SAMUEL R. DELANY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
PART 1: APPROACHING BELLONA
I received a question from our CORO/Office Hours that I will attempt, in part, to answer here. Forgive me: I’m going to run a little long.
Q: I have noticed that you frequently quote Samuel R. Delany. What else can you tell us about this writer?
I cannot think of any US writer more profoundly brilliant or profoundly influential across a vast breadth of genres and disciplines than Samuel R. Delany (and I am not alone in this estimation.1) The Harlem-born Delany shaped both my reading and my writing; changed me as an artist. No small matter, no small debt. I once penned a brief Delany for Beginners, which I share below:
I would argue that it is nearly impossible to understand US letters without understanding the monumental ouvre of the novelist, critic, memoirist, Samuel R. Delany. Only problem: Delany has written over thirty books, and it is sometimes challenging for a Delany beginner to know where to begin their Delany journey. When I wish to introduce new readers to the genius and range of Samuel R. Delany, I tend to suggest the following entry-points:
--His heartbreaking late novel DARK REFLECTIONS: perfect for those with a more realistic bend (and what an unsparing depiction of the travails of writing life).
--THE MOTION OF LIGHT IN WATER: perhaps one of the finest memoirs you’ll ever read, an unforgettable account of a young black gay artist coming of age in the most extraordinary of places and of times.
-- Delany became famous and continues to receive acclaim for his genre-altering science fiction works: key titles include NOVA, BABEL-17, TROUBLE ON TRITON, THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION, and his story collection AYE, AND GOMORRAH. (If you’re into post-modern fantasy you must check out his Nevèrÿon cycle.)
--For those interested in Delany’s critical work, work that had a tremendous impact on Science Fiction studies, Queer Studies, Black Studies etc: LONGER VIEWS and SHORTER VIEWS and SILENT INTERVIEWS are the bedrocks.
--For NYC heads: it would be impossible to understand the changes that have forever altered NYC (and all our cities) without engaging with his indelible insights in TIME SQUARE RED, TIME SQUARE BLUE.
--Delany’s also written an invaluable book on creative writing ABOUT WRITING.
--His graphic novel memoir BREAD AND WINE (with Mia Wolff) is another testament to cities and contact, to generosity and love, and deeply moving,
Read some or all of these texts and then meet me in the labyrinth of DHALGREN, one of the greatest American novels, by turns confounding, hallucinatory, incantatory, insurgent, transcendent.
But upon reflection I realize that your question about Delany’s indelible impact on me as a writer, as a critic, deserves more than a gloss.
Therefore:
SAMUEL R. DELANY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Part I: Approaching Bellona
ONE
You get writers when you get them. Sometimes you’re ready for them, sometimes you are not; sometimes they arrive early, sometimes they arrive late, and sometimes if you’re lucky, truly lucky, a writer arrives perfectly, the final degree of radiance that ignites your soul.
These are the writers that awaken, explode, give, inspire, heal -- who became a part of you, who accompany you throughout your entire life.
As is the case with most hardcore readers, I am fortunate to have a couple of these sublimities. But it is Samuel R. Delany who was among the first and who continues to teach me, to guide me, to trouble me, all these long years later.