Ray Bradbury

One of my all-time most favorite science fiction writers is without a doubt Ray Bradbury.

I find it particularly fascinating that most people are not too clear on how to classify this man among the authors of the world.  Or rather, people tend to classify him quickly based upon only a fraction of his work.

A recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize (2007), Ray Bradbury is the author of numerous books including Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles.  Most Middle Schools now-a-days make a few of his stories assigned reading, and he is included therefore in most Middle School English textbooks.  His has won shelf after shelf of awards—who knows where he stores all those trophies, plaques, and medals—and he is seen as a grand master among literary writers.

These literary writers often refer to Bradbury as a science fiction author or a fantasy writer, even both.  Meanwhile, the SF community over the years has drawn away from dubbing the man an SF writer.  Many of them contend that Ray Bradbury is a fantasy writer, as the bulk of his work lacks enough science to classify even trips through the stars and between the planets as “science” fiction.

And then, many who read his stories and novels find that a great deal of his wonderful writings contain no science fiction or fantasy at all, but are in fact mysteries or nostalgic writings, and often both at the same time.

But then when we look at his mysteries, we find that they are often lovely collections of wonderful and grotesque characters and rarely what are classified by most mystery readers as mysteries.

So what is Ray Bradbury?

He is Ray Bradbury, classified as himself, and worthy of shelf space through the eternities.  Worthy to be remembered among the great ones for all time.

This is my short tribute to an illegitimate father, whom I love and will love for as long as he lives.  And he’ll live, you may already know, forever!