Episode 019: John Tibbetts' Interview with Robert Bloch

AboutSF AUDIO

Episode 019 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of an interview John C. Tibbetts conducted with horror, mystery, and science fiction writer Robert Bloch. If you have not been following the podcasts, John Tibbetts, associate professor in the department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Kansas, provided donations of audio interviews with luminaries in the fields of Science Fiction and Fantasy, including Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl and Stephen King, among others, to the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction in Lawrence, KS. The interviews, gathered during the course of a lifetime of reading, collecting, and writing about Science Fiction, include conversations with Frederick Pohl, Poul Anderson, Jack Williamson, L. Sprague De Camp, and many more. Robert Bloch was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle, authors who received mentoring and guidance from H.P. Lovecraft. He began his professional career at the age of 15, with the Lovecraftian story "The Thing," published in The Quill in 1932. Bloch is famous not only for his horror tales, but the book Psycho, later adapted into film by Alfred Hitchcock. Bloch is also well-known for his story, "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," casting the serial killer as an immortal, and a Star Trek episode with similar themes, "Wolf in the Fold." In this episode, Bloch talks about his early communication with Lovecraft, the development of his career, and his experiences writing for television.