RECALLING RAY BRADBURY

Thoughts on the Sci-Fi Great
Kate West (Writer)

Literary giant Ray Bradbury passed away on June 5 this summer. I'm still thinking about this because for one thing, I'm a fan, and for another, my dad is a fan. Plus he was good. Really good. So Bradbury has been pretty influential on my taste in literature. I'm not quite a fan girl (well OK yes I did go to Comic-Con, why do you ask?) but I have a healthy appreciation for fantasy and prefer it in my movies and freestyle reading.

While The Martian Chronicles will always be my favorite, one story from The Illustrated Man stands out in my mind lately. "The Man" is a story about spacemen stumbling on a serene and blissful planet. Upon further investigation, they discover that the inhabitants were recently visited by a mysteriously wise stranger who set them all on the path to peace. They begin to suspect that this guru might by the actual Messiah, in a Second Coming. Most of the men are content to settle down on this nice planet, but one of them becomes obsessed with finding Jesus (we figure that's who he must be, right?) and he jumps from planet to planet, always told the same thing - that he just missed him. Meanwhile, we find out that Jesus is back on planet peaceful, handing out gospel and that if you are patient enough maybe he will come to you?  

This type of allegory seems to speak to my life outlook from time to time, especially in the romance arena. When do we find love? When we're not looking for it, right? (or at least when others find it, but I digress) I don't think the Universe likes it when you demand things from it. Bradbury seemed to know that as he was a fun loving guy who knew how to market his wondrous imagination and keep his heart childlike. He was a big fan of Walt Disney and often visited the popular theme parks. He loved theater and Los Angeles and many local groups were lucky enough to receive personal attention, like The Fremont Center Theatre in Pasadena, which performed the play version of The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. I was one of the fortunate audience members (and critic) who got to meet him on opening night and a more gracious man could not be found west of the Mississippi.

It isn't just that his work was so influential (friends are always quoting Dandelion Wine or reading Fahrenheit 450 in school), although that prolific output is a mighty fine legacy, but also the way he lived his life - the way he enjoyed living really sticks with me. His stories taught us lessons on the fallacy of man, the foolishness of ambition and the trials of love. But more than that I think the way he was showed us how to look up at the stars, to dream and to hope. Anyway, I got my summer reading list down. How aboout you?

The Martian Chronicles (1950)
The Illustrated Man (1951)
Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953)
The October Country (1955)
Dandelion Wine (1957)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)
R Is For Rocket (1962)
I Sing the Body Electric (1969)
Zen in the Art of Writing and The Joy of Writing: Two Essays (1973)

 

Kate West Kate West has an extensive theatrical background and has been reviewing plays, musicals, one-acts, improv, comedy sketch and much more since 2003. www.katewestreviews.com
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Comments

[Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)]

Kate: We're doing a tribute to him this weekend at Planetfest, at the Pasadena Convention Center [ http://www.planetfest.org ]. His spirit -- and the combination of passion for science, passion for education, and passion for artistry -- are greatly missed in the scientific community here in Southern California. I hope that some writers/playrights/futurists take up his mantle.

[Kate West]

That is great to hear! I think the Fremont Centre Theatre recently did a tribute too. He worked with them a lot.