The Jewel-hinged Jaw
Notes on the Language of Science Fiction
Wesleyan University Press · Print & ebook · July 7, 2009
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.
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- Who it’s for
- Sharp notes on how science fiction talks, thinks, and earns its effects.
- Genres
- SF & Fantasy Criticism, Literary Theory, Essay Collections
- Published
- Wesleyan University Press, July 7, 2009
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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.
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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.
Language Under Glass
Sharp notes on how science fiction talks, thinks, and earns its effects.
Come here for
- Close reading of SF language
- Criticism that reads like a working tool
Expect
- Layered argument
- Prestige without the starch
Where it sits
| SF & Fantasy Criticism | 100% |
|---|---|
| Essay Collections | 47% |
| Literary Theory | 40% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Sci-Fi
- Literary Criticism
- How Cultures Work
- Authors
- Samuel R. Delany, Matthew Cheney
- Publisher
- Wesleyan University Press
- Published
- July 7, 2009
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Sci-Fi