Depth Perception,
Two other little known things I’ve noticed about Ray. He doesn’t like political correctness (although lots of people assume that he does) and at least two of his stories contain orange soda pop.

After many years of experience with Ray, I've learned that when I launch into a "you said" if I have not an exact quote, but only a general memory of what he said (and I stand by my own memory as being unusually accurate but not infallible,) he'll say, "That's not what I said."

If I have an exact quote verbatim, he will say, "That's what I said, but you totally misinterpreted what I meant." Then he will say several sentences to clear up what he REALLY meant, thereby sharing a more detailed quote.

Not to make Ray sound like a contradictory curmudgeon. Ideas are extremely important to him and he is always eager to impart his take on things as completely and accurately as possible. The only times he refused to give ANY quote were on EXTREMELY controversial subjects where he considers his own opinions confidential.

One of the best things he ever said to me was, after getting something particularly right, he wrote back, "You know me very well."

To clarify, Ray would never hold a grudge over something minor like an unintentional misquote or misinterpretation. Not that he is forgiving, either, because once he DOES latch onto a grudge, he does not let go, despite decades passing or even death, but such a grudge would be over some perceived really serious offense, such as attacking or stealing ideas from him or his friends, or treating people in a really unfair and unkind manner.

Generally Ray is a kind and generous soul willing to share the fruits of his intelligence. If you don't let yourself become completely thrown off by once in awhile some statement of his necessarily contradicting some other equally directly and powerfully expressed statement (he is ALWAYS firm and direct and NEVER equivocal--probably one thing you'll never hear from Ray is "someone else might see it *this* way, and their opinion may be equally valid--") you can gain and learn a lot.

chapter 31- a pleasure as always. i'm not so PC-inclined myself. *mumbles to self* can't even say hi to the MAILMAN anymore...

dandelion- "thank you" is becoming trite, so pardon me the oversight. to lay out for me such a precise image of ray's world is so inexplicably helpful that the section of my paper on ray's character and personage may quote you as a "close friend of ray's". may my grief run deep if i forget what you've said in my paper.
a happy dance is hereby directed towards you
a smile for my favorite robot
a flower for the best chapter i've read
and a tear for the paper that wanders into night watches

“a happy dance is hereby directed towards you.”

Seldom is language so well used, well thought and well met.

seldom do i feel so stupid and insulted. why do moments exist where i can't discern compliments from insults and lack any feasible way of fixing the problem?
my head hurts just thinking about it, but in the interest of true justice, thanks (i think).

My comment was meant, in the truest sense, as a compliment.

You used the language well.
You thought out what you were going to say well.
You met the challenge of language well.

You are very eloquent.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chapter 31,

heh. thanks. sorry to make you reiterate yourself so slowly. i feel that i am always apologizing, but there's nothing abnormal about that at my age. let me kowtow again at your feet in shame. thanks for setting me right .

Thre is a lot of insight here that you can glean from. The best thing, of course, is to grab a bunch of his books and read the forewards and afterwards. These are always insightful in Bradbury.

What Dandelion says is right. Ray is so honest, he doesn't worry about contradicting himself. He is much like another of my favorites, Emerson, who wrote often about a fear of consistency destroying our creativity. Ray doesn't worry much about consistency. He worries about getting a message out.

Conversations with Ray Bradbury is an excellent source for what you're doing. A book that is not being used enough is the best critical work on Ray to date: Touponce's "Ray Bradbury: A Life of Fiction". Get hold of that and don't let it go.

Also, A new book, "Bradbury Speaks" is good, but of a somewhat uneven quality.

I strongly recommend that you get a copy of "Zen and the Art of Writing" by Bradbury. He has a lot of insights in what he writes about, how he does it, what it means to him, and how he works.

I talked with Ray on the phone once and asked hom point blank about how much meaning he puts into his book. His response was that he just writes stories. If stuff is in there, let others sort it all out.

Also, check out his stories for (what I think) includes some of his best writing. His stories rank up there with the very best.

He has done a lot of poetry. Some seem to have mixed feelings about the quality of it, but many of them have very insightful observations about man, religion, "god", etc. A lot can be gleaned from his poems.

