Octavia E. Butler

Modern Masters of Science Fiction

by Gerry Canavan

I began writing about power because I had so little, Octavia E. Butler once said. Butler's life as an African American woman--an alien in American society and among science fiction writers--informed the powerful works that earned her an ardent readership and acclaim both inside and outside science fiction. Gerry Canavan offers a critical and holistic consideration of Butler's career. Drawing on Butler's personal papers, Canavan tracks the false starts, abandoned drafts, tireless rewrites, and real-life obstacles that fed Butler's frustrations and launched her triumphs. Canavan departs from other studies to approach Butler first and foremost as a science fiction writer working within, responding to, and reacting against the genre's particular canon. The result is an illuminating study of how an essential SF figure shaped themes, unconventional ideas, and an unflagging creative urge into brilliant works of fiction.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, History, Books About Books, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

248 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2016

About the author

Gerry Canavan is an associate professor in the English Department at Marquette University, specializing in 20th- and 21st-century literature. An editor at Extrapolation and Science Fiction Film and Television, he has also coedited Green Planets: Ecology and Science Fiction (2014), The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction (2015), and The Cambridge History of Science Fiction (2019). His first monograph, Octavia E. Butler, appeared in 2016 in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series at University of Illinois Press.

Reviews

[Rachel (Kalanadi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years, I have read two novels (Dawn and Wild Seed) and one story ("The Evening, and The Morning, and the Night") by Octavia E. Butler. I have always heard of her as one of the most highly-regarded women SFF writers, and one of the top two perennial picks when anyone lists black SFF authors (I usually say flip a coin whether #1 on the list will be her or Delany). Suffice it to say, I've become increasingly interested in reading her work over the last few years, and when given the opportunity to read Gerry Canavan's overview, I knew I needed to read this to better my understanding.

First, this book gave me real insight into some of the difficulties I've had with Butler's work. Why are her stories so dark? Why do protagonists make these challenging decisions? Why are relationships so heteronormative? Why am I uncomfortable with the power dynamics and lack of consent? Canavan summarizes and analyzes all of Butler's published work and a large amount of her unpublished stories and (many!) alternative drafts. His analysis was both very accessible and informative to me, as an interested reader who hasn't yet read her entire canon.

Very fascinating to me is how this book is just as much about the stories that Butler didn't write or didn't publish as it is about the ones she did. Canavan's access to Butler's entire, meticulous library of personal notes allowed him to read and then offer up to his audience the most interesting "what-ifs?" from her career, which was truly great. I was also very interested in how Canavan teases out the similarities and Patternist world building that underlies all of Butler's work. This was a great insight into a body of fiction, but also into how an author's imagination can be influenced long term by early experiences.

Butler's stories are about power, and power corrupting, and all things defined by their opposites: "It seemed very difficult for Butler to think of anything without immediately thinking also of its opposite(s) and of how all supposed opposites are dialectically intertwined. This extends even to the level of her plots: very commonly, almost characteristically, she would wind up writing the opposite of the narrative she originally set out to write. [...] Frequently her heroes turn sour, or become suspect, or seem to cross unthinkable lines of ethics and integrity in the name of survival."

I came away thinking that there are a lot of dark sides to Butler's career... and in her stories, as I have to conclude. But I think now I will find her stories richer and juicier to discuss. Butler had mantras, her "positive obsessions", and rituals or routines aimed at helping her write a "yes-book". And yet while she wanted to write a positive book, or a utopian story, ultimately every story she wrote seemed to reverse on her. For some reason, this particular fact about Butler's writing really struck me.

All in all, I found Gerry Canavan's Octavia E. Butler to be a fantastic and absorbing read. It finds a good balance between the academic and fan tones, which I think suits readers like me who want to know more about a favorite author, but aren't looking for a dense academic project. I am very eager to try more of the Masters of Science Fiction series now, and greatly look forward to reading more of Butler's novels, in a new, more informed light.

[Jersy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at Octavia Butler as a person and her published and unpublished work. I feel like I learned a lot about her relationship to writing and the themes and story beats that appealed and constantly returned to her. Don't expect a biography or in-depth literature analysis, you get glimpses of both but it's not the focus. It's a great overal presentation of her work, though.

