Ray Bradbury: 1920-2012

What news to wake up to this morning, to hear that the iconic science fiction novelist has left this Earth the night before. What hasn't been said about him, the creator of works such as Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes? It is true, I have little to say in terms of his impact, you can only turn to the careers of writers like Richard Matheson and Stephen King to see just two examples of Mr. Bradbury's influence. Instead, I can only offer personal reflections and a few tears.

No writer stepped up in the writing world and made it okay to write about aliens and monsters, do it all straight-faced and still have the work be considered a form of literature, moreso than Mr. Bradbury:

I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.

Besides his fantastic fiction that delighted several generations (so far), he also penned one of the most excellent writing books: Zen in the Art of Writing. In its own slim, succinct way, Bradbury gave you permission to dream, to write things that may not be true "literature". He rooted for you in each page, practically begging you to write whatever your heart and mind desired. He knew that you would have to go through the same trials of fire that he did, but you at least had a friend and supporting rock in him.

Even though now he cannot do it now, with letters or even a phone call, I'm sure he'll continue to be science fiction's greatest cheerleader long into the years, up in the heavens. He'll have Isaac Asimov and Madeleine L'Engle, and of course, his beloved wife Marguerite, to join the squad once again.

You did so much for so many in so much time. Rest in peace, sir.

The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.

- from Fahrenheit 451

A little discussion...

I have a REAL problem with the first line in this article.

"Decaying corpse of genre fiction"? Whoa, someone needs to get off their f***ing high horse.

I don't have the beef with Mr. Chabon. In fact, according to his Wikipedia article, he deserves a freaking high-five. Along with Margaret Atwood, too.

~

Anyway, this reminded me of what I'm trying to do with my writing. I think literary fiction has its place, but I can't stand most of it. At the same time, let's not kid ourselves fellow writers, genre fiction needs a kick in the pants. And apparently, such a phenomenon is already occurring. Well, thank God that I wasn't the only one who thought this. I felt alone in my feelings on this, especially in fiction workshops. And most classes, for that matter.

I once wrote a paper on how Toni Morrison's Beloved was a horror novel (a book that ended up winning a Pulitzer Prize, mind that y'all). Some of my classmates thought I had freaking insulted the book. Though I know the paper could've been better written, I knew that it was far from an insult. It was basically me asking everyone "can literature have genre fiction elements?" And the answer is: YES, YES IT CAN.

/rant

Alright, well, lemme see where I am at right now on Blues... I'm about 903 words away from today's goal. Because of exhaustion following the Coldplay concert, I was unable to write last night. So, not too bad. It's hard to force words out, I want my stuff to be quality. But, it's a first draft. It would be a miracle unto God if the first draft is flawless. So, I have to write what I feel will work in the piece and then edit like hell when it comes to that time.

Until next time...