Samuel R. Delany Jr., celebrated science fiction and short story writer, was born in Harlem, N.Y., in 1942 to Samuel Ray and Margaret Carey. Delany suffered from dyslexia, which was not diagnosed until he attended the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, where he also met his future wife and where he began publishing short stories that won high school literary awards. Delany's first novel, The Jewels of Aptor, was published in 1962. It established the direction his later works would take by exploring the ways in which myth shapes our cultural beliefs. Delany also examines topics such as alternative love and sex relationships, mythic elements in the imagination, issues of communications and community, and the role of the artist in society. Delany has written more than 20 novels and collections of short stories, memoirs, and critical essays. His many awards include the Nebula Award for Best Novel for Babel-17 in 1966 and The Einstein Intersection in 1967, the Hugo Award for best short story, Science Fiction Convention, for "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" in 1970, and the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement in Gay Literature in 1993.
Carl Freedman is professor of English at Louisiana State University and the author of Critical Theory and Science Fiction; The Incomplete Projects: Marxism, Modernity, and the Politics of Culture; and George Orwell: A Study in Ideology and Literary Form. He is also the editor of Conversations with Isaac Asimov (published by University Press of Mississippi).
