Talk:Octavia E. Butler

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Contents

[edit] 1977 / 1980 prequel/sequle

the 1977 work is described as a sequel to the 1980 work

Strictly speaking, Wild Seed (1980) is a prequel to Mind of my Mind (1977)

[edit] Items that should be included

While surfing the web came across this quote on SciFi.com:

  • From the WGA, West web site, the Open Door program "was designed to mentor Latino and African-American writers".


From the web site of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of African American History and Culture:

  • Her birth name is Octavia Estelle Butler.
  • She was born in Pasadena, California.
  • In October 2000, received a lifetime achievement award in writing from PEN.
  • Won two Nebula Award for Parable Of The Talents (2000 best novel) and for Bloodchild (1984 best novelette).
  • Won two Hugo Award for Speech Sounds (1984 best short story) and for Bloodchild (1984 best novelette). --Tony Hecht 01:03, 24 August 2005 (UTC)


How does the "diagnosis" of dyslexia fit in with all of the early writing? At least a comment is needed to explain this apparent conflict.

Dyslexia relates to difficulties with reading/writing, not difficulties with having a wonderful imagination. Thus, I feel that there's no conflict. Also, I haven't found where Butler discusses her dyslexia, so it might be hard to find sourced material to add. Naq 01:34, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New articles for Butler works

I've just made new articles for the Patternist series, Xenogenesis and Parable books. For the most part, I've just copied the material from this article on each series and created three new articles around it. I hope others with an interest in Octavia Butler will help expand and improve these pages. My intention, if no one objects, is to remove most of the plot summary information about these books from Butler's own page and just have it located on the subsidiary articles.

I'm also considering merging the Oankali and Ooloi pages into the Xenogenesis article--if you have a feeling about this one way or the other, please post on the Talk:Oankali page. Nareek 05:22, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Possible error(s)

This Wikipedia page lists her cause of death as an apparent stroke, but the linked article says that her cause of death was from a head injury due to a fall. The description on the Recent Deaths page also says head injuries. For the sake of accuracy, someone needs to find more sources that can confirm the cause of death. SailorAlphaCentauri 18:50, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

Butler was on many medications for her blood and other health problems, and it is suspected that she went off the medication because it was giving her writer's block. People explain her lack of medication for her death when she fell. It was too much for her body when she hit her head. I don't have proof of this, but it's how my English professor described it. 66.66.143.123

[edit] Lesbian?

Was Octavia Butler gay? It's been in, out and now back in this article. It does have a source now, but we have to bear in mind that a passing mention in an article dated February 28, 2006 might have had Wikipedia as a source--which underscores the need for us to get it right, one way or the other. I've looked through a lot of Google links for "Octavia Butler lesbian," and I haven't found any other references to her sexuality--and a number of places where one might have thought it would have come up.

If it does stay in, it should probably be moved up--it's kind of odd where it is now. Nareek 21:58, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

Dr. Ron Buckmire, a math professor at Occidental College, very near where Miss Butler lived until her move to Seattle, writes in his blog his reflections on her passing. He says that he knew her casually and does remark that she was a lesbian. Mwelch 01:31, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
Here's another article that says she's a lesbian, but the source may well have been here: http://www.slate.com/id/2137269/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.240.229.6 (talk • contribs)
Octavia Butler was not a lesbian. I've known her well for 21 years both professionally and as a friend. Since her move to Seattle I've spent a lot of time with her and knew her very well. She discussed her relationship history with men quite openly with me and a few of her other friends many times and was clearly heterosexual. I'm dead certain that this neighbor made an assumption that is incorrect. LeslieH —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.22.156.167 (talk • contribs)
It should go without saying, but apparently it doesn't, that not wanting to include in this article a poorly sourced claim that Octavia Butler was a lesbian has nothing whatsoever to do with not wanting Octavia Butler to be a lesbian--it has to do with making sure that the facts in WP are verifiable. Nareek 16:56, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

The "fact" that she was a lesbian was even mentioned in the LA Times obit for her. On the other hand, when I went looking for a good primary source on the internet, I couldn't find anything. There are several interviews of her that are available on the internet, and she often lists a whole series of categories that she fits in, but she never mentions being a lesbian. There is even a discussion on the MIT website that she did with Samuel Delaney where he briefly talks about being a gay man, and it would seem natural to me that if Octavia Butler was a lesbian she would have mentioned it in that discussion. Unless someone can find a credible source, it should be left out of the article. BlankVerse 06:58, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

