Dhalgren

I mean Artist in the way this party presupposes. Sure, I make a piece of music; or a fucking dress for that matter—you’d be astonished how similar they are! But I don’t just think you can be that kind of artist any more. Lots of people do things lots better than lots of others; but, today, so many people do so many things very well, and so many people are seriously interested in so many different things people do for their own different reasons, you can’t call any thing the best for every person, or even every serious person. So you just pay real attention to the real things that affect you; and don’t waste your time knocking the rest. This party—it’s ritual attention, the sort you give a social hero. I guess that can be an artist if there’re few enough of them around—

—Lanya

Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany, is a frustrating book. But I enjoyed it.