187 Quotes by Samuel R. Delany

I was born,” the Mouse said. “I must die. I am suffering. Help me. There, I just wrote your book for you.

Don’t go chattering to the stars if you’re going to do it with your eyes closed.

The idea that certain things in life – and in the universe – don’t yield up their secrets is something that requires a slightly more mature reader to accept.

But I realized something. About art. And psychiatry. They’re both self-perpetuating systems. Like religion. All three of them promise you a sense of inner worth and meaning, and spend a lot of time telling you about the suffering you have to go through to achieve it.

I took my writing seriously, and it seemed to pay off.

The only important elements in any society are the artistic and the criminal, because they alone, by questioning the society’s values, can force it to change.

You are trapped in that bright moment where you learned your doom.

When he’s connected up to your nervous system, you’ll be able to make him whistle, hiss, roar, flap his wings, and spit sparks, though it may take a few days to assimilate him into your body picture. Don’t be surprised if at first he just burps and looks seasick. Take your shirt off, please.

Jo, you’re you. And that’s as important as you want to make it.