![]() ![]() ![]() Lauren is ill-suited to this world where violence and cruelty are the norm as she suffers from a medical condition called ‘hyper-empathy’ (or ‘sharing’) that allows her to feel the feelings, mostly pain but also pleasure, of others when she witnesses them. Because of their wall and the weapons at their disposal for defending themselves, the inhabitants of Robeldo manage to live an existence that could qualify as comfortable from the standpoint of those outside. Like other gated settlements scattered across the country, Robeldo is protected by a wall from a mass of homeless people, drug addicts, sex slaves, beggars and bandits who turn to murder, torture and human trafficking to survive. The community in which Lauren resides, Robeldo, is located not far from today’s Las Vegas. Published five years apart, The Parable of the Sower (1993) and The Parable of the Talents (1998) tell the story of Lauren Oya Olimana, a young Black woman living in the US of the year 2024 beset by climate change, exacerbated capitalism, endemic extreme poverty, religious fanaticism and failed state institutions. It is not only a matter of interpreting the series in the light of the ‘living-system’ in which we - as biological and storytelling beings - live and die ( Katherine McKittrick 2021, 2, 9), but also of appreciating as much as possible what it allows, as a sociological fiction artefact, to teach us about our species, its (un)dying past and its (un)living future.Ī Song of the (Un)Dying and the (Un)Living Future of our Species To this end, I borrow the concept of brutalism from Achille Mbembe (2020) and autopoiesis from Sylvia Wynter (1990). In this post I focus on Butler’s Parables series of novels ( The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Talents (1993-98)), briefly summarising the series before examining its sociological relevance today. In any case, Butler’s books are read today not only in light of the identity politics that divide the United States, but also issues of climate change, nuclear war and human and animal genetic engineering. However, Butler was not interested in being a Black writer, but rather a writer writing stories about all people, as she explained in a 2000 interview with Charlie Rose. Indeed, the California-born author’s published works explore themes related to the African-American experience, such as the afterlives of slavery, racism, segregation, colonialism and eugenics in the US. Butler received her first Hugo Award, she was the first author to write science fiction from her experience as an African-American woman - what she called ‘to write myself in ’ in an interview with The New York Times. Butler’s Parables Seriesįrom EARTHSEED : THE BOOKS OF LIVING (as cited in The Parable of the Talents) On the Destiny of our Species: Reading Octavia E. Butler’s Parables series of novels, published between 19, reflecting on what these stories can teach us about our species, its (un)dying past and its (un)living future. ![]() Butler Scholarship was established in her memory in 2006, providing scholarships for young people of color to attend the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, where Butler herself began writing science fiction.Rémy-Paulin Twahirwa explores the sociological relevance of science fiction author Octavia E. For years the only prominent African-American woman writing science fiction, Butler has encouraged many others to follow in her path. “I write about people who do extraordinary things,” Butler has said, “it just turns out that it was called science fiction.” Her novels and stories have reached readers of all ages, all races, and all religious and sexual persuasions. Not merely a prophet of dystopia, Butler also wrote of the ways human beings might subvert their dismal destiny. Her work includes Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, Fledgling, and the short story collection Bloodchild. A 1995 MacArthur Genius Award winner, Butler transcended the science fiction category even as she was awarded that community’s top prizes, including the Nebula and Hugo Awards. BUTLER (1947–2006) is recognized as among the bravest and smartest of late twentieth century fiction writers. A writer who imagined the dark future we have chosen for ourselves in book after book, OCTAVIA E. ![]()
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