Almanac of Story Tellers: Ray Bradbury

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books. 

Today is the story of Aug. 22nd

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    It is the 234th day of the year, leaving 131 days remaining in 2022. 

 

  On this date in 1920, the author Ray Bradbury was born.

    Often described as a science fiction writer, Bradbury the story-teller was a lot more. He wrote fantasy and horror. He wrote what today would be called speculative fiction. He also wrote realistic fictional memoirs and coming-of-age stories that drew on his own childhood. 

    But regardless of the genre, Bradbury's writing often touched on modern culture and its failures to fully accept the consequences of its actions. In what is often regarded as his best book, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury described how our actions today -- our alienation from society because of modern forms of media, and our desire to control what people say and write -- could lead to extreme forms of censorship. Only then will we realize just how important literature and reading is to us.

    One of his earlier works, The Martian Chronicles, had a similar lesson. In a series of stories, Bradbury told how humans colonized Mars and destroyed its idyllic civilization. Only later, when humans made Earth unlivable because of a nuclear war, the few survivors return to Mars and try to make it their home.

    Bradbury's career began in a similar way to other writers of his time, by churning out genre-specific stories for the many pulp magazines of the days. His specialties contained elements of science fiction, horror, and dark fantasy, and his work stood out. He said his career was successful because he wrote every single day of his life.

    While he continued to write for pulps and fanzines -- including on one he created -- major magazines soon published Bradbury's works and he found he was in great demand. Book publishers came calling.

    Many of his works have been adapted for other media, including movies and television. An asteroid and sites on the Moon and Mars have been named in his honor. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2004, and the Pulitzer Board gave him a special career citation in 2007.

    Bradbury died in 2012.