Good luck. Remember not to let a scholarly search destroy the pure fun of reading Bradbury. His writing is magic.

shweet! more reading material for me!

i must say that the amount of voice in your writing quickened the imagination within me and the desire to read more more more Bradbury! as i've mentioned, i am reading "Bradbury Speaks..." and am in the process of analyzing "Something Wicked This Way Comes", one of my personal favorites. The first Bradbury i read was in 7th grade, when we had "There Will Come Soft Rains". I was enchanted and chilled like never before, hooked for life.

Thanks for the bit about anecdotes within his own novels- something i have not considered. Backtracking commence!

I hate the english class way of dissecting works, so rather i'm trying to feel out the required categories. thanks to the constant well of information i find here, i am less overwhelmed by the assignment, and more in awe of my subject matter. as an aspiring author myself, i see nothing but the purest elements of writing in Mr. Bradbury's works.

the only hard part about this is that Mr Bradbury is only half of the assignment- it's a literary comparison. I must endeavor to compare Ray Bradbury to Rex Stout, author of the detective series starring Nero Wolfe. we were supposed to pick our two favorites in 2 minutes and start writing about them and well, Archie Goodwin is my hero.

(i dont know if anyone's well-aware of the series but i hope my words are greeting by more than mere echoes of this shot in the dark.)

I hear that Wolfe thinks he is too heavy so he has taken up exercise--throwing javelins (his word for darts). And don’t try and find his brownstone by the addresses that Stout gives, you’ll end up in the Hudson.

Yes, I’m a big fan. “The Doorbell Rang” is my favorite novel in the series so far.

"And now we are so happy we do the dance of joy"

(a la "Perfect Strangers")

DA DA DA DA DA-DA-DA DA-DA-DA
HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!

As for trites, barbs, tiffs, slams, misconstrueds, insults, rants, raves, obscenities, and good old fashion ribbings (pc aside), we have had it all here in measured and uncontolled doses over the years. Stay the course, DP, and some very interesting exchanges will be added to your RB experience. If you want to be current on the man, this is the place. Those that may arrive with an agenda (Why for, I ask?) typically step out into the void, a la Spaceman Hitchcock.

In any event, your appreciation for Mr. Bradbury's works seems exuberant. No matter what the path taken, such a perspective can only lead to something good, or better yet, Great! What? A writer some day?!

I realize everyone is tossing "must reads" your way. So, above and beyond the obvious, how about a work that does not always get it dues?

RE: Green Shadows, White Whale. A very young author goes to Ireland to compose a screen play for the novel of all novels, Moby Dick. The rest is a ride across the lush landscape of the Emerald Isle at break neck speeds, slowing only when needed to visit the many qauint village pubs. By the time you get to "The Beggar on O'Connell Bridge," your admiration for RB will be secure forever.

The book's tone, emotion, imagery, and narrative style offer the reader keen insights into the loves, fears, and intense purpose of Mr. Brabury's long literary and personal life. (Read a bit of background to the novel beforehand, and the allusions within will play out magnificently.) Ie, Knowing the story behind the scenes, I always have a special appreciation when watching the original M.D. with Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. Also, s.s. The Banshee is based on this time period in Ireland.

So many books, so little time...welcome aboard.

This may state the obvious, but if you're comparing RB to detective or mystery writing, be sure to look at his detective/mystery novels. If I have these wrong, someone correct me, please:

"Let's All Kill Constance"
"Death is a Lonely Business"
"A Graveyard for Lunatics"

Thanks,

Mr Dark, I loved those three and asked Ray if there would be more coming in the series, and alas, he said no.

He could write more and have a whole separate section of literary expertise--the mystery novel.

What a versatile guy--when you think about it. His works range from poetry to plays to science fiction to fantasy to essays to correspondence (always short and to the point) and heaven only knows what else.

Depth Perception, send me an email at clmi9901@msn.com. I have some information I could share with you that I wouldn't want to bore the board with.

"Close friend" would be great, but in the interest of accuracy, it might be more correct to say "longtime friend."