It is my understanding from my knowledge of the science fiction field that Octavia Butler was somewhere between heterosexual and asexual. I have never heard anything to substantiate the notion she might be a lesbian. Kathryn Cramer Pleasantville 23:27, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Somehow, the LGBT & lesbian categories have gotten applied to the article (June 2007), even though it's not documented in the article (and as evidenced by the discussion here, highly questionable). I've taken them off; this should be discussed before re-applying them. --lquilter 18:51, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Changed the word "intended" to "internal"

I made a slight change in the biblio section about the Patternist series; I'm not aware of any evidence that Ms. Butler intended to publish the books in any other order than they actually were. The mere fact that internal action differs from the publication order does not mean that her wishes were not followed, which using the word "intended" implies.

[edit] Changed Headings

FYI, on reading the article it seemd to me that Novels and Other Fiction should really be treated as subheadings of Bibliography (they were all orginally at the same heading level). I assume no one will have any trouble with me making them subheadings, but if they do please let me know. I don't want to step on any toes. --KNHaw 23:26, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] On an African/African-American approach to sci-fi/fantasy

It has struck me for decades that Butler's approach to writing in the "sci-fi" genre was distinctly African/African-American. The tradition is very African, fundamentally. It has to do with psychic, intrinsic, spiritual, supernatural powers -- metaphysics -- rather than the external, the technological, mechanical and material/physical (dream hardware/cyberware) which is more the approach taken by European/neo-European (read white) writers (spaceships, etc.) I've seen this among other writers, in their approach to the fantastic, as well: Toni Cade Bambara in The Salt Eaters; Gloria Naylor in Mama Day; Walter Flowers' De Mojo Blues; Toni Morrison's initial (IMO incredibly weak - I can't believe I'm criticizing a Pulitzer Prize/Nobel Award winner, but, hey, I am; "lickety split, lickety split": what the hell?) foray into the genre, Tar Baby and, later, the more successful/adept Beloved; Walter Mosley's Blue Light; Jewell Parker Rhodes' Voodoo Dreams a novel on the life of Marie Laveaux; and most particularly possibly in the work of Sophia Stewart (the African-American woman who has laid claim to the story/concept, a short story called "The Third Eye," behind The Matrix trilogy).[1] I wasn't at all surprised, frankly, when she stepped forward. When I saw the first film, I was struck by how African in perspective it was. I remember, in fact, saying out loud that the Oracle had better be black, or the movie was bull****. I wasn't disappointed. :p I haven't followed the story behind Stewart's legal battles at all and just took a break from writing this to do some quick research. The case seemingly has been dropped. So, who the heck knows. The Wachowski brothers seem pretty sleazy from what I've read of them -- but that doesn't mean they aren't creative.

I don't know if any literary critic of note has done an analysis of the African/African-American approach to fantasy writing, but Octavia Butler is at once part of a solid tradition among her fellow African American authors and singular among them. Deeceevoice 19:09, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Octavia Butler vs. Octavia E. Butler

Just want to note for the record that "Octavia Butler" gets more than twice as many Google hits as "Octavia E. Butler". Seems like something that could have been discussed first. Nareek 18:17, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Slight re-organization

I have slightly re-organized. Amongst the changes, I have removed the obituary links. It would fine to cite an obituary or two where the facts of her passing are recounted, and of course obituary's are rich sources for citing to for the many facts of her life.

To preserve the data for easy access, should someone want to read through them to find more important facts to include, here are the obituary links:

Cka3n 07:59, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] baptist category?

Octavia described herself in the quote included in the article as a former Baptist. The Category:Baptists self-describes as "Baptists are Christian people who believe and follow Baptist theology. Most belong to various Baptist denominations." To my understanding, this does not accurately describe Octavia Butler. I'm going to remove the category unless some discussion persuades me otherwise (and is properly documented in the article). (added) --lquilter 18:47, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] broken link

The following link is broken:

   * A Few Rules For Predicting The Future - science-fiction author Octavia E. Butler - Essence (magazine)

Fholson 11:12, 7 May 2008 (UTC)