There are a few writers whose work I am deeply in awe of (Arthur C. Clarke, P.G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, to name a few). But - I have said this before, and I will say it again - if I had to choose one god among writers, it would be Ray Bradbury.
It was with a sense of shock and loss that I heard about the passing of Ray Bradbury last evening.
While so many thoughts crowd my mind about my feelings for his work, any words that come to mind seem so trivial in the face of the greatness that is Bradbury. His work is truly an example of what happens when a person with limitless creativity forms a world of infinite beauty, infinite joy, infinite sadness, and ultimately, infinite possibilities. And THAT is what art should be.
It is obviously impossible for me to list my “favourite Bradbury stories” so I am not even going to try; suffice to say that his work covers the entire gamut of human emotion from happiness to sorrow, from peace to terror, while narrating stories that cover an entire scale from next-door neighbours on Earth to 2nd generation citizens of Mars.
Unfortunately Bradbury has come to be labelled as a “sci-fi” writer, but if you have read enough of his work, you will know that he cannot be compartmentalized as such. There is nostalgic simplicity in “I See You Never”. There is social commentary in “The Pedestrian”. There is drama in “The Toynbee Convector”. There is tragedy in “The Exiles”. There is fantasy in “The Fog Horn”. There is the supernatural in “The Witch Door”. There is a mystifying brilliance in “The Poems”. The Martian Chronicles. The Illustrated Man. Something Wicked This Way Comes. Dandelion Wine… In fact I would say his work cannot even be bound by the label of “prose” as there is sheer poetry in every sentence that he has created.
This is going to make me sound terribly presumptuous, but I am going to say it anyway: if ever someday, someone says that they see a slight reflection of Ray Bradbury’s writing in my work, I will consider myself truly blessed.
To end this blog, I will make a request of you: if you haven’t already, please read his works - your life will be so much the richer for it. Let us keep the works and memory of Ray Bradbury alive.
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