of LE PHÉNIX VERT (GREEN PHOENIX).

___________, “L’Enéide selon Burnett Swann,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2007 French edition of LE PEUPLE DE LA MER (QUEENS WALK IN THE DUSK).


___________, “Rome ou le désenchantement de la nature,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2006 French edition of LA DAME DES ABEILLES (LADY OF THE BEES).

Amos, Ken, “An Interview with Thomas Burnett Swann,” The Tyrrean Chronicles #4 (Louisville, KY fanzine), June 13, 1974. The only interview with Swann ever published.

Barrington, Hermester, “Swann Was the Poet Laureate of a Fragile Paradise,” review of THE MINOTAUR TRILOGY, first posted 21 February, 2001 at Amazon.com; the review can be accessed at this page of the author’s web site or at this page at Powells.com.

Carter, Lin, IMAGINARY WORLDS: THE ART OF FANTASY. Ballantine Books, 1973; chapter 8, “The Young Magicians: Some Modern Masters of Fantasy,” pp. 168-9.



_________, THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY STORIES: 3. DAW, 1977; Carter’s annual essay on the state of fantasy takes note of Swann’s death.



Clute, John, 4500-word entry about Swann in SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: CONTEMPORARY FANTASY AND HORROR, edited by Richard Bleiler. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2002, 2nd edition, 2 volume set. A previous edition, SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: FANTASY AND HORROR (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1985) edited by E.F. Bleiler, contained a 4000-word entry on Swann on pp. 1091-1103.



Collins, Robert A., THOMAS BURNETT SWANN: A BRIEF CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY. Florida Atlantic University, 1979. 30-page booklet with biography, chronology and bibliography of Swann’s work. Cover illustration by George Barr with inset photograph of Swann.

______________, “Thomas Burnett Swann: A Retrospective,” Fantasy #57 (Florida Atlantic University), March 1983, pp. 6-9. Includes five photographs, two illustrations by George Barr, and one illustration by Jeff Jones.


______________, “Swann on Swann: The Author’s Conscious Use of Fantasy,” Fantasy #58 (Florida Atlantic University), April 1983, pp. 18-20. Includes seven photographs.

______________, “Thomas Burnett Swann: A Critical Introduction” in THE MINOTAUR TRILOGY by Thomas Burnett Swann. M.D. Hargreaves, hardcover ASIN: 0964147610, 1996.



Currey, L.W., “(Extract from a bibliographic) Work in Progress: Thomas Burnett Swann,” New York Review of Science Fiction, March 1989.

Darlington, Andrew, “Thomas Burnett Swann: Into the Wander Wood,” The Mentor #94, March 1999. Reproduced at the blog Eight Miles Higher with some large magazine cover scans and photos of Swann.

De Lint, Charles, “Father of the Not-World,” introduction to THE MINOTAUR TRILOGY by Thomas Burnett Swann. M.D. Hargreaves, hardcover ASIN: 0964147610, 1996.

DeLuca, Grover, “The Manner of Roses: The Works of Thomas Burnett Swann,” Mesmeridian #2, Summer 1973 (fanzine published by Dennis McHaney).



Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud blog review, “HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN, a mythopoetic extravaganza that still moves me to tears,” dated February 11, 2017.

Fakhouri, Anne, “A savourer avec un bon thé,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2006 French edition of LE FORÊT D’ENVERS-MONDE (THE NOT-WORLD).

____________, “Merci!” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2007 French edition of LE PHÉNIX VERT (GREEN PHOENIX).

Fredericks, S. Casey, “The Fantastic Pastoral of Thomas Burnett Swann” in THE SCOPE OF THE FANTASTIC—THEORY, TECHNIQUE, MAJOR AUTHORS: Selected Essays from the First International Conference on the Fantastic in Literature and Film, ed. Robert A. Collins & Howard D. Pearce. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT & London, 1985; pp. 201-5. Swann is also referenced and quoted in the introduction by Eric S. Rabkin, and the book is dedicated “To Margaret Gaines Swann, patron of the International Conference on the Fantastic and founder of The Thomas Burnett Swann fund. Without her generous support, the occasion for these studies could not have occurred. Lovers of the fantastic everywhere owe her a measure of gratitude.”

Griffin, Bryan, review of WILL-O-THE-WISP by Thomas Burnett Swann, Vector Review Supplement (British Science Fiction Assn), Feb 1977.

Hargreaves, M.D., “Thomas Burnett Swann: An International Bibliography” in THE MINOTAUR TRILOGY by Thomas Burnett Swann. M.D. Hargreaves; hardcover ASIN: 0964147610, 1996.

López, Alfredo Lara, “Las Fantasías paganas de Thomas Burnett Swann,” Ad astra 5, ediciones Ad astra; colección Revista electrónica, número 5, edición 1ª de junio de 1996. (Soporte: Disco 3'5 DOS, tamaño 095 X 100 mm., 29 páginas.)

Page, Gerald W., “Remembering Tom Swann,” in QUEENS WALK IN THE DUSK by Thomas Burnett Swann. Heritage Press, Inc., Forest Park, GA.

