If science fiction is a literary form that provides a symbolic arena for talking about contemporary life, then Butler explored the limits of that form:
Several years ago I wrote a novel called Dawn in which extra-solar aliens arrive, look us over, and inform us that we have a pair of characteristics that together constitute a fatal flaw. We are, they admit, intelligent, and that's fine. But we are also hierarchical, and our hierarchical tendencies are older and all too often, they drive our intelligence — that is, they drive us to use our intelligence to try to dominate one another.More fiction? Maybe.
But whatever is the source of our intolerance, what can we do about it? What can we do to improve ourselves? Of course, we can resist acting on our nastier hierarchical tendencies. Most of us do that most of the time already. And we can make a greater effort to teach children to resist their hierarchical impulses and beliefs and to channel what they can't resist into sports and careers.
Will this work? Well, it hasn't so far. Too many people will not, perhaps cannot, do it. There is, unfortunately, satisfaction to be enjoyed in feeling superior to other people.
This item from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is the best obituary I've seen. Fellow writer Steven Barnes offers a heartfelt tribute on his Web site. This profile makes for good reading. Here is one of the better fan sites. In 2001, NPR interviewed Butler and ran one of her short essays — find them both here.
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Article comments
1 - Natalie Davis
Octavia E. Butler was and is a hero of mine. I learned of her death early yesterday and have been in a state of deep grief ever since. Another relatively young person - an immense talent and an important voice - felled by an apparent stroke... it's a lot to bear. I pray she rests in peace with the knowledge that she touched many people, and I pray to meet her soon on the other side.
Thanks for remembering her so eloquently.
2 - Dave Nalle
She was indeed a great writer, regardless of genre. How did she come to die so relatively young?
And ND, I'm sure she'll wait as long as necessary for you to join her, so don't rush over there.
Dave
3 - Freda McDonald
I was very sad to hear about the passing of Octavia Butler. I absolutely loved her work. I just finished Fledgling and was looking forward to her next book. I miss her already.
Freda McDonald
4 - april Mojica
How alive she was. What a quiet, pensive presence she had. So statuesque she she stood...but when she spoke-so calmly, slowly with the startling depth her voice had-the elements whirled around her:a sorceress. She foresaw; she wrote worlds; she was disappointed. She asked, at the Yari Yari conference at NYU a few months back, how a country could go facist and not notice. Her impressions will continue to reverberate steady ripples.