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Research Paper On Octavia Butler

Table of Contents

Page 1. A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

Page 2 - 4. Biography

Page 5 - 9. Synopsis

Page 9 - 14. Analysis of Criticism

Page 14 – 15. Influences on Society

Page 16. Footnotes

Page 17. Bibliography

A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

1. Who is Octavia E. Butler? Where is she headed? Where has she been?

Who am I? I'm a 51-year-old writer who can remember being a 10-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year-old writer. I'm also comfortably asocial - a hermit living in a city-a pessimist, a student, endlessly curious; a feminist; and African-American; a former Baptist; and an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive.

2. What have you written?

Novels, short stories, and essays. I've had 10 novels published so far. They are PATTERNMASTER, MIND OF MY MIND, SURVIVOR, KINDRED, WILD SEED, CLAY'S ARK, DAWN, ADULTHOOD RITES, IMAGO, and PARABLE OF THE SOWER. Doubleday published the first five originally. Warner has reprinted WILD SEED, MIND OFMYMIND, CLAY'S ARK, and PATTERNMASTER.

KINDRED has been reprinted by Beacon Press. DAWN, ADULTHOOD RITES, IMAGO, and PARABLE OF THE SOWER are available from Warner. Four Wails Eight Windows first published PARABLE. In 1995, Four Walls also published my short story collection, BLOODCHILD AND OTHER STORIES. One story in this collection, "Speech Sounds," won a Hugo award as best short story of 1984. The title story, "Bloodchild," won both the 1985 Hugo and the 1984 Nebula awards as best novelette. And speaking of awards, in the summer of 1995, I received a MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Her most recent book now is Lilith's Brood published in the year 2000.

3. What were your educational preparations for a writing career?

I graduated from Pasadena City College in 1968 (Pasadena, California is my hometown). Then I attended California State University, Los...