[Juushika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography, seen through the Huntington Library collection as well as Butler's body of work, including readings of Butler's fiction which explore her reoccurring themes and tie them to her lived experiences as a black woman and an author. Canavan makes compelling arguments for a number of dichotomies: Butler's desire to write likable bestsellers, and the troubled, challenging pessimism that inspired her speculative fiction; the way her punishing perfectionism refined the themes of her work while unfairly limiting what reached the public eye; the things she was unable to achieve even as she revolutionized speculative fiction. His approach is, in a word, compassionate. I knew the broad strokes of Butler's story before picking this up, but Canavan reflects and elaborates and coalesces, integrating personal notebooks with published stories, and if the balance tips too far towards readings of Butler's fiction then I still found it engaging--and profoundly sympathetic. I love Butler; I didn't know how much, or that I could love a biography, too.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un fantastique essai sur l'oeuvre et la vie d'Octavia Estelle Butler présenté de manière chronologique de sa jeunesse à sa mort.

L'essai est extrêmement riche en terme biographique et d'analyses générale de l'oeuvre et on a aussi un bel aperçu des très très très nombreux brouillons (les survols de ses brouillons sont des parties super intéressantes de l'essai!!) et ré-écriture que Butler a écrit et ré-écrit au long de sa vie avant de publier les romans. Ça nous informe aussi sur certains livres qui n'ont jamais été finis (Parable of the Trickster) et leur contenu ainsi que l'idée générale de l'oeuvre de Butler, ses séries, ses directions, ses incertitudes, ses regrets.

Au niveau biographique, on s'intéresse un peu à la psychologie de Butler, notamment à travers certains passages de ses journaux intimes ou entrevues lorsqu'un événement marquant traverse sa vie (bourse d'écriture, mort de sa mère, sa décision d'aller à l'écriture, etc.) et ça nous informe sur une personne plutôt introvertie, très très exigeante envers son écriture et qui aimait les comics et Star Trek :)

Une très belle entrée dans son oeuvre, ça donne le goût de la lire encore plus!

[Bogi Takács]

I don't know who's the audience for this book... I have read everything of Octavia Butler's that's been published, and for me a lot of this was just re-summarizing the material. But if I hadn't read all that, it would probably have been confusing and full of spoilers.

I expected more biographic detail, even knowing this book was not intended to be a biography in the strict sense. But I got more along those lines from Conversations with Octavia Butler. (I recommend that one after you've read all or most of Butler's work. :) It's a great companion book.)

I expected big reveals from Butler's archives given that Canavan was the first scholar to get access to them, and the book was somewhat hyped related to that topic. There were some reveals, but it was more along the lines of "tantalizing hints" than anything in-depth.

I am still waiting for a definitive biography. I read this book with rapt abandon, but that's basically because I'm starved for anything about Octavia Butler. I did sometimes disagree with the analysis, especially in the case of her latter books.

My take-home message was that I would love to research in her archives...

Source of the book: KU Watson Library

[Glaiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Butler’s creative and critical work demonstrates that science fiction was never really a straight, white, male genre, despite its pretensions to the contrary, blackness, womanhood, poverty, disability, and queerness were always there, under the surface, the genre’s hidden truth.'

This is an accessible academic read that delves into Octavia E. Butler’s influential science fiction work in addition to highlighting her writing process with references from her documents as preserved in The Huntington Archive: https://paperwanderer.wordpress.com/2...

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent examination of not only Butler’s published works, but the half written stories and alternate timelines that were not seen in her lifetime. This book helped me appreciate more levels to her stories than I had intuited previously, and served as a kind of self-help book: even Octavia Butler struggled sometimes, but look at all that she was able to create and all of the lives she touched.

[Steven Shaviro · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with Letters to Tiptree, I went into this without having read any of Octavia Butler's work (don't worry, it's on my list) and without even knowing a whole lot about her. I feel that approach didn't work for me quite as well this time around.

