Star Songs of an Old Primate

Star Songs of an Old Primate is the third short story collection by Alice Sheldon. It was published by Del Rey Books in 1978. It was the first of Tiptree's books published after the revelation that Tiptree was a female, rather than male, writer.

Contents

Introduction by Ursula K. Le Guin
"Your Haploid Heart"
"And So On, And So On"
"Her Smoke Rose Up Forever"
"A Momentary Taste of Being"
"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?"
"The Psychologist Who Wouldn't Do Awful Things to Rats"
"She Waits for All Men Born"

Reception

A Publishers Weekly review comments on the fact that Tiptree has only just now been revealed to be a woman, as well as stating "Much of the best of Tiptree's work has appeared in previous collections, and these seven stories, though never less than intelligent and perceptive, don't have many blockbusters among them."
"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" was the recipient of several awards: the Hugo Award, Nebula Award and Jupiter Award for Best Novella in 1977, as well as third place in the 1977 Locus Poll Award for Best Novella.