Tag Archives: Samuel R. Delany

Books Acquired Recently

Delany, Samuel R. The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village, 1957-1965. New York: Arbor, 1988. I have the revised edition of this book (published by University of Minnesota Press, 2004), but needed a copy of the first edition for an essay I’m writing on the history ofContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Giannina Braschi’s Yo-Yo Boing!

The Puerto Rican-American writer Giannina Braschi’s 1998 novel (this is the best term I can think of for it, though it is only a novel insofar as that term is now so all encompassing, like a giant, shaggy literary beast somewhere between Cookie Monster and Grendel that devours everything in its path) Yo-Yo Boing! (translated into English by TessContinue reading “Giannina Braschi’s Yo-Yo Boing!”

The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman

The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman. Delany is my favorite writer, but I’ve never been fortunate enough to hear him speak, so it was wonderful to see this film, which is made up almost exclusively of Delany talking about his life and writing. Although the film itself is ratherContinue reading “The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman”

Books Acquired Recently

Acker, Kathy. Pussy, King of the Pirates. New York: Grove, 1996. I really enjoy Acker’s work because of its combination of postmodern form and explicit sexuality. I was wanting to read more of her fiction this summer and saw that Hume’s book has a section on Pussy, King of the Pirates, so I decided toContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

On the Accumulation of Multiple Copies of the Same Book

In an article in the July 12, 2012 New York Review of Books, Michael Chabon writes that he “acquired five copies, of various size and vintage” of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake during the year that he worked his way through the novel. I love this little detail because I, too, find myself obsessively buying different printingsContinue reading “On the Accumulation of Multiple Copies of the Same Book”

Women Readers and the Crisis of the Male Novelist

Elaine Blair has a fantastic article in the current issue of The New York Review of Books (July 12, 2012) about how the fictional trend of oafish male protagonists has evolved from the work of hoary giants such as Philip Roth and John Updike through the work of present-day writers such as Gary Shteyngart andContinue reading “Women Readers and the Crisis of the Male Novelist”

Samuel R. Delany’s Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders

I just finished reading Samuel R. Delany’s new novel Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. It is his longest fictional work (beating the classic Dhalgren by three pages and a much larger word count), and includes many themes which will be familiar to Delany fans (characters with nailbiting fetishes and/or massive penises, graphicContinue reading “Samuel R. Delany’s Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders”

Books Acquired Recently

Butler, Octavia E. Lilith’s Brood. New York: Grand Central, 1989. Butler’s Kindred is one of my favorite books, but I’ve never read any of her science fiction (SF) novels. This book, along with Card’s, is for an independent study I’m doing with a student this summer. Card, Orson Scott, ed. Masterpieces: The Best Science FictionContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”