University Daily Kansan / Thursday. October 23. 1986
7
Sci-fi prof has novel success
By ATLE BJORGE
Dana Ruettigmann/KANSAN
Staff writer
Noted science-fiction author Samuel Delany discusses his stay at KU.
When Samuel Delany was 13 years old, he decided to write his first novel.
"I knew novels were long, so I took all my English papers and made a pile out of them," Delany said. Content, the child saw the pile and thought, "See, there's my novel."
He now has grown from being a child fascinated with everything to a writer with a serious interest in what makes science fiction work.
Delany was a short-term visiting professor last week at KU, and now is back at Cornell University where he teaches a course in
He has won several awards, written best-selling novels and been called "today's most interesting science-fiction author." He also took on the job back very well.
He won the Nebula award for the best science-fiction novel in 1966 and 1967 for "Babel-17" and "The Einstein Intersection," books dealing with language and mythology. His novel "Dalgren" has sold about 1 million copies since its publication in 1974.
The short, stocky man almost seems to come out of the mythology of another world himself. He wears a full, gray beard, and his eyes are keen under bushy eyebrows.
"I've always been somebody, who, when I see someone do something, I want to try to do it myself," he said.
That line of thinking inspired him to write a violin concerto with a full orchestral score when he was 14 years old.
Trying his hand at writing novels was just as natural for him, he said.
"I started writing science fiction because I enjoyed reading it very much when I was an adolescent," he said. "I never thought of myself as particularly likely to become a writer. It just happened."
He wrote his first science-fiction novel, "The Jewels of Aptor," when he was 19 years old, he said. It proved very successful.
That convinced him to turn to full-time science-fiction writing. He finished about a novel a year, but he said it took five years after "The Jewels of Aptor" was published before anyone noticed that he existed.
So when he won his first Nebula award, Delany said, it looked to the world as if a terribly young writer had suddenly burst unto the scene.
"Very often the sudden success story has a background like that."
he said.
Because awards didn't bring him any cash, he gave up writing for three years to play guitar in coffee shops in Greenwich Village, New York.
Since he returned to writing in the early '70s, Delany has turned more of his attention to criticism and the short story, he said.
Delany grew up in Harlem, where he learned about transcending social barriers. His background remains important in his writing.
"I went to school outside Harlem," he said, "so daily I took the trip from this poor, crowded neighborhood to a rich, white suburban neighborhood.
"I was aware that I was passing through, with almost ballistic speed, these social barriers I realized that I could get through."
Hayden says he didn't promise new programs for some groups
TOPEKA  Spokesman for Mike Hayden said yesterday the Republican nominee for governor has not promised new programs to any groups during his campaign against Democrat Tom Docking.
The Associated Press
However, Democratic Gov. John Carlin said the claim will surprise many people who believe differently and it's time for surrogates of the two gubernatorial candidates to step aside so voters can focus on Docking and Hayden.
"It's really a mistake they made today to claim Hayden has made no promises." Carlin said at an impromptu news conference yesterday. "He's made a lot of promises and I'd say Mike Hayden's got some explaining to do.
"I guess Mike Hayden likes the idea of a southeast Kansas highway but has no intention of funding it, and the same is true of education, the environment and community mental health. What about taking Washburn University into the Regents system or doctoral programs at State University or many other things he's proposed?"
"Tom Docking has clearly indicated the direction he envisions for Kansas and stated all along that you can't
nor wants to take us and they've got a commitment from Tom Docking. What this means is Mike Haden has
Voters deserve to know the direction our next gover-
Sen. Bud Burke, R-Leawood, and a group of Republican legislators loyal to Hayden, said the GOP nominee has not promised to build expensive new highways or anything else that the state can't afford.
"Mike hasn't promised anything, such as increasing state aid to local school districts, raising teacher salaries or bringing Washburn University into the Regents system," Burke said. "Mike has not promised those things. He's all said all those things will come at a time when we can afford them."
"I'm unaware of any promises Mike has made to the people of Kansas that cost dollars and are not implementation of a program already approved. I'm unaware of any promises Mike Hayden has made that something is going to happen."
Burke and his dozen colleagues from the House and Senate called a news conference to attack Docking for "holding out hope to groups all across this state about programs he's going to implement."
According to calculations by the Republicans, Docking has run a $258 million tab in new ideas he's promised to fight for if elected governor.
Kline backs statements with cash
By KAREN SAMELSON
The underdog in the race for the Kansas 2nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday continued his attack on his opponent's alleged refusal to debate and offered $1,000 to anyone disproving other claims.
portunities to debate. Mr. Slattery's campaign team has refused six, has provided no answer to one, and only accepted one."
At a news conference yesterday, Phil Kline, the Republican candidate, disputed claims by the campaign manager for his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery, that Slattery's campaign had not ruled out debate opportunities.
"This is simply untrue." Kline said in a prepared statement "As of this date, we have been offered eight op-
Kline listed the seven sponsors of the debates in question and their contact people.
Renee Wessels, Slattery's press secretary, said that some of the sponsors never followed through with the requests and others were not flexible in scheduling.
DECISION'86
Wessels said that it was difficult to schedule debates because Kline had waited until Oct. 6 to ask for the debates and be slattered was
busy in Congress, which didn't adjourn until Saturday.
The Slattery campaign contacted Topeka media at the beginning of September to ask whether they were interested, but none were interested, she said.
Kline also announced this week that he would give a $1,000 cash reward to anyone who could disprove the claim of the company's "big spending" voting record.
"My opponent has accused me of not knowing what I'm talking about, so I decided to put my money where my mouth is," Kline said.
Wessels responded, "This reaches a new height of stillness in this camp."
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POL. ADV. — Paid by Committee to Re-Elect Jessie Branson. Ben Zimmerman-Treas
KU has growing pains. It's bigger this fall by a thousand students. The pain is that the fees those extra students have paid don't stay at KU. The money winds up in the state general fund. KU hopes the Legislature returns that money—about $1.5 million—when it assembles in January. Jessie Branson's three terms in the Kansas House—ones filled with dogged hard work and frequent successes—will serve KU in the quest for what it has earned. Vote lessie again.
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