Ben Bova on Isaac Asimov

 

In an introduction to his 1977 anthology Exiles, editor Ben Bova shares an insight into one of his contributors: the esteemed author Isaac Asimov. The two writers met at a science fiction convention in the late 1950s. Early on in their friendship, Isaac Asimov began throwing work Bova's way. 

When editors came to Asimov for articles, and the writer of The Foundation Trilogy and I, Robot didn't have the time to write them, he recommended Ben Bova to the editors. Then he told Bova, "Don't worry. Whatever I know, you'll know. All you have to do is ask."

According to Ben Bova, Asimov sent so many opportunities his way over the years that he often considered giving him an agent's fee of ten percent of his earnings. Throughout the decades, Asimov always helped him out with his writing assignments. All Bova had to do was ask.

One evening, the friends were walking through Manhattan when they passed an apartment where Asimov once lived. 

Looking up at his old window, he said, with a tear in his voice, "It wasn't such a bad place. I was there fifty-six months and I wrote fifty-six books."

 

Isaac Asimov

 

While Ben Bova was working on his introduction to Exiles, Isaac Asimov was writing his two hundredth book. Asimov would go on to write or edit over five hundred. Yet despite all that:

Isaac often belittles his literary achievements. "I couldn't write good," he's said many times, "so I've written a lot."

Bova sums up his introduction by describing Asimov as a true gentleman, and the warmest-hearted man I know.

Persistence. Generosity. Humility. Loyalty. That's how Ben Bova, respected author, editor, and leader in the science fiction community, introduced Issac Asimov for his anthology Exiles. 

As a reader who grew up reading Isaac Asimov, and only knew him through his stories, I am indebted to Ben Bova for this insight into a writer I will always admire.

Dragon Dave

P.S. Ben Bova, who died of Covid-19 last year, wrote or edited over a hundred books in various genres during his own prolific writing career. Like Asimov, he won numerous awards, and was a bestselling author.