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Equinox (novel)
Encyclopedia
Equinox is a 1973 novel
by Samuel R. Delany
, and is Delany's first published foray into explicitly sexual material. It tells of a series of erotic and violent encounters in a small American seaport following the arrival of an African-American sea captain. It is a non science fiction work, though with fantastic
elements.
Peter Nicholls
in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
described the work as "serious in intent, though likely to be shocking to most readers in its evocation of the extremes of sadomasochism in imagery which is sometimes poetic and often disgusting -and so intended- perhaps as a Baudelairean
ritual of passage".
was written contemporaneously with Dhalgren
. Equinox
is Delany's preferred title, but the book was originally released under the title The Tides of Lust, a compromise with the publisher, Lancer Books
, who wanted to call it Tides of Eros.
In 1975 a translation into the French
came out, published by Champ Libre
as Vice Versa.
The book was first published in the UK in 1980 by Savoy Books of Manchester
. 2000 copies were seized by the police (along with 3000 copies of the Charles Platt novel The Gas) and the rest of the printing withdrawn from booksellers. Following a prosecution one of Savoy's partners, David Britton
, was sent to prison in May 1982.
When republished in the early 1980s, all ages of underage people who performed sexual acts were increased by 100; e.g. there were 109 year old children in the prose.
A new American paperback edition was published in January 1994 by Masquerade Books, under the RhinocEros label.
) Nig and Dove.
A lost wallet is traced to its owner, the artist Jonathan Proctor. At his studio, Proctor tells the Captain the story of his life in picaresque episodes, culminating in his first encounter, many years before, with the bewitching Catherine. She is depicted as a kind of baleful Madonna
: depraved, hypocritical, perversely saintlike
. Proctor mobilises the Captain and the other characters in a kind of amorous military assault
against her as a personification of religious double standards. In the novel's closing movement, the perpetrators of an appalling sex crime are protected by their corrupt friends, while the completely innocent vagabond Robby is lynched and punished in their place. The apparent brevity of the novel thus detailed, and the slightness of its narrative, is only achieved by passing over its many long and very explicit sexual descriptions. These are polymorphous, bisexual, often involving multiple
and underage
partners, and incorporating urophilic
and SM elements. Though very detailed and gratuitous (in that the author seems to revel in and enjoy the sexual descriptions), these passages are generally written in a poetic, obscure and oblique
language which removes them from the realm of mere pornography
and inserts the novel into a modern tradition of challenging and thoughtful erotica
shared by such works as Burroughs' The Wild Boys
and Trocchi
's Cain's Book
.
There is an additional leitmotif
relating to the myth of Faust
, and at several points the Captain himself is either likened to the Devil
or actually supposed to be Satan
himself. Though sexually rapacious, the Captain's character is sympathetic, and in his conduct and attitudes seen to be one of the least truly evil
personages in the narrative.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, and is Delany's first published foray into explicitly sexual material. It tells of a series of erotic and violent encounters in a small American seaport following the arrival of an African-American sea captain. It is a non science fiction work, though with fantastic
Fantastic
The Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres, and, in some cases, is used as a genre in and of itself, although in this case it is often conflated with the Supernatural. The term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic Tzvetan Todorov in his work...
elements.
Peter Nicholls
Peter Nicholls (writer)
Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ....
in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
described the work as "serious in intent, though likely to be shocking to most readers in its evocation of the extremes of sadomasochism in imagery which is sometimes poetic and often disgusting -and so intended- perhaps as a Baudelairean
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
ritual of passage".
Publication history
EquinoxEquinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
was written contemporaneously with Dhalgren
Dhalgren
Dhalgren is a science fiction novel by Samuel R. Delany. The story begins with a cryptic passage:to wound the autumnal city.So howled out for the world to give him a name.The in-dark answered with wind....
. Equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
is Delany's preferred title, but the book was originally released under the title The Tides of Lust, a compromise with the publisher, Lancer Books
Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a series of paperback books published from 1961 through 1973 by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularly its series of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian tales, the...
, who wanted to call it Tides of Eros.
In 1975 a translation into the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
came out, published by Champ Libre
Champ Libre
Champ Libre is a French publisher founded in 1969 by Gérard Lebovici in Paris.In 1984, after the assassination of Gérard Lebovici, Champ Libre changed its name and became Editions Gérard Lebovici as an hommage...
as Vice Versa.
