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MEDIA CONTACT: Department of English (585) 275-4092 or Helene Snihur (585) 275-7800
February 9, 2004
TIME, DATE, AND PLACE: 8 p.m. Monday, March 1, in the Welles-Brown Room in Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester’s River Campus
ADMISSION: Free and open to the public
Note: Parking is available on University lots after 7 p.m. weeknights.
Samuel R. Delany, a noted writer whose body of work ranges from science fiction to literary criticism, will give a reading at 8 p.m. Monday, March 1, in the Welles-Brown Room in Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester’s River Campus. His program, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Plutzik Reading Series at the University.
With more than 35 books to his credit, Delany is ranked with Toni Morrison and Ishmael Reed as one of the best contemporary African-American novelists. Although he has written much outside the genre of science fiction—including works of queer theory, autobiography, and cultural criticism—he is, along with Octavia Butler, one of two African Americans considered near the top of science fiction authors.
Delany, born in 1942 in Harlem, published his first novel, The Jewels of Aptor, in 1962. His recent works include the non-fiction works Times Square Red, Times Square Blue and 1984: Selected Letters; fictional works such as Atlantis: Three Tales and The Mad Man; and republished science fiction classics including Dhalgren, Babel-17, and Nova.
A multiple winner of science fiction’s highest honors, the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Delany was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2002. He also is the recipient of the William Whitehead Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Gay and Lesbian Writing.
Delany, who taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the State University of New York at Buffalo, is currently professor of English and creative writing at Temple University.
The Plutzik Series is one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious literary reading programs. Established to honor the work of Hyam Plutzik, a distinguished poet and Deane Professor of Poetry and Rhetoric at the University, it has featured more than 175 noted writers, including Booker Prize recipient Salman Rushdie and Pulitzer Prize winners Anthony Hecht, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wilbur, and Galway Kinnell. The Plutzik Series is administered by the Department of English. Delaney’s reading is co-sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies. For more information, call (585) 275-4092.
Note to Editors: A picture of Delany can be e-mailed you; please contact Helene Snihur at hsnihur@admin.rochester.edu or (585) 275-7800.
The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
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