I am currently taking part in a school project to explore professions that we take an interest in and I have chosen writing. One part of the project is to interview an expert in the area you are investigating and I think Mr. Bradbury would be perfect, especially since I enjoy his writing. Does anyone know how I would go about this? I know it's a farfetched plan but I still have hope. If you don't know, can you suggest any other author similar to Bradbury that I could interview. Thank you for your time. -Will
Ray Bradbury has written a whole book about the subject, Zen in the Art of Writing. It will probably answer most of your questions. And there's another book just of interviews: Conversations With Ray Bradbury. Look for them in your local bookstore or library.
Unfortunately, at his age and health, Bradbury can't give an interview to everyone who wants one.
Posts: 103 | Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA | Registered: 24 August 2004
The Conversations with Ray Bradbury is excellent. I'm reading through it now, and he is a very refreshing interviewee--candid, thoughtful, impulsive, passionate. He's great!
Just finished Conversations last week. Refreshing and enlightening, indeed.
I have stated here on several occasions of my pleasure in reading Mr. Bradbury's non-fictional compilations. His forewards to others' books should some day be collected, if that is possible. I have a copy of Buck Rogers in the Twenty-first Century (the weekly newspaper strips that ran so many years ago). His comments at the beginning of the text are outstanding. Then, there is Superman, Man of Steel! Again, suberb. Not only does he address the topic or the reason for his love of the characters, but he also encapsules the moments in history in which these icons made their marks. He cites the importance of their literary influences upon the imagination of a culture and also tells us who we were as a nation at that time. He never missed a chance to offer who we could become, or, so oft in retrospect, should have become - in his singular Bradburian manner.
Of course, Zen in Writing is classic "stuff!" A must for any RB follower. I have given copies to friends on many occasions. This work greatly aided me in concluding my recent 3+ year writing project, when the final details and edits seemed to be endlessly out of site. "Just keep at it, day and hour and minute at a time," he says. How true!
Somewhere amidst all of these posts (old and new), we have sites listed where Mr. B's bibliographies have been noted. Think of the authors he has lauded and prologued over the years. What great reading these would make between hardcovers!
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
Wills767, there are some video clips of interviews with Ray on this very website (go to http://www.raybradbury.com to begin searching for them). I can't remember what he talks about in them, but they may be of interest.
I just learned that he had visited my school a few times and that he is so full of life when he speaks. I'm just sad that I'm a few years too late. But HEY, thanks for those links to the video and audio clips. Should come in use.
A bit off the RB topics, but on the Kurt Vonnegut path: In an interview with Don Imus this a.m., Mr. Vonnegut commented, "There are still plenty of great books to read in this country. My concern, there aren't enough people read reading them any more!"
(He added that he admired Bierce and Conrad and was re-reading some of their works presently.) KV's new book is entitled, A Man Without a Country.
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
Ambrose Bierce is great. I love "The Devil's Dictionary" and have a great (but not very good quality) video of "An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge" which was first shown on TV as a "Twilight Zone" episode!
Posts: 3167 | Location: Box in Braling I's cellar | Registered: 02 July 2004
BII: Mr. Vonnegut referred specifically to his favorite Bierce tale - Occurrence at the Owl Creek Bridge - which coincidentally is spoken of by the General in RB's magnificent s.s. The Drummer Boy of Shiloh. (Read this RB story aloud and try "not" to get goose bumps all over. I can't!)
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
fjp451, I love reading aloud - in fact, people say I should be reading Books On Tape - one of my talents that I'll probably not develop before I die, alas! Anyway, I'll add the "Shiloh" story to my list next time I do any readings. Ever read Bierce yourself? If not, try "Occurance" and mybe "Oil Of Dog" for starters...This message has been edited. Last edited by: Braling II,
Posts: 3167 | Location: Box in Braling I's cellar | Registered: 02 July 2004
BII, yes! Owl Creek, Boarded Window, A.B.'s Civil War, Devil's Dictionary. All interesting. I include some of his works in classes (9-12).
Ambrose "Bitter" Bierce was a veteran of the Civil War, an Indiana Volunteer (I believe). He mysteriously disappeared after entering Mexico, c. 1915. He once said something about wanting to "go out suddenly!" Some anecdotes indicate he was slain in an area not friendly to Americans. If that was the case, this AB comment was rather prophetic, "It beats old age, disease, and falling down the cellar stairs."
The "Bitter" was earned for his tendency to state his views on the (understated) significance of his writings. Poe, Twain, and others of his era got the press, and he felt he got the short end of the stick.
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
BII: Your choice of words has said it just right..."he shows up on Mars in Bradbury's "The Exiles"."
It somehow seems quite appropriate in a way. Doesn't it? RB wouldn't allow him, or any of the gods of literature, for that matter, to simply disappear or be blown away like...so many grains of sand over our shoes.
(And back to K.V.'s comment, not enough people reading them!)
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
