
	F	I C T I O N

New fiction from a master explores problems of memory, history, and transgression. Three marvelously structured stories trace the intricate interdepen-dencies of memory, experience, and the self.

The first story "is that rarest of things, a practically perfect book. Delany has always been a visionary, now he is a mature visionary, quietly in control of his material, easily summoning up a past New York for us that is gone, deftly giving us a life to wear that we have never lived. Atlantis: Model 1924 says wise things about life, and sexuality, and race, and says them with understatement and with gentleness, and with a supreme and delicate craft. A stunning book, and one I am already looking forward to rereading." —Neil Gaiman

"Atlantis fits perfectly into the Delany literary tradition, showcasing all of the hallmarks of his style, the superior intellect, the imaginative flourishes, the candor and precision of his vision, and the daring revelations of an extraordinarily complicated life . . . This is a singular talent at the top of his craft. There is no one like Delany in American letters and this brilliant collection of novellas is proof positive of that." —Quarterly Black Review of Books

"Delany takes a variety of literary turns in these three novellas that chronicle the experience of the African American writer in the 20th century . . . [He] seamlessly meshes graceful prose, cultural and philosophical depth and a knowledge of different forms into a truly heady literary blend." —Publishers Weekly

samuel r. delany is the author of The Motion of Light in Water (1987), an autobiography; and, most recently among his many fictions, the novels The Mad Man (1995) and They Fly at Qiron (1993). His series of interrelated novels and stories, Return to Neveryon, as well as new editions of his novels Dhalgren (1996) and Trouble on Triton (1996) and the essay collections Longer Views (1996) and Silent Interviews (1994), are all available from Wesleyan University Press. He is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Wesleyan University ^ress

PUBLISHED BY

PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND

AND LONDON

ISBN 0-81 95-6312-9

9780819563125

cover painting: The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, 1920-22; The White Way I, by Joseph Stella

BOOKS BY SAMUEL R. DELANY

FICTION

The Jewels of Aptor

The Fall of the Towers

The Ballad of Beta-2

Babel-17

Empire Star

The Einstein Intersection

Nova

Equinox

Hogg

Dhalgren

Triton

Stars in My Pocket like Grains of Sand

Return to Neveryon :

Tales of Neveryon

Neveryona

Flight from Neveryon

Return to Neveryon

Driftglass /Starshards {collectedstories)

They Fly at £iron

The Mad Man

Atlantis

NONFICTION

The Jewel-Hinged Jaw

The American Shore

Heavenly Breakfast

Starboard Wine

The Motion of Light in Water

The Straits of Messina

Silent Interviews

Longer Views

(lAtlantis

THREE TALES

Samuel R. Delany

Wesley an University^,cPress

PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND HANOVER & LONDON

Wesleyan University Press

Published by University Press of New England, Hanover, nh 03755

A limited first edition of Atlantis was published by Incunabula in April 1995.

In slightly different form, section b of Atlantis: Model 1924 first appeared in The Kenyon Review, Fall 1993, Volume xv, Number 4; section ^and part of section c first appeared in The Kenyon Review, Fall 1994, Volume xvi, Number 4. Copyright © 1993, 1994 by Kenyon College.

In slightly different form, sections of "Eric, Gwen, and D. H. Lawrence s Esthetic of Unrectified Feeling" first appeared in Callaloo, Spring 1991, Volume 14, Number 2. Copyright © 1991 by Charles H. Rowell.

In slightly different form, sections 11 and v of "Citre et Trans" first appeared in Fiction International, 1991, Number 22. Copyright © 1992 by San Diego State University Press. In slightly different form, sections 1, in, iv, v, and vi appeared in Pacific Review, Spring 19 91. Copyright © 19 91 by Pacific Review.

The author extends his warmest thanks to editors Ron Drummond, Marilyn Hacker, Charles H. Rowell, Harold Jaffe &c Larry McCaffery, and Suzanne M. Sato 6c Sinda Gregory; and to John D. Berry for his fine sense of book design — and great patience. As well, thanks go to Edward Brunner for Crane and train lore. And for generously sharing their expertise on '20 s pulp magazines and record players, happy thanks go to Frank Robinson and Bill Blackbeard.

Cover art: The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, 1920-22: The White Way I, by Joseph Stella, Collection of The Newark Museum, Purchase 1937, Felix Fuld Bequest Fund.

Edited, designed, and produced by

Incunabula, Post Office Box 30146, Seattle, wa 98103-0146

Printed in the United States of America

5 43 2

cip data appear at the end of the book

For

Iva Hacker-Delany',

John R. Keene, Jr.,

and

Dennis Rickett

All the little household gods

Have started crying, but say Good-bye now, and put to sea.

Farewell, dear friend, farewell...

— w. h. auden, "Atlantis"

The long shadow thrown from this single

obstruction to its own light! Thought flies out from the old scars of the sea

as if to land. Flocks that are longings come in to shake over the deep water.

It's prodigies held in time's amber

old destructions

and the theme of revival the heart asks for.

The past and future are full of disasters, splendors shaken to earth, seas rising to overshadow shores and roaring in.

— ROBERT DUNCAN, "Atlantis"

CONTENTS

Atlantis: Model 1924 Eric, Gwen, and D.H. Lawrence's Esthetic of Unrectified Feeling

Citre et Trans

'73

ATLANTIS: MODEL 1924

Distinctly praise the years...

—hart crane, "For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen"

Edited, designed, and produced by

Incunabula.

Edited by Ron Drummond.

