Zenna Henderson
| Zenna Henderson | |
|---|---|
Zenna Henderson c.1953
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| Born |
November 1, 1917 Tucson, Arizona |
| Died | May 11, 1983 (aged 65) Tucson, Arizona |
| Occupation | Teacher, novelist, short story author |
| Genre | Science fiction, Fantasy |
| Literary movement | Science fiction, Fantasy |
| Notable works | Pilgrimage: The Book of the People |
Zenna Chlarson Henderson (November 1, 1917 – May 11, 1983) was an American elementary school teacher and science fiction and fantasy author.
Henderson was born during 1917 in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of Louis Rudolph Chlarson and Emily Vernell Rowley. She received a bachelor of arts in education from Arizona State College during 1940, and taught school, primarily in the Tucson area, mainly first grade. She also taught in a "semi-ghost mining town," at Fort Huachuca, in France and Connecticut, as well as in a Japanese internment camp in Sacaton, Arizona, during World War II. She married Richard Harry Henderson during 1943, but they were divorced seven years later.
Henderson was one of the first female science fiction authors, and never used a male pseudonym. Although her work could not be considered feminist, Henderson was one of the few writers during the 1950s and 1960s writing science fiction from a female perspective. She began reading science fiction at age 12 from magazines such as Astounding Stories, Amazing Stories, and fantasy from Weird Tales.
Henderson was born and baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though she never renounced her membership, after her marriage, she was no longer a churchgoing Latter-day Saint. In the standard reference Contemporary Authors, she listed her religion as Methodist, and according to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2, she was a member of Catalina United Methodist Church in Tucson. During her later years, she attended an independent charismatic fellowship. In an interview, she stated that she often included religious themes because her readers, particularly her young readers, liked them. She felt it was good to offer a word for "Our Sponsor" in her stories.
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