Ray Bradbury
1920-
Other Works
The Illustrated Man
Dandelion Wine
I Sing the Body Electric!
Classic Science Fiction Known primarily for such classic works of science fiction as The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury has written a wide range of short stories, novels, poems, plays, and nonfiction. According to one critic, Bradbury "writes less about strange things happening to people than about strange imaginings of the human mind." Bradbury says that his own imagination was fueled by reading a great variety of material.
The Early Years Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Bradbury spent his boyhood in the Midwest. By the time he had moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, he was already writing. At the age of 12, he wrote his own sequel to a novel about Martians because he couldn't wait for the next book to come out. Besides, he said, "I couldn't afford to buy it." In high school, he saved part of his lunch money to buy a ten-dollar typewriter so that he could write for the school newspaper. Starting at the age of 19, in addition to writing, he sold newspapers on a corner part-time until he was able to make enough money on his writing alone, three years later.
"Teller of Tales" Bradbury's writing is aided, he says, by having a memory that gives him total recall of every book he's ever read and every movie he's ever seen. His interests in technology and childhood imaginings combine to create an optimistic brand of fantasy. Bradbury says he would like the following to be written on his tombstone: "Here's a teller of tales who wrote about everything with a great sense of expectancy and joy, who wanted to celebrate things ... even the dark things because they have meaning."
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