A few clumsy words today for the great Ray Bradbury, who died this morning at the age of 91.
Frankly I don't know much about his life or his personal views, but his stories changed the way I read, moved the boundaries of what literature could do (in my mind at least), and secured mystical realism as my favorite genre. I am not sure if the works that hit me so hard in middle and high school would mean quite the same things to me today, but his style and his heart will always resonate deeply in my imagination. He gave me pictures that will stay with me always, even if some of them are kind of creepy. Thank you, Mr. Bradbury.
2 comments:
I just got the list of books I'll be teaching this fall and one of them is Fahrenheit 451. I haven't read it yet (hello summer reading!), but have wanted to for a long time — I'm glad to read your tribute, since I know the other books on the list are good and I wanted Mr. Bradbury to be worthwhile.
Yes, I think he is worthwhile.
Interestingly, he did not consider Fahrenheit 451 to be science fiction, because it was far too likely a scenario. I believe he said that it had already come true, before 1960.
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