#Octavia e. butler professional

So in September 2020, I went in search of more novels, short stories, essays, and speeches. I had previously read Kindred (1979) and Wild Seed (1980), as well as selected stories from Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995). For these reasons, my study of Butler felt timely and her words instructive, as I looked on while society contended simultaneously with an unknown virus and an all-too-familiar force, better regarded as capitalism. Zoom meetings had replaced in-person gatherings. Surgical masks and N95s not only prevented the transfer of air particles but also hid the friendliness associated with smiles. People who once greeted one another with handshakes and hugs now wore gloves and guarded themselves assiduously. COVID-19 vaccines were in the making, but not yet distributed. The moment when I began to delve deeper into Butler’s works coincided with a period of heightened change not just for me, but I imagine for most. My own deep study of Butler began in September 2020. My desire is that we keep reading, with Butler as our guide and guardian. My hope is for my story to spark some interest in those who have never read Butler and to rekindle excitement in those who have.

Many of us have such stories when it comes to our most-beloved authors. Attending to each of these things and more will help us say her name boldly and abundantly now and forever more.įirst, however, we should ask: Who was Butler? And why exactly does she have such a hold on us (and why can’t we let go of her)? What follows is my reflection on when and how I came to Butler’s work.

As each of these tributes demonstrates, there is much more to learn about and from Butler as pertains to her creative practice, her literary works, and her understudied stories. Together, these tributes not only pay homage to Butler on her 75th birthday but also gesture to how we might attend to her life and her work for the next 75 years to come, thereby ensuring her legacy.

#Octavia e. butler professional

To mark what would have been Butler’s 75th birthday on June 22, Public Books is publishing three individual responses from scholars, journalists, and creative intellectuals whose personal and professional lives owe much to the author’s vision and visioning. But how exactly did Butler live in the world? What kinds of world(s) did she imagine? And how did what she imagine inspire and enliven those who came after her? It’s Butler’s world, and we’re just living in it. Much more recently, almost 15 years to the day since Butler died, on February 18, 2021, NASA landed its Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars and named the location where the rover touched down the Octavia E. That same month, adrienne maree brown and Toshi Reagon launched Octavia’s Parables, a podcast that takes listeners through both Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents (1998).

In June 2020, Library of America revealed plans to release a volume on Butler edited by Nisi Shawl and Gerry Canavan. On September 3, 2020, Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) made the New York Times bestseller list 14 years after her death, at last fulfilling her own prophecy that she would become a best-selling writer. Everywhere we turn in the midst of unrelenting crises-the coronavirus pandemic, the ongoing twin pandemics of anti-Black and anti-Asian violence, ecological devastation, and the collapse of democracy-new projects and returns inspired by the writer and visionary Octavia E.