By Reed Leon
Science fiction and fantasy writer Ray Bradbury died on the night of Tuesday, June 5. He was 91. The flood of obituaries have called him “one of the greatest,” “master,” “legend,” “iconic,” “apostle of modern science fiction,” “poet of the rocket age,” “creator of mythology,” and (my favorite from a grandson of Bradbury’s) “The biggest kid I knew.”
Before being a successful author, he was a writer. He never went to college. The library was his university. Perhaps writers are most inspired by other writers, regardless of their genre or style. The following collection of quotes from him might inspire us.
On the future, writing, and life
“I was not predicting the future; I was trying to prevent it.”
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
“I don’t think the robots are taking over. I think the men who play with toys have taken over. And if we don’t take the toys out of their hands, we’re fools.”
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture.”
“Why would you clone people when you can go to bed with them and make a baby? C’mon it’s stupid.”
“There is no future for e-books because they are not books. E-books smell like burned fuel.”
“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
“And what, you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right…So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.”
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
“I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
“Write a short story ever week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”
“I have three rules to live by. One, get your work done. If that doesn’t work, shut up and drink your gin. And when all else fails, run like hell!”
“I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows, or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.”
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