Samuel Delany and the Past and Future of Science Fiction

It seems pretty explicit about it, although "the past and present of science fiction" might be a better descriptor.

For example, here are quotes where the past:

> Delany came of age at a time when the genre [of science fiction] was indeed characterized by gee-whiz futurism, machismo adventuring, and white, heterosexual heroes.

is contrasted with the present:

> In the contemporary science-fiction scene, Delany’s race and sexuality do not set him apart as starkly as they once did.

EDIT: Actually, I hesitate to presume on the legendary New Yorker proofreaders / fact checkers, but shouldn't it be 'macho' (an adjective), not 'machismo' (a noun), 'adventuring'?

Headlines are too often written prior to the editing process, however one can (at least) find reference to past and future science fiction writers in this late passage:

"“It’s socio-economic,” he said. In 1967, as the only black writer among the Nebula nominees, he didn’t represent the same kind of threat. But Delany believes that, as women and people of color start to have “economic heft,” there is a fear that what is “normal” will cease to enjoy the same position of power."

I'm gonna sound like a conspiracy nut here, but it seems like a side-channel attack on Gamergate (via Sad Puppies), coupled with the "we're on the right side of history" meme.

I'm not saying I support either of those, but after following them for a while it's hard not to pick up on biased coverage in the media.

It's not that cryptic. Delany and the author are highlighting the roles of marginalized communities in the genre, how they have changed (or not) over time, and what might change in the future.

I'd suggest starting with _[Trouble on] Triton_. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_%28novel%29

I started with Babel-17 and then read Nova and Stars In My Pocket... before getting into the short stories a bit (Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones was the first, I think).

He's a master, and his works are in a real sense masterworks. Whatever you start with, you'll probably find something to enjoy.

His novel Nova is probably the best place to start. The short story "Aye, And Gomorrah" is a pretty good spot too.

I picked Dhalgren out of a bag of used books randomly. I'd never never read any of Delany before, but I'd read a fair amount of SF and general fiction. I can't say it was my favorite book, but it certainly wasn't impenetrable.

Dhalgren[1] is a rich, interesting book but it really isn't SF, and is very much a product of its era, the 1960s-70s. I think it is in part a fantastic re-imagining of Delaney's own early years as recounted more prosodically in "Heavenly Breakfast"[2]. There are long passages that are probably sharp parodies of figures and events in the 1970s NY literary scene. Much of it is an elevation of the 1960s San Francisco hippie scene into a dystopian fantasy world. I think it works to read the city of Bellona as a symbol of an economic status: the status of the urban underclass, some of whose members are trapped in it, while some have entered it willingly to explore it.

That smoke blown, it rewards patience with some wonderful writing and some gripping drama as well.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhalgren

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Breakfast

Babel-17 and Empire Star are both excellent and were the first things of his I read. I've tried to read Triton, Stars in My Pocket, Dhalgren, Nova, and Fall of the Towers and every single one of them has failed to gain or keep my interest.

I'd say start with Babel-17. It's short, exciting, and dense with both lyricism and great ideas. The first book of his I read was Dhalgren though, and though I couldn't really break into it until the third try, once I did it was amazing, like no other book I've read before or since.

It's interesting that despite the phrase "...the face that stared back was as Negroid as my own.." in one of his short stories, it didn't occur to me that he was black until reading it in some interview or something. If I gave the line any thought at all, I probably dismissed it as poetic license or something.

There are two others, Steven Barnes and (the late) Octavia Butler. Besides being great storytellers, Butler won the MacArthur Prize and Steve has written episodes for a variety of TV shows over the years. Each was (arguably) commercially more successful than Delany. If Butler were still living I'm sure she'd have been interviewed as well.

Walter Mosley writes a fair amount of science fiction and fantasy, as well as his perhaps better known and more commercially successful mysteries.

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