David R. Bunch

David Roosevelt Bunch (August 7, 1925 – May 29, 2000) was an American writer of short stories and poetry. He worked mainly in the genres of science fiction, satire, surrealism, and literary fiction. Although prolific and critically acclaimed, Bunch remained obscure throughout his career. He is mainly known for a series of violent, bleak stories set in the cyborg dystopia of Moderan, which collectively form a satire on humanity's obsession with violence and control.

Personal life Bunch was born on August 7, 1925, on a farm outside Lowry City, Missouri. He graduated from Central Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, then received a master's degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis.

Bunch married Phyllis Geraldine Flette

Writing career According to his long-time proponent Judith Merril, Bunch published over 200 stories and poems prior to his first professional science fiction sale, and could have influenced cyberpunk.

Bunch continued to write and publish Moderan stories throughout his career. He had longed to see a complete collection of the Moderan sequence published. In 2018, New York Review Books Classics published an updated Moderan collection, including stories not found in the original edition.

Works

Collections Moderan, New York, Avon Books, 1971. Bunch!, Cambridge, Broken Mirrors Press, 1993.

Poetry We Have a Nervous Job, 1983. Astoria, Oregon, Alba Press, 1983. The Heartacher and the Warehouseman, San Francisco, Anamnesis Press, 2000.