Re: [scifinoir2] Octavia Butler

[Tracy Curtis]

I like it a lot and taught both *Parable of the Sower* and the short story
"Bloodchild" last semester. Most of her work is not hard sci-fi.  She picks
a set of circumstances (biological anomalies, time anomalies, different
planetary settings, etc.) to explore primarily the ways that people treat
each other as they are pushed to what they thought was their limit.
"Bloodchild," for example, has humans inexplicably living as colonial
subjects to an intelligent insect-like species that needs humans for
reproduction.  The story tests ideas of compelled closeness and familial
responsibility.  Much of her work has black women at the center, which is
nice.  *Kindred* is the novel most often taught in schools.  Butler herself
insisted that it wasn't sci-fi at all.  The set-up is that the main
character, a black woman married to a white man in 1976 finds herself
transported to the pre-Civil War South where she has to contend with and
insufferable white boy/man and has to offer him care.

I hope that helps.  I wasn't sure exactly what you wanted to know.

Tracy

On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 3:46 AM, George Arterberry <
brotherfromhow...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>
> Noir,
>
>
> Thoughts on her writings?
>
>
>  
>

[scifinoir2] Octavia Butler

[George Arterberry]

Noir,


Thoughts on her writings?


  

[scifinoir2] Octavia Butler on Hour of the Wolf, 11/26/05

[Robert A. Monroe, Jr.]

Octavia Butler on Hour of the Wolf 11/26

This Saturday morning, November 26th from 5 to 7 AM, Hour of the Wolf will
broadcast an interview with one of the best and most distinguished writers
of speculative fiction, Octavia E. Butler, regarding (among other things)
her latest novel, Fledgling published by Seven Stories Press. The interview
was conducted earlier this month.

Ms. Butler is most recently the recipient of the 2005 Langston Hughes Award,
joining James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison in
that honor.  Octavia Butler received the 1984 Hugo Award for best short
story (Speech Sounds), the 1999 Nebula Award for best novel (Parable of the
Talents) and a MacArthur Fellowship in 1995.  In addition, PEN Center
(Poets, Essayists and Novelists) presented her with a lifetime achievement
award for writing in 2000.

BACKGROUND:
Hour of the Wolf is the longest running radio program of its kind, featuring
in-depth interviews, readings, radio drama, music, and listener phone calls,
with occasional commentaries and news from the worlds of speculative
fiction.  The program is broadcast to the New York City Tri-State area on
Saturday mornings from 5 till 7 AM over listener-sponsored WBAI, Pacifica
Radio at 99.5 FM, and streamed at
http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram>http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.
ram, and available on demand for a limited time (usually about a month after
broadcast) at http://www.hourwolf.com.  Created by Margot Adler in 1972 as
a daily show, co-host Jim Freund took over the reins in 1974. The show now
airs weekly, with Jim Freund offering readings, music, and talk in his
quirky, inimitable style.




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