Page, Jerry (Gerald W.), “Thomas Burnett Swann,” Lore 104 (Atlanta, GA fanzine), Feb, 1966. Reprinted in the omnibus collection A BODY OF LORE (Atlanta, GA: Jerry Page, publisher), 1988.

Roehm, Bob, “Thomas Burnett Swann,” Science Fiction Review, 5, No. 3 (1976), p. 5.



_________, “Thoman Burnett Swann Dies” and “Thomas Burnett Swann: An Appreciation,” Locus Magazine #189, May 30, 1976.

_________, “Autobiography of a Novel: The Development of Thomas Burnett Swann’s THE GODS ABIDE” and “A Thomas Burnett Swann Timeline,” Nightshade #5 (Louisville, KY fanzine), April 1, 1979, pp. 20-24.



Ruaud, André-François, “La chaleur et la beauté,” postscript to LE PHÉNIX VERT, Les moutons électriques, 2004, pp. 247-253.

___________________, “Les petits maîtres de la S.-F.: Thomas Burnett Swann: le passé pour province,” Bifrost nº 9, juillet 1998; reprinted in PANORAMA ILLUSTRATÉ DE LA FANTASY & DU MERVEILLEUX, Les moutons électriques, 2004, pp. 233-237.

___________________, “Traversée du soleil,” preface to LA TRILOGIE DU MINOTAUR, Gallimard/Folio-SF, 2005, pp. 9-22.

Schlobin, Roger Clark, “Thomas Burnett Swann’s Nixies: Pain And Pleasure,” Extrapolation, Spring 1983: pp. 5-12; delivered at the Second International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, 19 March 1981.

_________________, “The Minotaur Trilogy by Thomas Burnett Swann,” in THE SURVEY OF MODERN FANTASY LITERATURE, ed. Frank N. Magill and Keith Neilson. La Canada, CA: Salem Press, 1983. III, pp. 1029-33.

Searles, Baird, “From Asutra to Zardoz,” an installment of Searles’s “What If?” column in The Village Voice, June 13, 1974; the brief passage regarding Swann is quoted here in its entirety: “HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN (DAW paperback). Thomas Burnett Swann’s neo-romantic fantasies of the past are unique. He uses the stuff of myth (here, for instance, sirens, cyclops, and the Old Testament) but with twists and inventions of his own. This one is a version of the love affair between David and Jonathan, and his best yet.”

Stephensen-Payne, Phil, review of DAY OF THE MINOTAUR by Thomas Burnett Swann, Paperback Parlour (British Science Fiction Assn), June 1977.

___________________, review of WILL-OTHE-WISP by Thomas Burnett Swann, Paperback Parlour (British Science Fiction Assn), Feb 1977.

Sturgeon, Theodore, “If...”, book review column in The New York Times Book Review, Sept. 8, 1974; the brief passage regarding Swann is quoted here in its entirety (including the incorrect word order of the book’s title!): “HOW THE MIGHTY ARE FALLEN (Daw Books, 95 cents) is the latest work of a remarkable writer named Thomas Burnett Swann. He writes blissfully and beautifully separated from trend and fashion; he writes his own golden thing his own way—of Biblical people and the mysteries and gods of their time and essence as real things. I can see his work today capturing some youngster as the timeless beauty of William Morris enchanted me, too many years ago. His new book is, despite the author’s disclaimer, a more exquisite treatment of the David and Jonathan story than Gladys Schmitt’s.”

Swann, Thomas Burnett,
“The Borrowed Bear,” a brief, personal appreciation of his sources and inspirations, The WSFA Journal (Washington Science Fiction Association), No. 60, Sept 1968; reprinted (and accessible online) in The WSFA Journal, Nov. 1987.

___________________, The Old Gods Never Die: The Wisdom of Thomas Burnett Swann, an online collection of aphorisms and epigrams gleaned from Swann’s writings and assembled by Hermester Barrington.

Vincent, Jérôme, “A la redécouverte d’un grand moment de fantasy,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2005 French edition of LA TRILOGIE DU MINOTAURE (THE MINOTAUR TRILOGY).

_____________, “Fantasy mythologique,” actusf.com, undated; a review of the 2006 French edition of LA DAME DES ABEILLES (LADY OF THE BEES).

Waggoner, Diana, THE HILLS OF FARAWAY: A GUIDE TO FANTASY. Atheneum, 1978; “Thomas Burnett Swann,” pp. 276-7; brief critical synopses of nine Swann books.



Wagner, T.M., reviews of MINIKINS OF YAM, GREEN PHOENIX, and CRY SILVER BELLS by Thomas Burnett Swann, at the website SFReviews.net.

Walker, Hugh (pseudonym of Hubert Strassl), preface to PRINZESSIN DER HAIE (Princess of the Sharks), German-language edition of THE GOAT WITHOUT HORNS by Thomas Burnett Swann, Pabel/Moewig Verlagsunion, 12/ 1979, Terra Fantasy series #68.



Yarrow, Ralph, “Perception and Rites of Passage in Lawrence Durrell’s THE DARK LABYRINTH and Thomas Burnett Swann’s THE DAY OF THE MINOTAUR.” SPECTRUM OF THE FANTASTIC: Selected Essays From the Sixth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, ed. Donald Palumbo. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988. pp. 165-73.

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