In this Book
- Becoming Ray Bradbury
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: University of Illinois Press
Beginning with his childhood in Waukegan, Illinois, and Los Angeles, this biography follows Bradbury's development from avid reader to maturing author, making a living writing for the genre pulps and mainstream magazines. Eller illuminates the sources of Bradbury's growing interest in the human mind, the human condition, and the ambiguities of life and death--themes that became increasingly apparent in his early fiction. Bradbury's correspondence documents his frustrating encounters with the major trade publishing houses and his earliest unpublished reflections on the nature of authorship. Eller traces the sources of Bradbury's very conscious decisions, following the sudden success of The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, to voice controversial political statements in his fiction. Eller also elucidates the complex creative motivations that yielded Fahrenheit 451.
Becoming Ray Bradbury reveals Bradbury's emotional world as it matured through his explorations of cinema and art, his interactions with agents and editors, his reading discoveries, and the invaluable reading suggestions of older writers. These largely unexplored elements of his life pave the way to a deeper understanding of his more public achievements, providing a biography of the mind, the story of Bradbury's self-education and the emerging sense of authorship at the heart of his boundless creativity.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. 1-6
- Part I. Awakenings
- 3. Hannes Bok and the Lorelei
- pp. 21-25
- 4. NYCon 1939
- pp. 26-32
- 5. Futuria Fantasia
- pp. 33-39
- 6. From the Fanzines to the Prozines
- pp. 40-44
- Part II. The Road to Autumn’s House
- 8. Living in Two Worlds
- pp. 53-58
- 9. Reading about Writing
- pp. 59-63
- 12. A New World of Reading
- pp. 75-80
- 14. On the Shoulders of Giants
- pp. 87-92
- 15. The Road to Autumn’s House
- pp. 93-97
- Part III. The Fear of Death Is Death
- 16. Exploring the Human Mind
- pp. 99-103
- 17. Exploring the Human Condition
- pp. 104-109
- 18. With the Blessings of His Mentors
- pp. 110-113
- 19. New Stories and New Opportunities
- pp. 114-118
- 20. Life and Death in Mexico
- pp. 119-125
- 21. Transitions: Bradbury and Don Congdon
- pp. 126-130
- 22. The Power of Love
- pp. 131-134
- 23. From Arkham to New York
- pp. 135-140
- 24. Obsessed with Perfection
- pp. 141-145
- 25. Dark Carnival
- pp. 146-150
- Part IV. The Tyranny of Words
- 26. Lifetime Partnerships
- pp. 153-159
- 27. The Illinois Novel
- pp. 160-165
- 28. Bradbury and Modernity
- pp. 166-172
- 29. Modernist Alternatives
- pp. 173-176
- 30. Finding His Own Way
- pp. 179-184
- 31. The Anthology Game
- pp. 185-191
- 32. Paradise Postponed
- pp. 192-197
- 33. Broadening Horizons
- pp. 198-205
- 34. The Miracle Year: Winter and Spring
- pp. 206-210
- 35. The Miracle Year: Summer and Fall
- pp. 211-218
- Part V. The Last Night of the World
- 36. Critical Praise, Private Worries
- pp. 221-226
- 37. New York, 1951
- pp. 227-231
- 38. Controversial Fictions
- pp. 232-239
- 40. The Wheel of Fortune
- pp. 245-248
- 42. Bantam and Ballantine
- pp. 257-260
- 43. Hollywood at Last
- pp. 261-267
- 44. Political Controversy
- pp. 268-274
- 45. Fahrenheit 451
- pp. 275-280
- 46. The Last Night of the World
- pp. 281-288
Additional Information
Copyright
2013