The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction

This ground-breaking work of criticism by master of science fiction Samuel R. Delany was first published in 1977 and has long been out of print. The edition is significantly revised and updated. Delany was one of the first writers to eloquently speak for the power of science fiction's language, not just its gadgets and its landscapes. He believes that science fiction, like poetry, is something that we must learn how to read. To that end, The Jewel-Hinged Jaw contains close, insightful textual analyses of writers such as Thomas M. Disch, Ursula K. LeGuin, Roger Zelazny, Joanna Russ and others. Some of his most famous essays are here, including About 5,750 Words and To Read The Dispossessed. This book will be useful to any student of science fiction and is a must-have for Delany fans

Classic work of science fiction criticism revised and expanded by the author

An indispensable work of science fiction criticism revised and expanded

Samuel R. Delany's The Jewel-Hinged Jaw appeared originally in 1977, and is now long out of print and hard to find. The impact of its demonstration that science fiction was a special language, rather than just gadgets and green-skinned aliens, began reverberations still felt in science fiction criticism. This edition includes two new essays, one written at the time and one written about those times, as well as an introduction by writer and teacher Matthew Cheney, placing Delany's work in historical context. Close textual analyses of Thomas M. Disch, Ursula K. Le Guin, Roger Zelazny, and Joanna Russ read as brilliantly today as when they first appeared. Essays such as About 5,750 Words and To Read The Dispossessed first made the book a classic; they assure it will remain one.