Introduction to Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920 Ray Bradbury’s Life Ray Bradbury Born in 1920: wrote during 40s-50s-60s Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920

Ray Bradbury’s Life He died last year: June 2012.

At age 12 – he wrote sequels to science fiction stories—for fun example Story: Flash Gordon

At age 15: He submitted his stories to the Saturday Evening Post Rockwell also published here

During WWII He wrote advertising for the Red Cross

His Works: Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction and horror stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into comic books, television shows and films.

His Inspiration To Write: He attributed to two incidents his lifelong habit of writing every day. The first of these, occurred when he was three years old, and he was taken to see  The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The second incident occurred in 1932, when a carnival entertainer, one Mr. Electrico, touched the young man on the nose with an electrified sword, made his hair stand on end, and shouted, "Live forever!" Bradbury remarked, "I felt that something strange and wonderful had happened to me because of my encounter with Mr. Electrico.” “I have written every single day of my life since that day 69 years ago."[

Hollywood The Bradbury family lived in Tucson, Arizona, in 1926–1927 and 1932–1933 but eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1934, when Bradbury was 14. The family lived about four blocks from the Uptown Theater on Western Avenue in Los Angeles.

Style Ray Bradbury was an American fantasy and horror author who rejected being categorized as a science fiction author, claiming that his work was based on the fantastical and unreal. His best known novel is Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian study of future American society in which critical thought is outlawed. His writing is known for its amazing detail and descriptive qualities

Awards In 1971, an impact crater on Earth's moon was named "Dandelion Crater" by the Apollo 15 astronauts, in honor of Bradbury's novelDandelion Wine. In 1984, he received the Prometheus Award for Fahrenheit 451. An asteroid discovered in 1992 was named "9766 Bradbury" in his honor. In 1994, he won an Emmy Award for a screenplay:  The Halloween Tree. In 2000, he was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. In 2003, he received an honorary doctorate from Woodbury University  On November 17, 2004, Bradbury was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts, presented by the president, George Bush and the PULITZER

SCIENCE FICTION

Based on real science but… Has imaginary/made up elements

Usually set in the future

Often has non-human characters Robots, aliens, creatures

Asks the question: “What if?”