YOLEN, Jane

(1939-)

   US writer who began publishing poems and articles when still in college, and who first came to notice with books for children, the first of many being Pirates in Petticoats (1963). Of her c120 titles to date, most are for children (see listing below for some of these), and much of her adult fiction is FANTASY, told in a style whose accomplished and eloquent transparency often conveys a sense that folktales are being recollected in tranquillity. Tales of Wonder (coll 1983) assembles typical work for adults, some of it sf; as does Merlin's Booke (coll of linked stories 1986), set in the world of the eponymous magus. The Pit Dragon trilogy for young adults - Dragon's Blood (1982), Heart's Blood (1984) and A Sending of Dragons (1987) - is set on another planet, but is devotedprimarily to the breeding and training of dragons (SUPERNATURAL CREATURES), though the sequence eventually moves into more complexpolitical territory. The Great Alta sequence - Sister Light, Sister Dark (1988) and White Jenna (1989), assembled as The Book of Great Alta (omni1990) - is adult fantasy; and Briar Rose (1992) is a Twice-Told version of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, set within the context of the Final Solution, and ultimately amenable to a non-fantasy reading. Her most sf-like novel, Cards of Grief (fixup 1984), is a sophisticated PLANETARY ROMANCE in whichan intense and story-bound race is observed by humans from an off-planet station, and is inevitably affected by the interaction of species. In none of JY's work, however, is there a sense that sf dominates the sometimes complex generic mix; she is a fantasy writer who visits sf.

   JC

   Other works include: The Witch who Wasn't (1964); the 6 Commander Toad picture-book sf tales for younger children, beginning with Commander Toad in Space (1980 chap); The Robot and Rebecca (1980); The Boy who Spoke Chimp (1981); Dragonfield (coll 1985); Wizard's Hall (1991); The Sword andthe Stone (1985 FSF; 1991 chap); Wings (1991); Storyteller (coll 1992); Here There be Dragons (coll 1993); Here There be Unicorns (coll 1994).AsEditor: Zoo 2000 (anth 1973); Shape Shifters (anth 1978); 2041 A.D. (anth 1991); 5 anths ed with Martin H. GREENBERG (whom see for details); the Xanadu series of original fantasy anthologies, comprising Xanadu (anth 1993), Xanadu 2 (anth 1994) and Xanadu 3 (anth 1995).Nonfiction: Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood (1981).