Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012
Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920. As a child, he was a frequent patron of the Carnegie Library in Waukegan. He was drawn to speculative fiction, particularly the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe.
Looking back at his childhood Bradbury said "Libraries raised me. I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years."
A lifelong fan of magic, Bradbury was 12 when he encountered Mr. Electrico, a carnival magician. The magician touched Bradbury with an electrified wand and instructed the child to "live forever!" The author later credited Mr. Electrico for inspiring him to write every day, a practice he continued until shortly before his death.
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His novels include The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Farewell Summer. I Sing the Body Electric, Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales and The October Country are among the many short story collections available at Toronto Public Library.
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Although I have a great affection for Fahrenheit 451, my all-time favourite Bradbury work is The Illustrated Man, a collection of 18 haunting short stories represented by tattoos on the title character's body.
One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, Ray Bradbuy died June 5, 2012 at the age of 91.
One thought on “Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012”
I read a lot of Ray Bradbury when I was young. I will miss just knowing he is in the world, spinning his fantastical tales…Yes, he loved libraries. I was listening to Sam Weller (who wrote a recent biography on Ray Bradbury) be interviewed on CBC radio’s “Q” a couple of days ago, and he said that Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the library — apparen’tly he had to keep coming up with dimes for a rental typewriter in the basement of a UCLA campus library. It cost him just a little less than 10 bucks to get the classic (short) book written!
As for me, I love “The Martian Chronicles” and “The Halloween Tree” especially.
What a great name Bradbury came up with for the being (can’t really call him a man) who takes a group of boys on a trip through time, to learn about the history of Halloween: Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud!