Samuel R Delany named a science fiction Grand Master

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I wonder how many other Grand Masters he had to fight to win the title.

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I knew I’d seen him before.

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I admire his fiction; I am in gobstruck awe of his essays and criticism. I started with Shorter Views, which was kind of getting thrown in the deep end, but it changed my life as a reader and writer. About Writing might be a smoother entry point if you’re not ready to wrestle with some occasionally very dense prose.

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'Bout time.I love this guy. My fav of his is Dhalgren. One of the most mindful books I have ever read. Even if it was ‘experimental’, it’s a find read many times over.

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I saw him twice a week for a whole semester. GO Chip!

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Yay for Delany. My favorite for many years before I discovered Lem. Not really a fan of Stars in My Pocket (the book was pure drudgery for me, although the long intro is super-cool) but Nova and Dhalgren are amazing, I think. He has a sense for poetry and mysterious other-worldliness that I don’t experience with many writers, much less sci-fi writers.

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Long overdue and well deserved. Of course both of those tend to be the default for Grand Master status.

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Twice, I’ve tried wading through Stars In My Pocket, and twice, I gave up. I just found it unreadable, despite being the sort of thing I normally like.

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Nailbiters (a common feature of all his protagonists) rejoice in delight for Mr. Delany, his song has gone too long un-praised. And where the snot can I get one of those chains a la “Dhalgren”?

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Hard to believe he wasn’t already a Grandmaster… The late great Frederik Pohl wrote a nice piece on the publishing of Dhalgren a few years back. Worth the read for Delaney’s comments!

And this interview with Delaney in the Paris Review is a fun read:

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I’ve got a certain fondness for Babel-17. It isn’t his best work, but it’s a fun concept and a vividly drawn universe.

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Oh he already was. Now it’s official.

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Decided to re-read Tales of Nevèrÿon out of the blue. Loved it then. Love it now.

Delaney is one of the greatest. Amply deserved.

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