Samuel delany autobiography of benjamin

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.

Samuel delany autobiography of benjamin

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.