Beverly Friend
(October 26, 1934 – )
Beverly Friend (née Oberfeld) is a longtime Chicagoland fan, academic and critic. She has been a regular at area conventions, Worldcons and others, participating in many an ac track, and running one for Chicon 7. A founding member of the SFRA, she organized SFRA Conferences in 1977, 1994 and 2004, and was an editor of its newsletter.
She is the author of Science Fiction: The Classroom in Orbit (A Mini-Course Text), Educational Impact, Inc., 1974. She was science-fiction critic for the Chicago Daily News.
In 1975, she wrote her Northwestern University Ph.D. dissertation on "The Science Fiction Fan Cult"; despite input from local fen, it’s riddled with errors and misconceptions about fandom.
N3F new member profile from TNFF 35 in 1975:
Teacher: has conducted worksohps on stf for the National Teachers of English Kalamazoo, Mich. Of Wisc, At Milwaukee. Will lead workshops in '75 at Ottawa U at Ottawa, Kansas and Florida Int. U. Aughored Science fiction in the Classroom in orbit. Reviewer and Stf Columist Panorama Mag, the English Journal, Media and Method. Dissertation at Northwestern U in June is 'Science Fiction and the English Curriculum' Editor of Intermission Magazine, Hull House. Internation Industries, House organ Book Ink. She has held workshops all over too numerous to mention.. this gal is real talented. A wonder!
Beverly is an emeritus professor of English at Oakland Community College. She plays drums in a klezmer band. She was married to the late academic James Friend, with whom she had two daughters, Tracy and Marla.
| Person | 1934— |
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