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Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

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51–60 of 68 posts

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#51
post #10

Great article. I had seen pictures of his writing den, but this really opens up his day to day routine in a way that I hadn't envisioned. This is depressing: The only complication involved a pension that Delany thought he’d earned from the university; it didn’t exist. Makes me wonder about his other business relationships and if there was a mismatch between what he expected vs. what was delivered. The fine print of e…

Nova is simply incredible.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#52
post #18

My ten year old son loves sci-fi. And, it sounds like many of Delany's stories deal with adult-ish subject matter (of a sexual nature). I know he has a complicated history as a gay man in America, and I'm interested in knowing if there are good stories for young adults? My son can handle complicated things, but as his dad I want to be cautious as well.

It would be a bit like recommending he read Finnegan’s Wake. I don’t think he’d get very much out of it without a lot of context and he is unlikely to find it an enjoyable experience. I think Delany can fairly be described as an acquired taste.

I’d strongly recommend you look into Lois McMaster Bujold’s work. Her books have some complex themes and he’s likely to enjoy them a lot more.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#54
post #50
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just know that if you support Delany you're supporting the sexual abuse of children. “I read the NAMBLA [Bulletin] fairly regularly and I think it is one of the most intelligent discussions of sexuality I’ve ever found. I think before you start judging what NAMBLA is about, expose yourself to it and see what it is really about. What the issues they are really talking about, and deal with what’s really there rather th…

What's your problem with homosexuals? From what Ive read from your older posts like this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33635565

The funny part is that it isn't homosexuality being public that's at fault for men being afraid to show platonic affection just because they might therefore be mistaken for being gay, it's the fault of there being a stigma against being gay, otherwise why would anyone care about being mistaken for being gay? It's such a disingenuous argument to blame gay people being accepted in society for men being afraid to do things that might make them look gay and not homophobia. It's basically the definition of victim blaming.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#55
post #12
post #2

This is an excellent article on a writer that more people need to know about.

Just know that if you support Delany you're supporting the sexual abuse of children. “I read the NAMBLA [Bulletin] fairly regularly and I think it is one of the most intelligent discussions of sexuality I’ve ever found. I think before you start judging what NAMBLA is about, expose yourself to it and see what it is really about. What the issues they are really talking about, and deal with what’s really there rather th…

A lot of authors are deeply problematic. That doesn't mean you can't like their work unless a) their problematic views are baked into their work or b) they profit off their work and use that profit as a platform for their horrible views. Neither is the case here.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#56
post #19

I've only read Dhalgren, which I have extremely mixed feelings on. The hazy liminal atmosphere and writing was impressive and moving. The people were generally shallow or neutral, but the main character was very difficult to appreciate and was borderline repulsive (not the sex, but the person and sometimes the vivid descriptions of his putrescence). I was interrupted about 50 pages from the end (of like 800 total), a…

I've said this elsewhere in the thread, but I really deeply enjoyed Nova. It's got a really unique, special feel to it I can't explain.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#57
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your problem with homosexuals? From what Ive read from your older posts like this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33635565

The funny part is that it isn't homosexuality being public that's at fault for men being afraid to show platonic affection just because they might therefore be mistaken for being gay, it's the fault of there being a stigma against being gay , otherwise why would anyone care about being mistaken for being gay? It's such a disingenuous argument to blame gay people being accepted in society for men being afraid to do th…

Interesting point, but I think it's not quite right. It's the fault of men thinking there's still a stigma against being gay. (Or perhaps feeling that there is.)

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#58
post #19

I've only read Dhalgren, which I have extremely mixed feelings on. The hazy liminal atmosphere and writing was impressive and moving. The people were generally shallow or neutral, but the main character was very difficult to appreciate and was borderline repulsive (not the sex, but the person and sometimes the vivid descriptions of his putrescence). I was interrupted about 50 pages from the end (of like 800 total), a…

Dhalgren is a very difficult and very long read. It might benefit from a hypertext or ebook form because it is so self referential and the main character is such an unreliable narrator, sometimes I would read one section, then have to refer back to make sure I was at the right place in the book because this happened before or this text was already used somewhere else or some other character said something different about the same experience. The sex scenes were very repetitive after about the quarter mark to me, but those seem to reflect a lot of his personal experience.

I thought Babel-17 was more approachable, shorter and smaller in scope.

Re: Samuel R. Delany Reimagined Sci-Fi, Sex, and the City

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say Dhalgren's not particularly difficult to read, or complex - the Kid's experience in Bellona is not comparable to Bloom's allusive and metaphore laden journey through Dublin in Ulysses. Bellona is just fucking weird.

Starting with Section 7 "the Plague Journal" on page 723 the single narrative splits into multiple streams on the same page, there are gaps in all of the streams, and finally on pages 831-32 there is this "My life here more and more resembles a book whose opening chapters, whose title even, suggest mysteries to be resolved only at closing. But as one reads along, one becomes more and more suspicious that the author h…

> Sometimes I could tease out the connection but not always.

I think that was Delaney's intention. The narrative, and the city aren't really open to analysis. Bellona is a hazy, druggy, liminal space and its incoherence and narrative instability is part of what makes it so beautiful.

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