Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is known widely as a sci-fi writer, a label he rejected. I think of him as a writer of wonder. He never lost that childhood innocence that stands in awe of all around it.  His books are filled with color and light and movement and, above all, magic. Reading most of his work means traveling into your own childhood, as if you had grown up in the idyllically-painted Bradbury town. It's an experience of almost total immersion.

Ray Bradbury was also one of the finest horror writers of the twentieth century, and that's one reason why I'm writing about him here. His short stories "The Emissary", "The October Game", and "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" cannot be forgotten, even if we wanted to forget. We don't want to forget, though; we want to read more and more of his extraordinary works.

I, for one, am glad that Ray Bradbury lived such a long and fruitful life, and that he belied the idea that artists "have" to suffer to create. He stated that he had never worked a day in his life, and he truly loved what he did.

So do I.

Rest in electric peace, Mr. Bradbury.

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