The Most Difficult Sort Of Prose To Write

Heinlein In Dimension.

I will quote Panshin quoting Heinlein, then relate this to Anderson.

Points made by Heinlein and accepted as largely true by Panshin:

sf is the most difficult kind of prose to write because it requires both a body of knowledge and an amount of directed imagination;

therefore, most sf is not good as literature and is not even entertaining;

but it is important because it addresses the future;

and, because sf deals with change, it is the only fiction that can interpret the world that we live in.

Relevance to Poul Anderson:

Anderson had a vast body of knowledge and a great deal of directed imagination;

his sf is good as literature and highly entertaining;

he addressed the future and change and interpreted social changes.

Thus, Heinlein identified the obstacles to good sf but Anderson overcame them.