Autumnal City: The Journals of Samuel R. Delany, Volume 2

The Project

Samuel R. Delany is one of the most brilliant, stimulating, and uncompromising writers on the contemporary American literary scene. His exuberantly innovative work, which encompasses novels, short stories, criticism, memoir, and graphic novels, has won him the admiration of legions of readers. Some are drawn to his science fiction, some to his work focusing on issues of sexuality and race, some to his literary criticism, and many to the whole vast tapestry of his work. For this work Delany has garnered awards from all over the literary map, including four Nebula Awards and two Hugo Awards, a Lambda Literary Award, the Bill Whitehead Memorial Award for a Lifetime Contribution to Lesbian and Gay Literature, and inclusion in the prestigious Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 

Currently I am compiling, transcribing, editing, and annotating Delany’s personal journals. The journals are being published by Wesleyan University Press in what is projected to be a series of at least six volumes, with each volume covering roughly one decade’s worth of material. The first volume, In Search of Silence, has recently been released to very positive reviews (see below). It covers the period from Delany’s teenage years in the late 1950s to the end of the 1960s, during which time Delany established himself as a major figure in what came to be called New Wave science fiction. The second volume, Autumnal City, will present Delany’s journals from the 1970s, during which time he wrote the bulk of what many consider the pivotal work of his career, Dhalgren (1975), as well as Trouble on Triton (1976), the first volume of the Nevèrÿon tetralogy (Tales of Nevèrÿon [1979]), and many works of criticism.

The goal of this campaign is to raise $30,000 to support the remaining year's worth of work needed to complete the second volume. This funding will cover three areas: expenses associated with the project (travel to the archives, travel to interview subjects, office expenses, and so on), expenses associated with this campaign (fees and percentages, cost and shipping of rewards, and so on), and personal expenses. Funds raised in this campaign will not support Wesleyan University Press, but rather will go directly to me, in support of my scholarly labor. In academic publishing, an author's income comes not from book advances or sales, but rather from a university paycheck – or, if the author is an independent scholar (as I am), from some other source. For this project, you will be that source.

Why You Should Sponsor This Project

The first reason you should sponsor this project is that it will make thousands of pages of heretofore unpublished writing by Delany available to the public. This writing will be of great interest to Delany’s readers in particular, to readers concerned with innovative writing that treats issues of race, sexuality, and social marginality, and to all those interested in reading a record of the personal experiences of an astonishingly lucid and incisive American writer and thinker as he traverses the second half of the 20th century and beyond. By supporting this project you will directly help get Delany’s personal journals out into the world.

The second reason you should support this project is that it's on track. One year ago, I ran the first crowdfunding campaign for this volume and received generous support -- though only enough to cover the first year's worth of what is a two-year project. Today, work on the volume has progressed to exactly where I predicted it would be at this point in time. This makes me confident that, barring unforeseeable delays, the project will remain on schedule. In other words, donating to this project requires no special leap of faith on your part: if you fund it, it will get done.

The third reason you should sponsor this project is that since its recent publication, the first volume in the series, In Search of Silence, has received very positive reviews. Below are links to two of them; do check them out, as they give a vivid sense of the many riches offered by the volume (and, by implication, the volumes to come):

https://newrepublic.com/article/142767/samuel-r-delanys-life-contradictions

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/genre-lif...

Here I must highlight a statement from the review by Paul Di Filippo above: "Much of the book’s success has to be credited to the masterful work by editor Kenneth R. James." Reviews like this, in short, should give you confidence that you are supporting a high-quality project.

Fourth and finally, my ability to devote full-time work to the volume will actually enhance its quality, and in a specific way. While completing the first volume, I had Samuel Delany himself on hand to answer my countless questions on matters not covered by his own autobiographical work or other secondary sources. This enriched the volume greatly, and needless to say, I want to preserve this working relationship for future volumes. But – to be blunt – Delany is not getting any younger.  Producing volumes quickly will help ensure Delany’s continued participation. Thus, by supporting full-time work on the second volume, you will help improve it – and, with luck, improve the quality of volumes to come.

Perks

To add to the interest and fun of the campaign, I have included several rewards for different levels of donation. These rewards may be waived should the donor wish the bulk of his or her donation to go straight to the project.

Donors at the first level (“Singer,” from $10 to $59) and all higher levels will receive updates on the project.

Donors at the second level (“Scorpion,” from $60 to $99), in addition to receiving updates on the project, will also receive what is, in my opinion, the most purely fun reward of the lot: a Samuel Delany t-shirt. The photographer Becket Logan has given me permission to use his striking photo portrait of Delany as the basis for the shirt’s graphic. I've received very positive feedback for this perk; donors to the first campaign who received t-shirts have really enjoyed them. (Note: if I receive 500 Scorpion-level donations for the current campaign, the goal of the campaign will be reached. I suspect there are 500 Delany readers out there willing to donate $60 to this project. Perhaps you are one of them.)

Donors at the third level (“Liberator,” $100 and above) will receive the rewards for the previous two levels – and, in addition, a hardcover copy of either Volume 1 (In Search of Silence) or Volume 2 (Autumnal City). Also, donors at this level will be listed, if they so desire, on a special Acknowledgments page in Autumnal City. Check out the cover of In Search of Silence below; as you can see, it's a handsome volume:

Donors at the fourth level (“Sygn,” $200 and above) will receive hardcover copies of both In Search of Silence and Autumnal City, the t-shirt, and the listing on the Acknowledgments page of Autumnal City.

Donors at the fifth level (“Golden,” $500 and above) will receive, in addition to the t-shirt and Acknowledgments listing, a copy of In Search of Silence signed by Delany himself.

(Note: if donations exceed the campaign goal of $30,000, then the extra funds will go directly toward work on the third volume. If the goal is reached before the campaign ends, those who make a “Liberator”-level donation after this point will have their name listed in the third volume rather than the second.)

Final Thoughts

Here are some more endorsements for the first volume, In Search of Silence:

“Mesmerizing . . . a true portrait of an artist as a young Black man . . . already visible in these pages are the wit, sensitivity, penetration, playfulness and the incandescent intelligence that will characterize Delany and his extraordinary work.” —Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

“This is a tremendously significant and vital addition to the oeuvre of Samuel Delany; it clarifies questions not only of the writer’s process, but also his development—to see, in his juvenilia, traces that take full form in his novels—is literally breathtaking.” —Matthew Cheney, author of Blood: Stories

"The first hardcover volume of Samuel Delany's journals, out now from Wesleyan University Press (covering the 1950s and 1960s) is both magisterial and inspirational -- and boy, do we need the inspiration now. I am in awe of the work and scholarship involved. In collaboration with his remarkable subject, editor Kenneth James is doing an invaluable service to our field."
— Andy Duncan, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Night Cache

“These journals give us the very rare experience of being able to watch genius escaping from the chrysalis.” —Jo Walton, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of Among Others

These endorsements, along with the positive reviews the first volume has already received, say something about the quality and significance of the whole projected series.

With your support, I will be able to bring you the next volume in the series – which commences with Delany hard at work on the novel that will become Dhalgren.

I think you will agree: Autumnal City is a project worth supporting. Delany is a very important writer indeed, and bringing his personal journals to readers is an important project.

I hope you will help this volume come to light.  Needless to say: every little bit helps.

Many thanks!