Weekly Classics Discussions

Octavia E. Butler

"I'd rather see the others."
"What others?"
"The ones who make it. The ones living in freedom now."
"If any do."
"They do."
"Some say they do. It's like dying, though, and going to heaven. Nobody ever comes back to tell you about it."
― Octavia E. Butler, Kindred

American author Octavia Estelle Butler was born in 1947 and passed away in 2006. She received multiple awards throughout her career and was best known for her science fiction. Butler was also the first science fiction writer ever to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award.

In many of her novels, such as 'Patternmaster,' 'Kindred,' 'Dawn' and 'Parable of the Sower', she blended elements of science fiction and African American spiritualism. Other prevalent themes in her work included future societies, superhuman powers, and hybridization.

Butler also explained her view of humanity as inherently flawed by an innate tendency towards hierarchical thinking. She believed this type of thinking led to intolerance, violence, and could, if not checked, lead to the ultimate destruction of our species.

This week's questions:

Butler is widely praised for her unflinching exposition of human flaws, which she depicts with striking realism. Her novels have also been described as "evocative" and "often troubling" explorations of "far-reaching issues of race, sex, power."

-What are some of your favorite stories that tackle the darker aspects of humanity?

-What do you think makes science fiction a great vehicle for shedding light on non-fictional real-world issues?

We also welcome any other discussion or comments about Octavia E. Butler or her works.

If you have another author you'd like to see a discussion on, please leave it in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_E._Butler

https://www.octaviabutler.com/