Book design and composition by John D. Berry.

The type is Adobe Caslon,

as part of the Adobe Originals series of digital typefaces.

Adobe Caslon is based directly on

specimen sheets of William Caslon's text types

from the early 18 th century.

Produced with Aldus PageMaker 5.0

on an Apple Macintosh nvx.

Printed and bound by

Braun-Brumfield of Ann Arbor, Michigan:

printed on 6o# Glatfelter Natural Smooth acid-free paper,

sewn & bound in Roxite C linen cloth over boards.

Thanks to the following for their assistance:

Margaret Di Salvi, Doug Faunt,

Rachel Gugler, David G. Hartwell,

Dave Howell, Greg Ketter,

Neil S Kvern, Kate Schaefer,

David Sherrard, Suzanna Tamminen,

&Tom Whitmore.

university press of new England publishes books under its own imprint and is the publisher for Brandeis University Press, Brown University Press, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College Press, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, Tufts University, University of Vermont, Wesleyan University Press, and Salzburg Seminar.

library of congress cataloging-in-publication data

Delany, Samuel R.

Atlantis : three tales / Samuel R. Delany

p. m. Contents: Atlantis—Erik, Gwen, and D.H. Lawrence's aesthetic of unrectified feeling—Citre et trans. isbn 0-8195-5283-6 1. Title

PS3554.E437A85 1995 813'.54 — dc20 94-48726



	BOOKS BY SAMUEL R. DELANY

	FICTION The Jewels of Aptor The Fall of the Towers The Ballad of Beta-2 Babel-17 Empire Star The Einstein Intersection Nova Equinox Hogg Dhalgren Triton Stars in My Pocket like Grains of Sand Return to Neveryon : Tales of Neveryon Neveryona Flight from Neveryon Return to Neveryon Driftglass /Starshards {collectedstories) They Fly at £iron The Mad Man Atlantis NONFICTION The Jewel-Hinged Jaw The American Shore Heavenly Breakfast Starboard Wine The Motion of Light in Water The Straits of Messina Silent Interviews Longer Views



	Wesleyan University Press Published by University Press of New England, Hanover, nh 03755 Copyright © 1995 by Samuel R. Delany All rights reserved A limited first edition of Atlantis was published by Incunabula in April 1995. In slightly different form, section b of Atlantis: Model 1924 first appeared in The Kenyon Review, Fall 1993, Volume xv, Number 4; section ^and part of section c first appeared in The Kenyon Review, Fall 1994, Volume xvi, Number 4. Copyright © 1993, 1994 by Kenyon College. In slightly different form, sections of "Eric, Gwen, and D. H. Lawrence s Esthetic of Unrectified Feeling" first appeared in Callaloo, Spring 1991, Volume 14, Number 2. Copyright © 1991 by Charles H. Rowell. In slightly different form, sections 11 and v of "Citre et Trans" first appeared in Fiction International, 1991, Number 22. Copyright © 1992 by San Diego State University Press. In slightly different form, sections 1, in, iv, v, and vi appeared in Pacific Review, Spring 19 91. Copyright © 19 91 by Pacific Review. The author extends his warmest thanks to editors Ron Drummond, Marilyn Hacker, Charles H. Rowell, Harold Jaffe &c Larry McCaffery, and Suzanne M. Sato 6c Sinda Gregory; and to John D. Berry for his fine sense of book design — and great patience. As well, thanks go to Edward Brunner for Crane and train lore. And for generously sharing their expertise on '20 s pulp magazines and record players, happy thanks go to Frank Robinson and Bill Blackbeard. Cover art: The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, 1920-22: The White Way I, by Joseph Stella, Collection of The Newark Museum, Purchase 1937, Felix Fuld Bequest Fund. Edited, designed, and produced by Incunabula, Post Office Box 30146, Seattle, wa 98103-0146 Printed in the United States of America 5 43 2 cip data appear at the end of the book



	For Iva Hacker-Delany', John R. Keene, Jr., and Dennis Rickett



	All the little household gods Have started crying, but say Good-bye now, and put to sea. Farewell, dear friend, farewell... — w. h. auden, "Atlantis" The long shadow thrown from this single obstruction to its own light! Thought flies out from the old scars of the sea as if to land. Flocks that are longings come in to shake over the deep water. It's prodigies held in time's amber old destructions and the theme of revival the heart asks for. The past and future are full of disasters, splendors shaken to earth, seas rising to overshadow shores and roaring in. — ROBERT DUNCAN, "Atlantis"



	ATLANTIS: MODEL 1924

	Distinctly praise the years... —hart crane, "For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen"



	Edited, designed, and produced by Incunabula. Edited by Ron Drummond. Book design and composition by John D. Berry. The type is Adobe Caslon, designed by Carol Twombly in 1990 as part of the Adobe Originals series of digital typefaces. Adobe Caslon is based directly on specimen sheets of William Caslon's text types from the early 18 th century. Produced with Aldus PageMaker 5.0 on an Apple Macintosh nvx. Printed and bound by Braun-Brumfield of Ann Arbor, Michigan: printed on 6o# Glatfelter Natural Smooth acid-free paper, sewn & bound in Roxite C linen cloth over boards. Thanks to the following for their assistance: Margaret Di Salvi, Doug Faunt, Rachel Gugler, David G. Hartwell, Dave Howell, Greg Ketter, Neil S Kvern, Kate Schaefer, David Sherrard, Suzanna Tamminen, &Tom Whitmore.



	ATLANTIS