By the Editors of DENT Magazine
We've forgiven acclaimed writer Samuel Delany for breeding. That was our sentiment as he headed west in June to attend his daughter Iva's commencement exercises at Kenyon. Maker of offspring is only one of the many roles of production and consumption Delany has undertaken over the last 30 years. He is also an endlessly prolific novelist, a teacher, a nonjudgmental sugar daddy, a gourmet, and an imbiber of fine spirits.
When orality is as abundant and as well meaning as Delany's, one can't really object to his bringing into the world one more intelligent individual. So we've decided to accept him into our pantheon of Critics of the Nuclear Family. His writing offers a myriad of alternatives to the romantic dyad and the conventional family, as does his original bisexual life style. Pagan phenomena of every sort spring from his brilliant brain, ample loins, and sensitive fingertips-- as if from some sort of Supreme Being.
The prolific author of fiction began his career at 20 in
1962 with the publication of The Jewels of Aptor. Dhalgren, a novel published
in 1975, established him permanently as one
of the most
controversial writers of the science fiction genre, partly because of its
frank portrayal of diverse sexualities. Today the book has been re-released
by Wesleyan.
Last year's publication of Atlantis revealed a low-key contemplative Delany. The book was composed of three luminous tales the evoked a historical and personal past. That same year, an earlier, suppressed novel Hogg, shocked readers with its anarchic violence and sexuality.
We were attracted to the personality of this multi-thematic creator. Over the course of two dinners boasting such transgressive foods as rillettes, sausage, and blanquette de veau at an old-fashioned Times Square French restaurant, we discovered his openness and spirit of adventure. Delany lives with a charming and intelligent male companion named Dennis, who has experienced homelessness in New York City. After dinner, we accompanied the two on a fearless jaunt into the night and found that transgressive foods were not the only things we had in common. Both at and away from the table Delany is generous and insatiable. His devoted friends have been known to receive novella-length letters detailing his every experience, masterfully signifying his streams of consciousness, and reporting in detail about the bloodiest of his lover's dentist appointments.
Delany's writing, as well as his eccentric, vibrant personality, has something for everybody. Let this tattooed Father Christmas fill you with the prodigious gifts of his imagination. You'll never feel empty again.
Photo Copyright Beckett Logan
Books by Samuel R. Delany
| FICTION
The Jewels of Aptor The Fall of the Towers The Ballad of Beta-2 Babel-17 Empire Star The Einstein Intersection Nova Equinox Hogg Dhalgren Triton Stars in My Pocket like Grains
| Return to Neveryon
Driftglass/Starshards They Fly at Ciron The Mad Man Atlantis NONFICTION The Jewel-Hinged Jaw The American Shore Heavenly Breakfast Starboard Wine The Motion of Light in Water The Straits of Messina Silent Inteviews Longer Views |
