Noted Science-Fiction Novelist Delany Joins UB Faculty

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Samuel R. "Chip" Delany, widely recognized as an intellectually gifted autodidact, literary iconoclast, memoirist and very likely the finest science-fiction novelist of our time, has joined the University at Buffalo faculty as an adjunct professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, where he is expected to make a prominent contribution to the department's Poetics Program. He will become a full professor in the Spring 2000 semester.

One of very few African-American writers to work in a popular genre like science fiction, Delany has transformed the field. His brilliant, lively, exotic, complex tales of intergalactic strife and space intrigue are richly informed by his fascination with language systems, boundaries between reality and art, alienation, myth and the processes by which myths are made and communicated.

His first book, "The Jewels of Aptor," was published in 1962 when Delany was 20 years old. Within a few years, he emerged as the wunderkind of the genre, joining the ranks of Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ and Harlan Ellison, whose books helped remake science fiction in the 1960s.

Delany has since published 18 additional works of fiction, three memoirs -- including "Bread and Wine" -- and seven books of literary and cultural criticism. Critics consistently have applauded the brilliance, originality and depth of his work and he has a strong following among fans and scholars alike. He is the winner of the top literary awards in his field, was a National Book Award nominee and his work has been the subject of many scholarly studies.

Delany comes to UB after a long-term academic appointment at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He also has taught, lectured and presented papers at major universities across the country, including UB.