I was ecstatic to learn about the experience of a woman in Australia who jumped into a cold stream to rescue a wild baby
horse. The newborn wild horse had fallen into the water and the desperate mother
horse had nudged the woman asking for help. The woman’s husband took a video of
the event. The baby horse’s parents witnessed the rescue and soon enough, the mother was
able to nurse her baby; the horse family reunited.
This heart-warming story deserves to be shared, and Octavia Butler gave me a good reason to do so. On the same day I came across this story, I learned that Octavia Butler loved horses from this fabulous book of engaging interviews with Octavia Butler.
Grab
your favorite infusion, curl up in your comfy spot and immerse yourself in the depths of these amazing conversations. What a pleasure it was to read her words! It
was like spending time with a good friend... You don’t want those conversations to end.
Octavia
Butler was too humble to acknowledge that she was a visionary, but she was. If
you don’t believe me, read this book. Her words are as relevant today as they
were when she said them.
Octavia Butler asserts that to foresee the
future, one has to study history.
In addition to sharing interesting life
experiences, she reveals a lot about the writing life. Persistence and the
desire to learn from mistakes are more important than talent. They are
necessary aspects of a writing life with goals and a purpose. I dare say that
to persist and learn from mistakes are imperative actions in everything we wish
to attain.
Her
grandmother managed to eke out a living by working hard in sugar plantations in
Louisiana. She had been treated like a slave, except for the fact that she was
free to leave the job if she chose to do so. Eventually, she saved enough to
move to California. She purchased her own space and worked as a farmer. Octavia’s
mother lost her husband when Octavia was a little girl. Her mother could not
complete elementary school. She worked hard as a maid to make sure Octavia
had what she needed to complete her own education. Octavia witnessed how her
mother was treated poorly in the workplace, enduring insults and humiliation.
Octavia Butler meditates on her mother’s
sacrifices. She considers her a hero. Octavia’s hard work and dedication had
the foundation on her mother’s sacrifices. Despite the fact that Octavia grew
among resilient, strong women, Octavia did not find characters like these women
in the books she read during her childhood. The novels and short stories were
mostly focused on the stories of white men. She was puzzled. Why didn’t science
fiction authors integrate black women into the stories?
Octavia Butler only encountered stories
about black people when the narrative dealt with the topic of slavery. Otherwise,
black characters were not included. Thankfully, Octavia Butler’s writing
incorporated diverse people and challenged the stereotypes and biases she had
to put up with through her childhood and youth.
I appreciate her style of communication. It
is concise, clear and honest. I admire her introspective, reflective attitude
and the clarity and precision of her observations.
I enjoyed the revelations about the different
books she wrote, what she had in mind when she wrote them, and the ways she
tackled challenges and obstacles.
I read Parable of the Sower not too long ago. Parable of the Talents, the sequel to Parable of the Sower, is now in my mental list of books to be read.
Octavia
Butler reveals interesting information about these two books, “One of the kinds
of research I did was to read a lot of stuff about World War II. Not the war
itself, but I wanted to know in particular how a country goes fascist, so, I
have this country in Parable of the Sower, and especially Parable of
the Talents, sliding in that direction. And I really was not trying to
prophesize that somehow we would do that but…”
Regarding these two books, she added, “You can call them save the world fiction, but it clearly doesn’t save anything. It just calls people’s attention to the fact that too much needs to be done and obviously they are people who are running the country who don’t care. I mean, look at what the Congress is doing in terms of taking money away from every cause that is helping people who aren’t very rich; it makes it harder for people to get an education. Who would want to live in a world where there were fewer educated people?”
She said this in January, 2006, the year she
passed away. Yet her words resonate as if they were pronounced today.
I agree with Octavia Butler. I would like to add, what kind of government uses fear, threats and intimidation to stop children from attending school?
The totalitarian regime of Hitler did it, too.
Let's not forget, however, that the right to an education is a basic human right.
To understand the features of fascism, I
encourage you to check this site.
I
strongly believe that critical thinking skills and empathy are important
elements of a well-rounded education. These are skills and talents that should
be prioritized. They should form the foundation of every healthy society,
because without them democracy cannot survive.
Tyrants deride education and they do anything to dismantle it, because they know that a well-rounded education is a threat to their abuse of power.
Octavia Butler's reflections apply to our current situation:
"I guess many people just need someone to feel superior to to make themselves feel better. You see Americans doing it now, unfortunately, while voting against their own interests. It is that kind of shortsighted behavior that is destroying us."
I will pass on this book by dropping it in a
Free Little Library. Soon it will be dancing to the rhythm of somebody else’s
thoughts and dreams. Such is the magic of books…
Octavia
E. Butler was a pioneer of the science fiction genre who received a MacArthur
“Genius” grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work.
Born in Pasadena, California, in 1947, she was raised by her mother and her
grandmother. She was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Sower (1993), which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year,
and Parable of the Talents (1995), winner of the Nebula Award for the
best science fiction novel published that year. She was acclaimed for her lean
prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from
the distant past to the far future.
If you
enjoyed this book, feel free to read my writing on the following books:
Spirit Woman: The Diaries and Paintings of Bonita Wa Wa Calachaw Nunez
Unstoppable Native American Women by April Riverwood
