MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" Octavia Butler will read from her newfiction on Thursday, April 23, at 8 p.m., in the Fillius Events Barn, BeineckeStudent Activities Village. The reading is free and open to the public.
Butler is the author of numerous novels and traces her love of writing back tothe age of ten. She recalls writing her first science fiction story at age 12when, after watching a rather poor science fiction movie, she decided that shecould write a better story. She turned off the television and proceeded towrite the story that would be the basis of her first published novel,Patternmaster (1977).
Butler's other works include: Mind of My Mind, Survivor,Kindred, Wild Seed, Clay's Ark, Dawn, AdulthoodRites, Imago and Parable of the Sower, which was nominatedfor a Nebula Award.
Her last book, Bloodchild and Other Stories, is a collection of fiveshort stories and two essays about writing. The title story was awardedscience fiction's top awards: the Hugo and the Nebula. Another story in thebook also won the Hugo.
In June 1995, the MacArthur Foundation awarded Butler a "genius grant" inrecognition of her prestigious writing career.
The only African-American woman science fiction writer whose work isself-supporting, Butler's supporters include faithful fans of science fiction,as well as others for whom Butler is the first and only exposure to sciencefiction. Nevertheless, Butler welcomes everyone into her audience noting thatshe is not necessarily a science fiction author but rather "a chronicler of thehuman heart using science fiction as a tool of revelation."