The book was first published in the UK in 1980 by Savoy Books of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. 2000 copies were seized by the police (along with 3000 copies of the Charles Platt novel The Gas) and the rest of the printing withdrawn from booksellers. Following a prosecution one of Savoy's partners, David Britton
David Britton
David Britton is a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded Weird Fantasy and Crucified Toad, a series of small press magazines of the speculative fiction and horror genres...
, was sent to prison in May 1982.
When republished in the early 1980s, all ages of underage people who performed sexual acts were increased by 100; e.g. there were 109 year old children in the prose.
A new American paperback edition was published in January 1994 by Masquerade Books, under the RhinocEros label.
Synopsis
Equinox concerns the sexual and violent encounters that ensue -"the search for erogenous gratification of a diverse collection of people"- when an unnamed Black sea captain, sailing his 72-foot diesel boat, the Scorpion, with his dog Niger and two teenagers Gunner and Kirsten, docks at a small American seaport and meets its inhabitants including Robby, a naive drifter; Catherine, a Countess; Proctor, an artist; Bull, the town sheriff (who is himself an active criminal) and his equally thuggish operative Nazi; and various low-life characters including the black and white twins (self described rape artistsMale prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
) Nig and Dove.
A lost wallet is traced to its owner, the artist Jonathan Proctor. At his studio, Proctor tells the Captain the story of his life in picaresque episodes, culminating in his first encounter, many years before, with the bewitching Catherine. She is depicted as a kind of baleful Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
: depraved, hypocritical, perversely saintlike
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. Proctor mobilises the Captain and the other characters in a kind of amorous military assault
The Romaunt of the Rose
The Romaunt of the Rose is a partial translation into Middle English of the French allegory, the Roman de la Rose. In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women he confirms that he has translated at least part of the poem but the extant work is of dubious authenticity...
against her as a personification of religious double standards. In the novel's closing movement, the perpetrators of an appalling sex crime are protected by their corrupt friends, while the completely innocent vagabond Robby is lynched and punished in their place. The apparent brevity of the novel thus detailed, and the slightness of its narrative, is only achieved by passing over its many long and very explicit sexual descriptions. These are polymorphous, bisexual, often involving multiple
Group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Group sex can occur amongst people of all sexual orientations and genders...
and underage
Ephebophilia
Ephebophilia is the sexual preference of adults for mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19. The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid 20th century, and has been more recently revisited by Ray Blanchard. It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed...
partners, and incorporating urophilic
Urolagnia
Urolagnia is a paraphilia in which sexual excitement is associated with the sight or thought of urine or urination. The term has origins in the Greek Language .Those who enjoy urolagnia may enjoy urinating on another person or persons, or being urinated upon...
and SM elements. Though very detailed and gratuitous (in that the author seems to revel in and enjoy the sexual descriptions), these passages are generally written in a poetic, obscure and oblique
Oblique
Oblique may refer to:*Oblique angle, in geometry, an angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees*Oblique angle, synonym for Dutch angle, a cinematographic technique*Oblique , by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson...
language which removes them from the realm of mere pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and inserts the novel into a modern tradition of challenging and thoughtful erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
shared by such works as Burroughs' The Wild Boys
The Wild Boys
The title The Wild Boys may refer to:* The Wild Boys , a 1971 novel by William S. Burroughs* The Wild Boys , a 1984 single by Duran Duran, named after the novel* Wild Boys, a 2011 Australian TV series from the Seven Network...
and Trocchi
Alexander Trocchi
Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi was a Scottish novelist.-Early career:Trocchi was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and Italian father. After working as a seaman on the Murmansk convoys, he attended University of Glasgow. On graduation he obtained a traveling grant that enabled him to...
's Cain's Book
Cain's Book
Cain's Book is a 1960 novel by Scottish beat writer Alexander Trocchi. A roman a clef, it details the life of Joe Necchi, a heroin addict and writer, who is living and working on a scow on the Hudson River in New York....
.
There is an additional leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
relating to the myth of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, and at several points the Captain himself is either likened to the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
or actually supposed to be Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
himself. Though sexually rapacious, the Captain's character is sympathetic, and in his conduct and attitudes seen to be one of the least truly evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
personages in the narrative.