![]() They're thought-provoking portrayals that might work very well for classroom discussion. "The Evening and the Morning and the Night" is about genetics and personal responsibility, about getting and living with a hard, hopeless diagnosis. ![]() In the short story collection Bloodchild, at least two of the stories are worth a look for their disability themes: "Speech Sounds," which won the Hugo Award for best story, is about an epidemic virus that destroys various verbal abilities-so some people can no longer read, others can no longer speak, etc.-and about the social adaptations and maladaptations that might follow such a change. My left arm." Lauren Olamina, the main character in her best-known books, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, has "hyperempathy syndrome"-sometimes this condition operates as a burden, and sometimes as a gift, but always as a lived, visceral experience. The first line of her first novel, Kindred (1979) reads, "I lost an arm on my last trip home. (She also identified as dyslexic.) Thoughtful science fiction writers have, in recent years, been willing to explore the meanings of disability, and Butler was no exception. ![]() She was 58, and had in recent years experienced limited mobility. Writer Octavia Butler died last week, after taking a fall near her Seattle home. I think science fiction writers can do this if they want to. It is a writer's duty to write about human differences, all human differences, and to help make them acceptable. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |