Octavia E. Butler, the science fiction writer, died on Saturday in Seattle. She had a fall at her home and hit her head, which is extremely sad, especially when, at age 58, she had so much more to do. (Photo right by Joshua Trujillo for the Seattle PI.) She is an excellent example of someone who was tremendously successful (she won the Hugo twice, and the Nebula twice) in a field where her race, sex and background suggested to most that she “wasn’t supposed to be”.
Actually, I’d prefer to think of her as more than just a science fiction writer. The term (having been corrupted somewhat by various prominent examples) does not do her work justice. In this, I think of her writing as akin to another excellent writer, and favourite of mine, Margaret Atwood. “Speculative Fiction” is a term which they have both used to describe their work, and while it is not a perfect term either, I think that they get to define what it means by their excellent work.
There were several excellent tributes and obituaries for her this week. Here is a link to the one by John Marshall in the Seattle Post Intelligencer (link).
Here’s an extract which really hits home:
The reclusive writer, who moved to Seattle in 1999 from her native Southern California, was a giant in stature (she was 6 feet tall by age 15) and in accomplishment. She remains the only science fiction writer to receive one of the vaunted “genius grants” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a hard-earned $295,000 windfall in 1995 that followed years of poverty and personal struggles with shyness and self-doubt.
“People may call these ‘genius grants,’ ” Butler said in a 2004 interview with the Seattle P-I, “but nobody made me take an IQ test before I got mine. I knew I’m no genius.”
Butler’s most popular work is “Kindred,” a time-travel novel in which a black woman from 1976 Southern California is transported back to the violent days of slavery before the Civil War. The 1979 novel became a popular staple of school and college courses and now has more than a quarter million copies in print, but its birth was agonizing, like so much in Butler’s solitary life.
“Kindred” was repeatedly rejected by publishers, many of whom could not understand how a science fiction novel could be set on a plantation in the antebellum South.
Sigh.
There’s also an obituary here by Marcia Davis in the Washington Post (link).
Margalit Fox wrote one for the New York Times, linked here.
Today’s Fresh Air on NPR also has a tribute to her, and plays part of an interview with her recorded from a previous program. (Here is a link.) NPR’s Day to Day also has a tribute, and you can listen to it at this link, where there are other links to related NPR stories.
You can also go to the Octavia E. Butler homepage, with much more information. (link).
She was a trailblazer. We owe her a huge amount of gratitude, and her influence will continue for a very long time.
-cvj
March 3rd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Actually, I’d prefer to think of her as more than just a science fiction writer.
Oh boy are you asking for trouble….
March 3rd, 2006 at 5:44 pm
I presume you’re joking. That statement is only negative if the reader wants it to be……
Cheers,
-cvj
March 3rd, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Apparently they’d never read Philip K. Dick.
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
It’s not negative against Butler. On the other hand, having spent way too much time on Usenet, I know that statements like that rub a lot of sf fans the wrong way.
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:56 pm
This is such sad news. She was an absolutely unique writer. A lot of her work is difficult to read because it is so unflinching, but always worth the emotional investement. She inspired a lot of young writers: I’ve been reading tributes to her by sf writers, of all races, all week.
March 4th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Well, before I and other SF fans get all huffy about it
, maybe Clifford could clarify what he means by “speculative fiction”, and how it differs from “science fiction”.
March 4th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Horrible to hear about Butler. I’ve enjoyed her novels very much.
I think it is pretty clear what Clifford means about science fiction. Science fiction is lower status than fiction, for a variety of reasons, and is frequently seen as hostile to women, which is distinct from “fantasy”. I don’t want to argue about the reality of that perception, but the perception certainly exists.
March 4th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
For Evan and Aaron: Way back in the wayback machine (’72) i had the good fortune to have spent a good portion of a late night in a bar with a close and dear friend, who knew Ted Strugeon quite well. Ted had decided to come along with us that particular night, after a seminar session we all had attended at UCLA on Writing Science Fiction. As we were standing in the parking lot, leaning against cars holding ourselves up against the impending dawn, Ted made the statement that he had only written a couple of science fiction stories and that the rest were speculative fiction. He said it had to do with whether the efforts both to write and read required an understanding of technological and scientific processes or whether simply suspending disbelief in consensual constructs of “ordinary” reality was necessary. I am still not sure to this day, although i have tried to discern the distinction in many of my favorite authors.
I think the issue, if there really is one that matters at all, is similar to the sub-gentrification of rock to accomodate sales as much as audience tastes. Forty years ago no one bothered to spend the time to break rock down into vast categories, but now there are no less than 35 different genres just of rock, and within them dozens more. Niches are successful, whereas in the past they were not. Likewise book genres, and short story ones too, are multiplying in numerous and abundant ways. Personally, i like what i like, and i don’t like what i don’t like, and it doesn’t matter what someone else calls it.
March 4th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Very, very well put. I’ve always thought of “speculative fiction” as a useful catch-all for science fiction, fantasy, and any other story with a sufficient amount of unreality. But genre and niche boundaries are notoriously slippery. Ultimately, genre labels just boil down to niche marketing.
And from the marketing standpoint, if there are some who believe that labelling their work “speculative fiction” will end up moving more product, hey, more power to them. As long as we do this with a wink, keeping in mind that there are no exceptions to Sturgeon’s Law, not in any genre. The best we get are good stories — and good writers, like Octavia Butler. She is gone far, far too soon, and I will miss her.