I'd been expecting a biography. And Octavia E. Butler is a biography to some extent. However, it is equally concerned with analysing her work. Throughout the book, the author puts forward a theory unifying her work, looking in depth at her significant published and unpublished works and examining how they fit together. This necessarily reflects on her as a person--and in particular her views on humanity--but may not be satisfying for people looking for more details of her daily life. As someone who hasn't read the stories being examined, I found it reasonably accessible, though I have no doubt it will hold much more meaning for those who have.

Despite the heavy focus on her stories, I still learned a lot about the person. I found the examination of her writing process particularly interesting. Learning about the way she would almost compulsively write many different variations of the same story was intriguing. Her preoccupation with the business side of writing was also something I think many writers will be able to related to, even if it was amplified by her poverty. This drive to make sales is also shown as being in conflict with what she felt was her artistic integrity; she needed to sell her stories but resented making changes in order to make them more palatable to publishers or the public. Unsurprisingly, she is portrayed as a deeply unhappy person, never satisfied.

The tone tends towards academic and may be considered dry by some. Indeed, the book started to drag a little after a while.

Nevertheless, I found it an interesting read. This will probably appeal to fans already familiar with Butler's work.

This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of Octavia E. Butler's life and writing. Canavan writes with fidelity to both Butler's expressed wishes and the spirit of her work. This book offers readers a chance to spend some quality time with Butler--a real opportunity we should all take advantage of.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Octavia E. Butler by Gerry Canavan is part of the University of Illinois Press' Modern Masters of Science Fiction series. To quote from their website, "Modern Masters of Science Fiction is devoted to books that survey the work of individual authors...." In other words this is not a biography in the strict sense of the word. In Butler's case her life plays a very important role in what she wrote and how she wrote it so there is a lot about her life here. But that is not the focus of the book or the series. Just wanted to let any potential future readers know what they are looking at.

Canavan accessed Butler's archives and it provided a rich source for understanding not only why she wrote the way she did but also the process she went through. Drafts, notes, and every other kind of written material showed a writer who wrestled with her personal issues in addition to her writing. These personal struggles gave her writing much of its savory flavor.

One thing I was glad that Canavan did not do was try to delve too deeply into Butler's psychological history and turn this into some kind of second rate psychoanalysis of either the writer or her work. He also hopes that future researchers avoid making too much of Butler's personal life and even devotes part of the introduction to the ethics in using an archive that Butler did not have a chance to "prune" and take out some of the more personal pieces that might speak only to her depression or self-loathing at a particular moment.

While being familiar with her work will certainly make this a more pleasurable read it should still be of interest to those less familiar who may be more interested in the process itself rather than specific discussions of a work or works. I have read most of her published works and found this to be a wonderful way for me to both revisit the works as well as imagine variations based on changes she made or influences that helped her make the decisions she made. The writing is academic still quite accessible. Canavan uses minimal jargon and keeps any theory to a bare minimum.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry Canavan wrote a fabulous essay in Luminescent Threads about 'disrespecting Octavia' - about whether or not work in Butler's archives that remains unpublished ought to be published now, against her wishes. It's a thoughtful essay that acknowledges it's not an easy question to consider, and makes the unpublished work sound fascinating while admitting its flaws.

I knew Canavan was writing a biography of Butler when we asked him to write for us, and I'd been meaning to get hold of it... well, all year. I finally did and I finally read it and it is exactly as wonderful as I had hoped. 

To call it a biography isn't quite accurate. It is that, to an extent; you certainly learn the outlines of Butler's life, and Canavan is quite explicit in looking at the struggles Butler faced in finding the time to write, how much re-writing she did because she wasn't happy with work at various points, and other aspects of her life like receiving the MacArthur fellowship and so on. But this is also an extended critique of Butler's work - both published and unpublished, because one of the amazing things about this book is that Canavan had access to the many hundreds of boxes of papers that Butler left when she died so suddenly. They're stored at the Huntington, and their finding guide alone is over 500 pages in length. 

Makes me want to start printing out and filing emails. 

