Editing John Norman

{{short description|American professor and writer}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox writer
| name          = John Norman
| image         =
| pseudonym     =
| birth_name    = John Frederick Lange Jr.
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1931|6|3}}
| birth_place   = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| resting_place =
| occupation    = Professor of [[philosophy]], writer
| education     = {{plainlist|
* Bachelor of Arts
* Master of Arts
* Doctor of Philosophy
}}
| alma_mater    = {{plainlist|
* [[University of Nebraska]]
* [[University of Southern California]]
* [[Princeton University]]
}}
| period        =
| genre         = [[Science fantasy]]<br />[[Sword and planet]]
| subject       =
| movement      =
| notableworks  = ''[[Gor]]'' novel series
| spouse        = {{marriage|Bernice L. Green|1956}}
| partner       =
| children      = 3
| awards        =
| signature     =
| signature_alt =
| website       =
| portaldisp    =
}}
'''John Frederick Lange Jr.''' (born June 3, 1931) is an American writer who, as '''John Norman''', has authored the ''[[Gor]]'' series of [[science fantasy]] novels. Norman was also a philosophy professor.

== Early life and education ==
Lange was born in [[Chicago]], Illinois, to John Frederick Lange and Almyra D. Lange (née Taylor).

He began his academic career in the early 1950s, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the [[University of Nebraska]] in 1953, and his Master of Arts degree from the [[University of Southern California]] in 1957. 

==Personal life==
Lange married Bernice L. Green on January 14, 1956 while he was still a student at USC. The couple have three children: John, David, and Jennifer.

== Academic career ==
Lange earned his PhD in 1963 from [[Princeton University]]. His dissertation was named: "In defence of ethical naturalism: an examination of certain aspects of naturalistic fallacy, with particular attention to the logic of an open question argument". Lange summed it up in an interview by saying "if one cannot make sense of morality within some sort of satisfying, natural context, then one is likely to end up with no morality, which is less than societally reassuring, or is likely to end up with a competitive plethora of moralities in which ninety-nine percent of the world's population is convinced that the other ninety-nine percent is unclean, stupid, uninformed, vicious, depraved, in need of coercive correction, and such. That too, seems less than reassuring."<ref name="PolygraffInterview">{{Citation |author=Polygraff Staff |year=2010 |title=An Exclusive Interview With John Norman, Author of the Gor Series of Novels. |periodical=[[Polygraff]] |place=Montreal |publisher=Polymancer Studios, Inc. |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=47–53 |issn= 	1918-655X |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/41530641/Polygraff-Magazine |access-date=2010-12-15}}</ref>

He was a professor at [[Queens College]] of the [[City University of New York]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://qcpages.qc.edu/Philo/tf.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208203726/http://qcpages.qc.edu/Philo/tf.htm|url-status=dead|title=Philosophy Page Full Time Faculty<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=February 8, 2007}}</ref> before retirement.

== Writing career ==
Norman's fiction attained popularity in the 1970s and early 1980s with an estimated 6<ref>{{Citation|title=Press Release #1|url=http://www.rdrop.com/~/wyvern/data/ve.pr.html|access-date=2011-01-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514162828/http://www.rdrop.com/~/wyvern/data/ve.pr.html|archive-date=May 14, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> to 12<ref>{{Citation|title=John Norman – Libertarian |url=http://server.theadvocates.org/celebrities/john-norman.html |access-date=2015-03-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203163326/http://server.theadvocates.org/celebrities/john-norman.html |archive-date=February 3, 2012 }}</ref> million copies sold.

John Norman's [[Gor|Gorean Saga]] is a long-running series of adventure [[science fantasy]] novels, starting in December 1966 with ''Tarnsman of Gor''. The series was put on hold after its twenty-fifth installment, ''Magicians of Gor'', in 1988, when [[DAW Books|DAW]] refused to publish its successor, ''Witness of Gor''. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a trade publishing outlet, the series was brought back into print in 2001 with the publication of ''Witness of Gor''. Norman has also produced a separate science fiction series, the ''Telnarian Histories'', plus three other fiction works, five non-fiction works, and a collection of thirty short stories.

Norman has said that the three major influences on his work are [[Homer]], [[Sigmund Freud|Freud]], and [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzsche]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://io9.com/5783833/john-norman-the-philosopher-who-created-the-barbaric-world-of-gor|title = John Norman, the philosophy professor who created the barbaric world of Gor| date=March 22, 2011 }}</ref>

== Themes ==
According to Norman, his Gor books are [[science fiction]] or adventure fantasy works which are also "intellectual, philosophical, and psychological novels".<ref>[http://io9.gizmodo.com/5783833/john-norman-the-philosopher-who-created-the-barbaric-world-of-gor John Norman, the philosophy professor who created the barbaric world of Gor iO9]. March 22, 2011.</ref> His fiction depicts fantastic worlds where [[Male dominance (BDSM)|male-dominated]] [[bondage (sexual)|bondage]] relationships are natural and widely practiced and respected culturally, whereas characteristics of modern society are criticized and philosophical themes are explored, especially from a [[Nietzsche]]an view.

