January 6, 2023 Hello , Did you know it was National Science Fiction Day this week? I did not. It's completely coincidence I planned to write you about one of the greatest sci-fi novelists of all time. Honestly, I am not a big reader of science fiction and I had never heard of Octavia Estelle Butler until I saw her biography listed on The Nerdies: The 2022 Nerdy Book Club Awards for Long Form Nonfiction. Which, I admit, I was only looking at because someone told me my book was on the list. Embarrassing. But so happy for Close Up On War. You should take a look at all the books on list, but here, I'm excited to tell you about the Octavia Butler biography coming out this month amid rave reviews.
Science Fiction Pioneer: Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler became one of the first black and first woman science fiction writers when the genre was almost exclusively authored by straight, white western men. She published her first book in 1976, Patternmaster, which became the first of a triolgy. She published at least seventeen books as well as short stories and essays before she died in 2006.
Octavia's commercial and literary success made way in the science fiction genre for more women and black writers. Her accomplishments include being the only science fiction writer ever awarded a MacArthur "Genius Grant. She won the two highest honors for science fiction, the Nebula and Hugo Awards, a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award, and the City College of New York’s Langston Hughes Medal. But the new biography written for young people, Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, focuses on Octavia's girlhood. It's written by a pretty amazing author
herself. Ibi Zoboi just might be on pace to walk in Butler's footsteps and beyond. This is her eighth book, and it has earned, so far, six starred reviews. Ibi says," It's about the power of imagination, the power of stick-to-it-iveness to follow a goal and a dream and never stop."
From the publisher: "Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red
Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death."
Butler is considered the first writer of what NPR defines as Afrofuturism, “an
open-ended genre combining science fiction, fantasy and history to imagine a liberated future through a Black lens.” Ibi believes Octavia Butler is a great example for young writers. "She was a lover of science, an inquisitive writer, and a keen observer of society. Butler simply paid close attention to human behavior." Ibi Zoboi made a splash with her 2017 book, the New York Times Bestselling young adult novel American Street, also National Book Award Finalist. See all of her books here...
Ibi Zoboi was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and immigrated to New York City with her mother when she was four-years-old. She now lives in Maplewood, New Jersey with her husband and their three children. Star Child hits shelves later this month, January 25th. On Goodreads, early reviewers are weighing in. Zoboi uses stunning poetry to convey the life of Butler through shapes and movement of stanzas. ~Cheyenne "[An] unbelievably imaginative and respectful collection of verse and narrative that celebrates Butler's genius. ~Alicia A book like this tells me, Mary, up your game! Octavia Butler and Ibi Zoboi would like that, I think. Let me know if you've read any of Octavia Butler's science fiction or Ibi Zoboi'a booka for young people.
Like my article today? Please forward to a friend or share:
Someone shared with me a New Year's post by Jim Palmer that touched on something real for me and I thought I'd
share it here. It's quite long, but even the first three paragraphs are enough to make you think. In A Tale of Two
Cities, Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Dickens puts his finger on something that we all relate to. There is a paradox to life. We feel both a brokenness and wholeness to life. The miracle is that wholeness is often born out of brokenness. I don’t
know what will kill me first - the beauty of this world or the sorrow of it. There is a bliss that no amount of ache can steal away. And there’s an ache that no amount of bliss can rescue you from. The deal is both the beauty and the sorrow. It's what it means to be human. You are supposed to feel both the bliss and the ache. Life is not supposed to make you feel good or make you feel bad; it's just supposed to make you feel.
2022 - it is what it is, or rather here on December 31st, was what is was. Now, 2023. Today is an ending and a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, wrote:
“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
So I find words I never thought to speak."
Eliot says
next year's words await "another voice." What voice will you be speaking from in 2023? A voice of greater authenticity? A voice of courage? A voice of honesty? A voice of passion?
What words will you find that you "never thought to
speak"? In other words, what needs, desires, dreams, aspirations, visions and longings will you own, express and honor? How will you speak your truth, no longer be silent about what matters to you, and stand in your unique thoughts, feelings, values and convictions?
If you want to read more, Jim continues his New Year's post on Facebook here... Jim is a counselor to people dealing with religious trauma and spiritual abuse.
Follow me on social media
Read a great book? Have a burning question? Let me know. If you know someone who might enjoy my newsletter or books, please
forward this e-mail. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe anytime at the link below.
To find out more about my books, how I help students, teachers, librarians and writers visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com.
Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter.
|
|
|
