This has a lot of good information, but it's dense. It's hard to digest all of it. It is also majorly influenced by the fact that Delaney is a highly critical reader; I had difficulty connecting with his advice even before he mentioned 15% of the way in that he DNFed 19 out of 20 books he started reading. I might come back to this later to read more of it, but for now I've had all I care to read of this book. ( )

Samuel R. Delany has crafted an intelligent, rigorous collection of essays, interviews, letters and advice about writing and literature. At times, especially in the interviews the discussion veers into some offbeat territory and Delany is so well read and articulate he can be a bit hard to follow at times, despite striving for clarity. He's aware of his own pretensions too, which is helpful. The beginning "An Introduction: Emblems of Talent" is worth reading or buying the book alone, especially his succinct discussion about the difference between good writing and talented writing. Delany also has little mercy for the majority of contemporary writers of fiction and you may find yourself (as I did) wondering if you can or should write anymore. Getting a smack-down like this is helpful, it's honest, and also makes me want to get back to drafting because I've got a lot more understanding about the process than before regardless of how wilted I am on the inside. ( )