Octavia Butler, RIP
I just heard the news that pioneering feminist African American science fiction author Octavia Butler died over the weekend. Apparently she fell and suffered a head injury. She died on Saturday.
Yet another talent lost far too soon. Butler was only 58 years old. She was hugely talented, and one of the most openly political of modern sf writers. She once stated that she started writing sci fi because she had been reading it for a while and had noticed that "apparently there are no black people in the future".
She will be very much missed.
Because whoever said that women don't have "the gaze" was smoking crack
About Me
- Cassandra Says
- I'm a progressive, left-wing Brit living in California. I used to be a high-tech sales guru, but got tired of that and am now thinking about going back to school to get a Masters in Journalism. My undergrad is in Psychology, but I have never used this in any constructive way. This is typical for me. I grew up mostly in the Middle East, was educated at a very fancy Scottish boarding school, moved to London at 18, and have lived in the Bay Area for the past 8 years. I am now suffering from a serious case of itchy feet, and am feeling that 8 years is quite long enough to stay in one place. Again, this is typical. If anyone really wants to figure me out they should Google "third culture" - I fit the prototype pretty closely. If any other Third Culture kids happen to stumble across this blog, write to me. There aren't very many of us.
2 comments:
Indeed.
About Ms. Butler, your are right, of course. The field has lost one of its greats and for me a personal heroine. She broke a thick glass ceiling in science fiction and as a published science fiction writer, who happens to be both a female and African American, the lost of her talent is especially great...I wrote my own blog about it and about the time I met her at my website if you want to check it out.
It is most definitely a sad time.
Nicole Givens Kurtz
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2006 Fresh Voices in SF Finalist
Zephyr Unfolding
http://www.zephyrunfolding.com
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