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- Thanks Erich, I'd agree! There are also the halfhearted (but no less
dangerous) whites with guns that Kid hears in the upper balconies of
George's home/theater, when the Reverend Amy delivers her apocalyptic
sermon. As for historical connections/allusions, I think Delany is also
bringing in the so-called "race riots" of the 1960s are definitely in pl=
ay.
This is a good example of Delany not extrapolating some idea (racism) bu=
t
playing with the "resonance between an idea and a landscape," as he defi=
ned
SF in one of the essays in *The Jewel-Hinged Jaw*. The jumbled
chronology of events in *Dhalgren* is not a mere play of narrative
device, but concretely affects the aforementioned "resonance" of
race-relations and the city. Do the snipers target black leaders like
Fenster because he facilitated black unrest? Do the minorities in Bellon=
a
riot because of the snipers? Both are correct (or wrong) depending on wh=
ere
you decide to begin *Dhalgren's* chain of events. More importantly, this
chicken-or-the-egg confusion redirects us to the more important underlyi=
ng
idea: instead of pinpointing some singular cause for the violence and
unrest, we might do to identify and challenge the very discourse of race=
,
and the ipso facto conditions of racial inequality: where one lives, whe=
re
one can speak (for the whites, the citypaper; for the blacks, only the
church and the streets.)
I'm always open for my discussion, about this or other themes, other books.
Best,
Noah
On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 9:57 AM, Erich Schneider [email protected]
[delany-list] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> Reading *Dhalgren* again, a thing that particularly strikes me is the
> many recurring references to a sniper, probably white, atop the Second
> City Bank building, who shoots one or more black people in the street
> below. Reading them this month, it recalls the feeling I have gotten
> many times in the past few years with each new report of a black man
> or woman being shot down by police or a vigilante for no good reason -
> "oh God, another one?"
>
> One of the people shot in *Dhalgren* is Paul Fenster, the black civil
> rights activist. I have to wonder if this recurring element was meant by
> Delany to evoke the stream of prominent killings in America in the
> '60s - JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., RFK - and the similar
> feeling I have heard went through people then. (I was born in 1971,
> so, before my time.)
>
> --
> Erich Schneider [email protected]
>=20
>
--=20
It's a beautiful universe, Japril [...] It=E2=80=99s a universe where wha=
t is
built, what is written, what has been made, makes hands hold the beauty
they do; and what is thought, or felt, or wondered over is marvelous
because somebody clutched their hands, or held them very still, or merely
moved them slightly during the feeling or thinking of it.
=E2=80=94 Samuel R. Delany, *Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand*
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:garamond=
,serif"><ul><li>Thanks Erich,=C2=A0 I'd agree! There are also the halfh=
earted (but no less dangerous) whites with guns that Kid hears in the upper=
balconies of George's home/theater, when the Reverend Amy delivers her=
apocalyptic sermon. As for historical connections/allusions, I think Delan=
y is also bringing in the so-called "race riots" of the 1960s are=
definitely in play. This is a good example of Delany not extrapolating som=
e idea (racism) but playing with the "resonance between an idea and a =
landscape," as he defined SF in one of the essays in <i>The Jewel-Hing=
ed Jaw</i>. The jumbled chronology of events in <i>Dhalgren</i> is not a me=
re play of narrative device, but concretely affects the aforementioned &quo=
t;resonance" of race-relations and the city. Do the snipers target bla=
ck leaders like Fenster because he facilitated black unrest? Do the minorit=
ies in Bellona riot because of the snipers? Both are correct (or wrong) dep=
ending on where you decide to begin <i>Dhalgren's</i> chain of events. =
More importantly, this chicken-or-the-egg confusion redirects us to the mor=
e important underlying idea: instead of pinpointing some singular cause for=
the violence and unrest, we might do to identify and challenge the very di=
scourse of race, and the ipso facto conditions of racial inequality: where =
one lives, where one can speak (for the whites, the citypaper; for the blac=
ks, only the church and the streets.)</li></ul><p>I'm always open for m=
y discussion, about this or other themes, other books. <br></p><p>Best,</p>=
<p>Noah<br></p></div></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br><div class=3D"gma=
il_quote">On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 9:57 AM, Erich Schneider <a href=3D"mailt=
o:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> [delany-list] <spa=
n dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"=
_blank">[email protected]</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote cl=
ass=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;p=
adding-left:1ex">
<u></u>
=20
<div style=3D"background-color:#fff">
<span>=C2=A0</span>
<div>
<div>
<div>
=20=20=20=20=20=20
=20=20=20=20=20=20
<p>Reading *Dhalgren* again, a thing that particularly strikes me is =
the<br>
many recurring references to a sniper, probably white, atop the Second<br>
City Bank building, who shoots one or more black people in the street<br>
below. Reading them this month, it recalls the feeling I have gotten<br>
many times in the past few years with each new report of a black man<br>
or woman being shot down by police or a vigilante for no good reason -<br>
"oh God, another one?"<br>
<br>
One of the people shot in *Dhalgren* is Paul Fenster, the black civil<br>
rights activist. I have to wonder if this recurring element was meant by<br=
>
Delany to evoke the stream of prominent killings in America in the<br>
'60s - JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., RFK - and the similar<br=
>
feeling I have heard went through people then. (I was born in 1971,<br>
so, before my time.)<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Erich Schneider <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_bla=
nk">[email protected]</a><br>
</p>
</div>
=20=20=20=20=20
=20=20=20=20
<div style=3D"color:#fff;min-height:0"></div>
</div>
=20=20
</blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br>-- <br><div class=3D"gmail_sig=
nature" data-smartmail=3D"gmail_signature"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><div dir=
=3D"ltr"><div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"text-align:left"><font color=
=3D"#741b47" face=3D"garamond, serif" size=3D"4"><span style=3D"background-=
color:rgb(243,243,243)">It's a beautiful universe, Japril [...]=C2=A0</=
span></font><span style=3D"background-color:rgb(243,243,243)"><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(74,74,73);font-family:Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',ser=
if;font-size:13px;font-style:italic;line-height:22px">=C2=A0</span><span st=
yle=3D"line-height:22px"><font face=3D"garamond, serif" size=3D"4"><font co=
lor=3D"#4a4a49">=C2=A0</font><font color=3D"#741b47">It=E2=80=99s a univers=
e where what is built, what is written, what has been made, makes hands hol=
d the beauty they do; and what is thought, or felt, or wondered over is mar=
velous because somebody clutched their hands, or held them very still, or m=
erely moved them slightly during the feeling or thinking of it. =C2=A0<br>=
=E2=80=94 Samuel R. Delany, <i>Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand</i></=
font></font></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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Posted by: Noah Lyons <[email protected]> <hr st=
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=3D=3D Posted to delany-list, hosted at yahoo groups =3D=3D<BR>
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