Each of the chapters is based around a particular creative period in Butler's life, which I liked because it foregrounds that the creative output is the focus of the book but/and that it happens in tandem with the actual events in Butler's life. Canavan traces themes across her work, as well as the ways in which so much of her fiction (12 published novels and 9 short stories!) can be seen as connected to one another: through early drafts and plot ideas as well as the motivating ideas. It makes me desperately want to read some of that unpublished work when I read about what she was trying to do in them... although Doro/Jesus sounds a bit weird even for me. 

This is not a long book and it's not a dense book. It's not a nitty-gritty, every-day-at-a-time biography, and it's not a highly technical literary analysis - it's far more approachable and engaging than either of those would be. This is a book for people who love Butler's work and want to know more about her and her work. It works brilliantly. 

[Elliot Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had wanted to read this since it came out, and wow, I wasn’t disappointed! It’s less a biography of Butler, and more of an extended, chronological reading of her work, including loads of unpublished material in her archives. Canavan does a really wonderful job of dealing with the unpublished archival material - he uses it to find new insights into Butler and her work, while not pushing it too far or losing sight of its relationship to her published oeuvre. He talks in the introduction about trying to find a properly ethical stance towards her extremely rich and also deeply personal archival collection, and I think he succeeds at that. I also got a lot out of Canavan’s extended consideration of the cynicism and pessimism underlying many of Butler’s stories, and his application of the idea of “reproductive futurity.” I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read Butler’s work, and wants to grapple with it and understand it more deeply.

[Kusu · Rating 5 out of 5]

She told us what would happen—“all that you touch you change”—and then she touched us, fearlessly, brave enough to change us. We dedicate this collection to her, coming out with our own fierce longing to have our writing change everyone and everything we touch.

These words of dedication in the book Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements aptly encompasses what Octavia Butler had to offer her readers through her work: the drive to survive and survive with vigor and authenticity.

This is a very informative book about Butler; her works and the ideas she always brought up in her stories. Her books might not be very large in quantity but the sheer force of her beliefs, ideas and dedication instilled in them make her writings a very compelling piece of literature.

[Taryn Moreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even Better Than I Hoped For

Octavia Butler is my favorite writer, and as a writer, myself, who’d just finished the last of Octavia’s public works, I wanted to round things off by reading more about her writing process, inspiration, influences, etc.

This book provided everything I’d hoped to find and even more. A thorough but highly readable look at Octavia Butler’s works and her writing process.

I’m more inspired than ever to write the not-quite-commercial works of my heart and to jump into the novels I really want to write instead of waiting to feel ready. After all, none of us knows how much time we have left.

[Alex Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is superb. Not only did it provide great insight into my favorite writer, her life and her writing process, but it was a swirling, glowing portal into parallel universes of unpublished stories. The summaries of these alternate versions publish novels and short stories, as well as hidden drafts of new tales both satisfied my need for more stories and simultaneously teased me. I highly recommend this book to Butler fans, but also to aspiring SFF writers.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read for any Octavia E. Butler fan. It carefully analyses her work (novels, short stories, even essays), talks about her unpublished and unfinished works and also gives us a look into her life and mind. Read this after you've read all of OEB's works though, because obviously there are spoilers about absolutely everything she's ever written.

[Geoffreyjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent portrayal and analysis of Octavia Butler’s complex legacy - there are very few books that seriously present us with her life and work. Must reading for any attempt to grapple with her body of work.

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

This essentially a paper about Octavia. If you're a huge fan and you want to learn more about her, and don't mind the academic tone you will enjoy this book. This isn't entertainment reading, it's more informative.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book based partially on newly released estate documents.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive dive into the mind of one of the most brilliant science fiction authors of our time who, as Canavan demonstrates, left us far too soon.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating subject matter with prose and approach that's electric.

[Heather King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Careful reading of the novels in biographical context, good use of archival sources.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prior to reading this novel, I had only read Butler's short story "The Morning and the Evening and the Night" and her novel "Wild Seed". I was also aware of her as an iconic figure in science fiction, feminism and 'afrofuturism'.

