Don DeLillo's America - A Don DeLillo Site


Coverage of author Don DeLillo on the web since 1996, last updated: 05-November-2024

The big novels: White Noise | Underworld | Libra | Mao II | The Names

Popular links: What's New | Bibliography | Bio | Novels | Stories | Plays | Interviews | Events | Etc.



Don DeLillo in the Bronx, 1997. Photo by The New York Times

It's no accident that my first novel was called Americana. This was a private declaration of independence, a statement of my intention to use the whole picture, the whole culture. America was and is the immigrant's dream, and as the son of two immigrants I was attracted by the sense of possibility that had drawn my grandparents and parents.

--Don DeLillo, from the 1993 interview with Adam Begley

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence. The writer is the man or woman who automatically takes a stance against his or her government. There are so many temptations for American writers to become part of the system and part of the structure that now, more than ever, we have to resist. American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous. Writers in repressive societies are considered dangerous. That's why so many of them are in jail.

--Don DeLillo, from the 1988 interview with Ann Arensberg


Don DeLillo has published numerous novels since 1971, along with several plays and numerous stories. I believe he is one of the most distinctive and interesting American writers of our day (not to mention that he can be very funny). His sentences are utterly his own.

Please note that this web site takes the position that every bit of DeLillo writing is worth documenting; not everyone will agree. Even I sometimes wonder!


The site was last updated on 05-November-2024.

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Bibliography | Bio | Novels | Stories | Plays/Screenplays | Other Writing | Interviews and Profiles | DeLillo on Writing | Events | LitCrit | Reviews | Odds and Ends | FAQ | Links | Search List | Detractors | Acknowledgements
This page is maintained by Curt Gardner. If you can provide any more info or have suggestions, drop a line to (with the word 'DeLillo' in the subject, so it doesn't get lost in the spam!).

Don DeLillo's America came online on February 3, 1996, and is updated regularly. This website was proudly designed for the lowest common denominator, text-only browsers, but does include pictures these days!


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