Archaeologists and anthropologists discover other civilizations;
science fiction writers invent them. In this collection of her
major essays, Marleen Barr argues that feminist science fiction
writers contribute to postmodern literary canons with radical
alternatives to mainstream patriarchal society. Because feminist
science fiction challenges male-centered social imperatives, it has
been marginalized and dismissed from the canon--thus, lost in
space. Moving beyond feminist science fiction itself, Barr goes on
to examine other literary genres from the perspective of 'feminist
fabulation'--a term she has coined to encompass science fiction,
fantasy, utopian literature, and mainstream literature that
critiques patriarchal fictions. Discussing the works of such
writers as Margaret Atwood, Joanna Russ, Salman Rushdie, Paul
Theroux, Ursula Le Guin, Herman Melville, Saul Bellow, Edgar Allan
Poe, and Marge Piercy, Barr illuminates feminist science fiction's
connections to other literary traditions and contemporary canons.
Her critical analysis yields a new and expanded understanding of
feminist creativity.