Burns, Alan
Entry updated 2 November 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1929-2013) UK lawyer, academic and author, long resident in the USA, where he taught creative writing at the University of Minnesota; in the UK again after about 1980. Some of his Fabulations at novel length, such as Europe After the Rain (1965), Celebrations (1967), Babel (1969) and Dreamerika!: A Surrealist Fantasy (1972), utilize sf instruments to grapple with a surreal vision of a modern world toppling jaggedly into chaos. His techniques on occasion resemble those adopted by J G Ballard during the 1960s.
With Charles Sugnet he co-edited The Imagination on Trial: British and American Writers Discuss Their Working Methods (anth 1981), a collection of interviews whose subjects include Ballard, John Gardner, Michael Moorcock and Burns himself.
Although an excerpt from Babel appeared in the June 1969 New Worlds, the Alan Burns who published the essay "NEZFEZ – 1" in Authentic Science Fiction #53 (January 1955) and the story "Citizen's Rights" in Authentic Science Fiction #61 (September 1955), and the Alan Burns who published further short sf 1962-1965 in New Worlds, Science Fantasy and the UK Science Fiction Adventures, seem to be a different author if not two different authors. This is confirmed as far as New Worlds is concerned by the June 1969 editorial, describing the Burns who is the subject of this entry as "a much respected young novelist making his first appearance in New Worlds with extracts from his latest book, Babel." [JC/DRL]
Alan Burns
born London: 29 December 1929
died London: December 2013
works (selected)
- Europe After the Rain (London: John Calder, 1965) [hb/from Max Ernst, "Europe After the Rain"]
- Celebrations (London: Calder and Boyars, 1967) [hb/Brian Catchpole]
- Babel (London: Calder and Boyars, 1969) [portion first appeared June 1969 New Worlds: hb/]
- Dreamerika!: A Surrealist Fantasy (London: Calder and Boyars, 1972) [hb/Vanessa Strong]
works as editor
- The Imagination on Trial: British and American Writers Discuss Their Working Methods (London: Allison and Busby, 1981) with Charles Sugnet [nonfiction: anth: Interviews: hb/R B Kitaj]
links
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