Although the bondage in his ''[[Imaginative Sex]]'' guide is directed to sexual practices, the bondage and slavery presented on "Gor" follows along the lines of societal or legal slavery; a common way of life as reflected in ancient Rome and other societies. While the philosophy presented is unquestionably that of male dominance, male characters are themselves occasionally enslaved by powerful females. In an interview<ref name="PolygraffInterview"/> with ''[[Polygraff]]'' magazine, Norman stated that he believes that it is obvious that all societies are based on dominance and hierarchy.

Despite his books being associated with [[BDSM]], Norman is openly critical of the community.  In a 2011 interview with [[Gizmodo]], he stated, "I dissociate myself from BDSM, at least as I understand it. I may, of course, misunderstand it. I wonder if one would settle merely for 'real-life Gorean slavery', because, as I understand it, BDSM is not Gorean. If something is not beautiful, it is not Gorean."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anders |first1=Charlie Jane |title=John Norman, the philosophy professor who created the barbaric world of Gor |url=https://gizmodo.com/john-norman-the-philosophy-professor-who-created-the-b-5783833 |website=Gizmodo |date=March 22, 2011 |publisher=Gawker Media |access-date=21 October 2023}}</ref>

His non-fiction works cover [[philosophy]], [[ethics]] and [[historiography]].

=== Gorean subculture ===
A [[fandom]] based on his ''Gor'' novels, known as the [[Gorean subculture]], has developed<ref name="Bardzell-Odom 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Bardzell |first1=Shaowen|author1-link=Shaowen Bardzell |last2=Odom |first2=William |date=August 2008 |title=The Experience of Embodied Space in Virtual Worlds: An Ethnography of a Second Life Community |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240696933 |journal=[[Space and Culture]] |publisher=[[SAGE Journals]] |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=239–259 |doi=10.1177/1206331208319148 |s2cid=146711299 |issn=1206-3312 |lccn=99301909 |oclc=535496255 |via=[[ResearchGate]]|citeseerx=10.1.1.472.686 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283281457|title = The Development of MMORPG Culture and The Guild|last = Jøn|first = A. Asbjørn|date = 2010|journal = Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies|access-date = November 13, 2015|publisher = University of New England|pages = 97–112|issue = 25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4996410.stm|title=Officers discover sex-slave cult|date=May 19, 2006|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> without Lange's direct involvement. Scholars have discussed the way that Gorean subculture groups on media such as [[IMVU]], ''[[Second Life]]'',<ref name="Bardzell-Odom 2008"/> and [[Internet Relay Chat]] have influenced the development of online role-playing and even the [[MMORPG]] genre.<ref name=":0" />