This biography of Butler takes advantage of extensive archives of both her personal journals and her drafts of all her fiction. Canavan traces both through various epochs of her writing, published and unpublished. What emerges is a portrait of a woman tortured by her negative view of the human race, yet constantly searching for hope. He traces her writings from her earliest teen years and shows how she consistently returns to certain themes, characters and scenarios. It is fascinating to realize how tortured she was by the inadaquecies she saw in her writing and her growing fear of writer's block.

Two key lines of thought struck me in particular. Firstly, the criticism that dogged her that her writing was not a 'serious' response to the challenges faced by African Americans. Secondly, an early argument that she heard and vehemently disagreed with that including black figures in science fiction inevitably turned a story into being about race. The legacy of her writing seems to strike a decisive blow against both these lines of argument and has helped incubate a new generation of diverse and insightful voices in science fiction.

I very much look forward to reading through Butler's published work, equipped with the insights of this biography.

I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.

[Cmadler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I began writing about power because I had so little," Octavia E. Butler once said. Butler's life as an African American woman--an alien in American society and among science fiction writers--informed the powerful works that earned her an ardent readership and acclaim both inside and outside science fiction.

Gerry Canavan offers a critical and holistic consideration of Butler's career. Drawing on Butler's personal papers, Canavan tracks the false starts, abandoned drafts, tireless rewrites, and real-life obstacles that fed Butler's frustrations and launched her triumphs. Canavan departs from other studies to approach Butler first and foremost as a science fiction writer working within, responding to, and reacting against the genre's particular canon. The result is an illuminating study of how an essential SF figure shaped themes, unconventional ideas, and an unflagging creative urge into brilliant works of fiction.

As a long-time fan of Butler, it was fascinating to gain insight into her writing process. I was particularly intrigued by the repetition of themes throughout her works, which at times only becomes apparent when looking at discarded drafts. I also was intrigued by the notion that the Earthseed novels were original just the prologue to an intended larger post-Earth series. Butler is arguably one of the most important science-fiction authors of the late 20th century, and this new biography is a must-read for all serious genre fans.

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Armel Dagorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting insight into Octavia Butler's life and work. Although I have only read her short story collection "Bloodchild", I enjoyed the work Canavan did, providing an overview of her career, analysing her novels with the help of the numerous drafts and abandoned projects her archive at the Huntington Library. I has given me a good idea of what books of hers I might want to pick up next (and, conversely, which ones I might not enjoy as much).

While I don't normally paid too much attention to writerly writerness, the almost adulatory emphasis put on writers' habits and mania, I did find this aspect of the book, the looking into Butler's way of working and difficulties, very interesting.

Lastly, the book gives us a look into the struggles of a black woman writing in a field dominated by white men, and her essay "Lost races of Science Fiction" which is included at the end of the book and was originally published in 1980, is more than ever important.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this biography; reading it before I started reading Octavia E. Butler. I'd seen on the shelves of many a bookstore and library; thought of taking a book down, and seeing this, decided to take the plunge. Reading about her journey; the prejudices she had to face, channeling those experiences into creativity; unique stories which questioned the very nature of prejudice, presumption, and conviction; while shaping characters and worlds made her a writer, who created a path for other writers wanting to explore the boundaries of what was possible. After reading this, I had to read Butler's work. I wasn't disappointed; not in this biography, nor in the work it inspired me to read afterward.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comprehensive and in-depth study of the life and work of black science fiction writer Octavia E Butler will no doubt be enjoyed and appreciated by serious fans and scholars of her work but it’s rather too academic for the uninitiated. I enjoyed learning about her life, but overall found the book too dry and detailed in its examination of her writings. I accept, however, that I’m not the intended readership and this rather neutral review and rating reflects my own enjoyment rather than the merit of the book.

[Carly O'Connell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish.
Very dry and dense read. More literary analysis than biography. It was a mistake to read this book before actually reading any of her works. May be a useful resource if you are writing a paper on Octavia Butler and her works or if you are a superfan looking for a deeper understanding, but it is not a good starting point for someone who is vaguely curious about her.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fascinating and impeccably researched glimpse into Octavia Butler's work and life. Particularly interesting is the information pertaining to Butler's unreleased work and early, alternate versions of her released work, which offer insight into how the woman worked and thought.