In this Book
- In Search of Silence: The Journals of Samuel R. Delany, Volume I, 1957-1969
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: Wesleyan University Press
For fifty years Samuel Delany has cultivated a special relationship with language in works of fiction, criticism, and memoir that have garnered critical praise and legions of fans. The present volume – the first in a series – reveals a new dimension of his genius. In Search of Silence presents over a decade's worth of Delany's private journals, commencing in 1957 when he was still a student at the Bronx High School of Science, and ending in 1969 when he was living in San Francisco and on the verge of reconceiving the novel that would become Dhalgren.
In these pages, Delany muses on the writing of the stories that will establish him as a science fiction wunderkind, the early years of his marriage to the poet Marilyn Hacker, performances as a singer-songwriter during the heyday of the American folk revival, travels in Europe, experiences in a New York City commune, and much more – and crosses paths with artists working in many genres, including poets such as Robert Frost, W. H. Auden, and Marie Ponsot, and science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Moorcock, Roger Zelazny, and Joanna Russ. Delany scholar Kenneth R. James presents the journal entries alongside generous samplings of story outlines, poetry, fragments of novels and essays that have never seen publication, and more; James also provides biographical synopses and an extensive set of endnotes to supply contextual information and connect journal material to Delany's published work.
Table of Contents
- Editor’s Introduction
- pp. xi-xxxviii
- Notebook 3—January 1959
- pp. 5-6
- Notebook 6—1959 [April 1959]
- pp. 11-12
- Notebook 4—April–May 1959
- pp. 13-25
- Notebook 5—1959 [Summer–Autumn 1959]
- pp. 26-28
- 2. In Search of Silence
- pp. 29-30
- Notebook 8—March 1960
- pp. 59-62
- 3. Journaux d’Orphée
- pp. 67-68
- Notebook 12—Inclusive to July 1960
- pp. 69-94
- 4. City College
- pp. 95-98
- Notebook 13—September 1960
- pp. 99-102
- Notebook 14—Autumn 1960
- pp. 103-106
- Notebook 9—Winter 1960
- pp. 107-114
- Notebook 10—Spring 1960 [Spring 1961]
- pp. 115-118
- Notebook 16—Spring, Summer 1961
- pp. 119-135
- Notebook 17—Summer 1961
- pp. 136-142
- 5. Married Life in the East Village
- pp. 143-144
- Notebook 18—August 1961
- pp. 145-161
- Notebook 19—November 1961–June 1962
- pp. 167-177
- Notebook 20—Spring 1962 [March 1962]
- pp. 179-180
- Notebook 22—Summer 1962
- pp. 183-188
- Notebook 75—[Spring–Summer 1963]
- pp. 207-225
- Notebook 68—[October 1963]
- pp. 226-238
- Notebook 71—[Winter 1963]
- pp. 239-251
- Notebook 92—[Spring 1964]
- pp. 252-254
- 7. Babel-17 and Beyond
- pp. 255-258
- Notebook 26—June–July 1964
- pp. 259-272
- Notebook 27—August 15, 1964
- pp. 273-293
- Notebook 28—September 1964–January 1965
- pp. 294-297
- Notebook 87—[Early Spring 1965]
- pp. 298-303
- Notebook 82—[Summer 1964–Spring 1965]
- pp. 304-312
- Notebook 81—[Late Spring 1965]
- pp. 313-316
- Notebook 29—June–July 1965
- pp. 317-334
- 8. Travels in Europe
- pp. 335-336
- Notebook 67—[Autumn 1965–Summer 1966]
- pp. 337-342
- Notebook 96—[Autumn 1965]
- pp. 343-345
- Notebook 31—March 1966 [February–March 1966]
- pp. 346-359
- Notebook 30—December 1965 [Spring 1966]
- pp. 360-376
- 9. Changing Scenes
- pp. 377-378
- Notebook 80—[Spring 1966]
- pp. 379-385
- Notebook 91—[Fall 1966]
- pp. 386-390
- Notebook 83—[December 1966–January 1967]
- pp. 391-401
- Notebook 84—[February–April 1967]
- pp. 402-416
- Notebook 76—[Spring–Summer 1967]
- pp. 417-423
- Notebook 69—[Summer 1967]
- pp. 424-426
- 10. Prism, Mirror, Lens and Other Projects
- pp. 427-428
- Notebook 86—[Summer 1967]
- pp. 429-431
- Notebook 32—July–October 1967
- pp. 432-454
- Notebook 88—[Autumn 1967]
- pp. 455-463
- Notebook 35—1968 [Early Spring 1968]
- pp. 483-490
- Notebook 77—[Early Spring 1968]
- pp. 491-495
- Notebook 85—[Spring–Summer 1968]
- pp. 496-506
- Notebook 78—[Summer–Autumn 1968]
- pp. 508-521
- Notebook 79—[Winter 1968]
- pp. 532-536
- 11. To San Francisco
- pp. 537-538
- Notebook 36—January–February 1969
- pp. 539-549
- Notebook 37—April 1969 [February–April 1969]
- pp. 550-554
- 12. Appendixes
- pp. 555-556
- Appendix 2. Notebook 1—January–February 1958
- pp. 569-586
- Appendix 3. Three Short Works from 1959–1960
- pp. 587-604
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 605-606
- Bibliography
- pp. 645-648