On this day in 1920, Ray Bradbury -- one of the 20th century's most brilliant and prolific authors -- was born in Waukegan, Illinois. And memories of that town -- trolley cars, lake breezes, immigrant neighborhoods, carnivals, and tree-lined streets -- filtered into many of Bradbury's stories, either as atmosphere-building detail, or as the fictional Green Town, or as the fictional Green Town which appears in at least 50 of Bradbury's stories, including Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Throughout his lifetime, he penned scores of short stories and dozens of books. Still, it wasn't until the 1950s, with the publication of "The Martian Chronicles," that he truly started receiving the recognition he deserved. In 2004, he received a National Medal of the Arts. He's also one of the few science fiction authors to have a star on the Walk of Fame. He received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, as well as an Emmy Award for his work as a writer on "The Halloween Tree" and scores of other honors.
It has been said before, but I can't remember where or by whom (maybe it was Harlan Ellison, in his introduction to Bradbury's poem "Christ, Old Student in a New School" in Again, Dangerous Visions?), that Bradbury's lovely, lyrical prose is the perfect gateway drug to tempt anyone you know who doesn't like science fiction (get better friends!) into the SF nerd life of debauchery and 2:00 AM debates over the proper ranking of Golden Age authors.
Today you're getting Ray Bradbury's advice on writing and living. I hope you enjoy it.
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