Thursday, April 15, 2021
Literary Reviews
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels
No Result
View All Result
Literary Reviews
Home Science Fiction

The Power of the Ordinary – Pasadena Weekendr

admin by admin
August 22, 2020
in Science Fiction
0
The Power of the Ordinary – Pasadena Weekendr
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Lynell George

In these days of quarantined self-improvement, creative types–or those reigniting their artistic sides–have unlimited possibilities: online master classes, Ivy League courses via Zoom, and other high-powered–and potentially at high cost–experiences. 

Related posts

21 Science Fiction And Fantasy Books With Powerful Women Protagonists

21 Science Fiction And Fantasy Books With Powerful Women Protagonists

April 14, 2021
io9’s List of New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for April

io9’s List of New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for April

April 13, 2021

But making art doesn’t require extravagant trappings, contends Pasadena writer Lynell George, whose upcoming book chronicles the creative process of late MacArthur “genius” Octavia E. Butler. George will discuss her book and research at the Huntington archives, which hold Butler’s papers, in a free Zoom event from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday with William Deverell, a USC history professor and director of the Huntington-USC Institute for California and the West, and Karla Nielsen, curator of library collections at The Huntington. Make your reservation here.

A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler (Angel City Press), which hits bookshelves Oct. 20, is more than just a biography of the famed science-fiction writer who spent years working and living in Pasadena. It provides a glimpse of the creative life, offering ideas about how to look, listen and breathe–how to be in the world.

“You don’t need access to graduate school or attend expensive writing retreats,” says George. “You can achieve greatness with modest means. It’s more about habits and focus and believing in yourself. And that may not be easy. There was a lot of struggle in Butler’s life, but she would get up the next morning and do it again and again and again.” 

Indeed, the tools that made Butler a legendary writer were simple; hand-me-down books, repurposed diaries, journals, calendars and other everyday items. George spent countless hours in Butler’s archive at the Huntington Library (“pretty much nonstop since 2016”), scrutinizing personal items–including Post-it messages, old pencils, business cards, bills, letters and more–that propelled Butler’s art. “She used the same things we did, and she did something remarkable with them,” says George. “That stuck with me. She didn’t need fancy stuff.”

For George, these familiar objects offer an intimate look at Butler’s deeply private life, illuminating the common struggles of an artist trying to pay her bills, creating shopping lists and navigating day-to-day living. “She was very good about protecting her space and time around her writing. She put herself first, she calendared her time in and made contracts with herself and wouldn’t break them,” says George, adding that one contract allowed her a “reward with a movie on Saturday” if a goal was met.

Growing up in L.A., George frequently saw Butler speak at bookstores around town, including Eso Won and the now-defunct Midnight Special. “My mother was an English teacher and an Octavia Butler fan,” says George.

As a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, George often encountered Butler at events: in 2004, George flew up to Seattle to hear the venerable writer give the keynote address at the Black to the Future conference celebrating Black science-fiction and fantasy books. George asked Butler for an interview, but Butler passed away before it could be arranged.

For George, encountering Butler in the archives felt like an “unexpected way to spend time with her. You are not sitting across from the person you are interviewing, but you are looking over her shoulder as she is writing on a page, eavesdropping on her conversations. You get to see what she is picking up. You get to see all the busyness that went on in her brain.”



Post Views:
21

Tags: OrdinaryPasadenaPowerWeekendr
Previous Post

Amazon Working On Cooking Show With ‘The Grand Tour’ Star James May – Deadline

Next Post

London swings: How Britain invented the Sixties

Next Post
London swings: How Britain invented the Sixties

London swings: How Britain invented the Sixties

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Review: New book challenges the theory humans evolved in Africa

Review: New book challenges the theory humans evolved in Africa

3 months ago
Cytocom to Present at BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference

Cytocom to Present at BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference

2 months ago
Readings & Writers: Minnesota essay contest, Thunderbird Review, a Margi Preus book and more

Readings & Writers: Minnesota essay contest, Thunderbird Review, a Margi Preus book and more

5 months ago
‘Lucifer’ Star Aimee Garcia Co-Writing New ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Comic Book Series With Former Wrestler

‘Lucifer’ Star Aimee Garcia Co-Writing New ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Comic Book Series With Former Wrestler

8 months ago

Products

  • An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion £26.38
  • Reasons to Stay Alive £6.99
  • A Complete Guide to the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training: Second Edition (Further Education) £19.45
  • Salvation (The Salvation Sequence Book 1) £4.99
  • The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment: (20th Anniversary Edition) £7.91

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

RELATED PRODUCTS

  • The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion £21.44
  • How to Pass Higher Administration & IT: Second Edition (How To Pass - Higher Level) £9.09
  • The Art of Resilience: Strategies for an Unbreakable Mind and Body £12.13
  • Murder At the Lighthouse (The Exham-on-Sea Murder Mysteries) £0.99
  • Sweet Hope (Sweet Home Series Book 4) £3.99

PRODUCT CATEGORIES

  • Best Selling Books
  • Erotic
  • Science Fiction Books
  • Cooking
  • Business and Management
  • Education
  • Computing and IT
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Teens & Young Adults
  • Self Help
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • Romance Books
Literary Reviews

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • Denfeld student chosen to be part of next Freedom Writers book
  • Superb new books celebrate the era of airline tickets
  • We’ve quickly jumped from a literary age to a time of video games

Category

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

Recent News

Denfeld student chosen to be part of next Freedom Writers book

Denfeld student chosen to be part of next Freedom Writers book

April 15, 2021
Superb new books celebrate the era of airline tickets

Superb new books celebrate the era of airline tickets

April 14, 2021
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE

© 2020 literaryreviews

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels

© 2020 literaryreviews

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In