Justin Gifford, associate professor of U.S. American literature in the Department of English, whose focus is on African American culture and popular fiction, was recently awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship.
“The NEH is one of the most prestigious national awards in humanities, so I must admit I feel very excited about this opportunity,” Gifford said. “Humbled and excited.”
The fellowship allows scholars of all areas to focus on their projects, whether it’s to make digital materials, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, etc., as NEH provides funding.
The NEH program grant will allow Gifford to put teaching aside for a year to focus on the completion of his new book, “Time Considered as a Helix: The Life of Samuel R. Delany,” which is due to Temple University Press in the fall of 2025.
His book will be a biography of Samuel R. Delany.
“He was the first openly gay Black science fiction writer in history,” Gifford said.
According to Gifford, science fiction was predominantly influenced by straight white men when Delany was first beginning his career in the 1960s. Delany took the genre in a new direction and was able to explore his own identity through making Black protagonists, queer and transgender characters, and gay and polyamorous relationships.
The biography will touch on the history of Black and gay life in the mid- to late-20th century.
So far, Gifford has conducted over 50 interviews with 80-year-old Delany and done countless readings of letters, manuscripts and Delany’s other work.
“Street Poison: The Biography of Iceberg Slim;” and “Revolution or Death: The Life of Eldridge Cleaver,” are two other biographies Gifford has written.