==Works==

===Fiction===

====''Gor'' series====
# ''Tarnsman of Gor'' (1966) {{ISBN|0-345-27583-7}}
# ''Outlaw of Gor'' (1967) {{ISBN|0-345-27136-X}}
# ''Priest-Kings of Gor'' (1968) {{ISBN|0-7592-0036-X}}
# ''Nomads of Gor'' (1969) {{ISBN|0-7592-5445-1}}
# ''Assassin of Gor'' (1970) {{ISBN|0-7592-0091-2}}
# ''Raiders of Gor'' (1971) {{ISBN|0-7592-0153-6}}
# ''Captive of Gor'' (1972) {{ISBN|0-7592-0105-6}}
# ''Hunters of Gor'' (1974) {{ISBN|0-7592-0130-7}}
# ''Marauders of Gor'' (1975) {{ISBN|0-7592-0141-2}}
# ''Tribesmen of Gor'' (1976) {{ISBN|0-7592-5446-X}}
# ''Slave Girl of Gor'' (1977) {{ISBN|0-7592-0454-3}}
# ''Beasts of Gor'' (1978) {{ISBN|0-7592-1125-6}}
# ''Explorers of Gor'' (1979) {{ISBN|0-7592-1167-1}}
# ''Fighting Slave of Gor'' (1980) {{ISBN|0-7592-1173-6}}
# ''Rogue of Gor'' (1981) {{ISBN|0-7592-1179-5}}
# ''Guardsman of Gor'' (1981) {{ISBN|0-7592-1368-2}}
# ''Savages of Gor'' (1982) {{ISBN|0-7592-1374-7}}
# ''Blood Brothers of Gor'' (1982) {{ISBN|0-7592-1380-1}}
# ''Kajira of Gor'' (1983) {{ISBN|0-7592-1926-5}}
# ''Players of Gor'' (1984) {{ISBN|0-7592-1932-X}}
# ''Mercenaries of Gor'' (1985) {{ISBN|0-7592-1944-3}}
# ''Dancer of Gor'' (1985) {{ISBN|0-7592-1950-8}}
# ''Renegades of Gor'' (1986) {{ISBN|0-7592-1956-7}}
# ''Vagabonds of Gor'' (1987) {{ISBN|0-7592-1980-X}}
# ''Magicians of Gor'' (1988) {{ISBN|0-7592-1986-9}}
# ''Witness of Gor'' (2001) {{ISBN|0-7592-4235-6}}
# ''Prize of Gor'' (2008) {{ISBN|0-7592-4580-0}}
# ''Kur of Gor'' (2009) {{ISBN|0-7592-9782-7}}
# ''Swordsmen of Gor'' (2010) {{ISBN|1-6175-6040-5}}<!-- released on November 22, 2010 -->
# ''Mariners of Gor'' (2011) {{ISBN|0-7592-9989-7}}<!-- released in September 2011 -->
# ''Conspirators of Gor'' (2012) {{ISBN|1-6175-6731-0}}<!-- released in July 2012 -->
# ''Smugglers of Gor'' (Oct. 2012) {{ISBN|1-6175-6865-1}}<!-- released in October 2012 -->
# ''Rebels of Gor'' (Oct. 2013) {{ISBN|1-6175-6123-1}}<!-- released on October 14, 2013 -->
# ''Plunder of Gor'' (August 2016) {{ISBN|1-5040-3406-6}}
# ''Quarry of Gor'' (June 2019) {{ISBN|1-5040-5832-1}}
# ''Avengers of Gor'' (May 25, 2021), Open Road Distribution, {{ISBN| 1-5040-6714-2}}
# ''Warriors of Gor'' (Aug 30, 2022), Open Road Distribution, {{ISBN| 1-5040-7672-9}}
# ''Treasure of Gor'' (April 23, 2024), Open Road Distribution, {{ISBN|1-5040-8949-9}}

====''[[Telnarian Histories]]'' series====
# ''The Chieftain'' (1991) {{ISBN|1-58586-717-9}}
# ''The Captain'' (1992) {{ISBN|1-58586-721-7}}
# ''The King'' (1993) {{ISBN|1-58586-725-X}}
# ''The Usurper'' (2015) {{ISBN|978-1497679269}}
# ''The Emperor'' (May 2019) {{ISBN|1-5040-5816-X}}

====Other novels====
* ''[[Ghost Dance (novel)|Ghost Dance]]'' (1970) {{ISBN|0-7592-9774-6}}
* ''[[Time Slave]]'' (1975) {{ISBN|0-7592-9778-9}}
* ''The Totems of Abydos'' (2012) {{ISBN|978-1-6175-6476-5}}

====Short-story collections====
* ''Norman Invasions'' (2009) {{ISBN|0-7592-9577-8}}

===Nonfiction===
* ''Values and Imperatives: Studies in Ethics''. (1969) [as John Lange, ed.; written by [[C. I. Lewis]]] {{ISBN|0-8047-0687-5}}
* ''The Cognitivity Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Claims of Philosophy'' (1970) [as John Lange] {{ISBN|0-691-07159-4}}
* ''[[Imaginative Sex]]'' (1974) {{ISBN|0-7592-1728-9}}
* '' The Philosophy of Historiography'' (2010) [as John Lange] {{ISBN|1-61756-130-4}}
* '' Philosophy and the Challenge of the Future '' (2012) [as John Lange] {{ISBN|1-61756-733-7}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.gorchronicles.com John Norman's Chronicles of Gor]
* [http://www.locusmag.com/2001/Departments/Letters10Norman.html 2001 open letter by Norman alleging discrimination against him and expressing his libertarianism]
* [http://www.rdrop.com/users/wyvern/john.norman.html Older (1998) sketch of John Norman's life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040812102425/http://www.rdrop.com/users/wyvern/john.norman.html |date=August 12, 2004 }}
* {{Isfdb name|id=352|name=John Norman}}
* {{Iblist name|id=658|name=John Norman}}
* {{Ibdof name|id=88|name=John Norman}}
* [http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/norman_john Norman, John] at [[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]
* [http://work.tcjn.info/ The Complete John Norman], a bibliography
* {{OL author}}
* [https://gizmodo.com/john-norman-the-philosophy-professor-who-created-the-b-5783833 March 2011 interview by Charlie Jane Anders with Norman on io9]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, John}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Chicago]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:BDSM writers]]
[[Category:American erotica writers]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Novelists from Illinois]]
[[Category:Gor]]
[[Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:21st-century pseudonymous writers]]