However much, as readers, we lose ourselves in a novel or story, fiction itself is an experience on the order of memory -not on the order of actual occurrence.
Samuel R. DelanyRead
From 1968 on, I was pretty much the black, gay SF writer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Samuel R. Delany identifies himself as a unique voice in science fiction, representing marginalized identities.
In this quote, Samuel R. Delany expresses his perspective on being a distinct presence in the science fiction genre since 1968 as a black and gay writer. His assertion highlights the importance of diversity in literature, particularly in science fiction, and underscores how his identity shapes his narrative and contributions to the genre.
Themes
IdentityDiversityScience FictionRepresentationArt
In practice
Example use cases
A keynote speech on the importance of diverse voices in literature.
More from Samuel R. Delany
All quotes →The only important elements in any society are the artistic and the criminal, because they alone, by questioning the society’s values, can force it to change.
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How we treat our invalids - our mad, our physically or mentally compromised family members - does tell you something about who we are politically, historically, culturally.
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It is a magic book. Words mean things. When you put them together they speak. Yes, sometimes they flatten out and nothing they say is real, and that is one kind of magic. But sometimes a vision will rip up from them and shriek and clank wings clear as the sweat smudge on the paper under your thumb. And that is another kind.
Samuel R. DelanyRead
The poems ... are moments when I had the intensity to see, and the energy to build, some careful analog that completed the seeing. ... All I have been left is the exhausting habit of trying to tack up the slack in my life with words.
Samuel R. DelanyRead
I spend a lot of time thinking, if not daydreaming. People think of me as a genre writer, and a genre writer is supposed to be prolific. Since that's how people perceive me, they have to say I'm prolific. But I don't find that either complimentary or accurate.
Samuel R. DelanyRead
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