"The Author's Ordeal" are lyrics to a song by American author Isaac Asimov. They were first published in Science Fiction Quarterly, May 1957, pp. 34–36. They are included in three collections of Asimov's short stories: Earth Is Room Enough, The Far Ends of Time and Earth (omnibus edition) and The Complete Stories, Volume 1. The lyrics pastiche the Gilbert and Sullivan patter song known as "the (Lord Chancellor's) Nightmare Song" from Iolanthe. The song depicts the agonies he goes through in thinking up a new science fiction story. It notes that the process of devising a space opera is incompatible with living in the real world with all its "dull facts of life that hound you". See also "The Foundation of S.F. Success" Notes References Seiler, Edward. "Isaac Asimov's Short Fiction: Larry Stories, Miscellaneous Mysteries, Poems and Lyrics" (1995) AsimovOnline.com External links Publication history of the poem Works by Isaac Asimov Adaptations of works by Gilbert and Sullivan Works originally published in Science Fiction Quarterly 1957 songs