Octavia Butler (1947-2006) spent the majority of her prolific career as
the only major black female author of science fiction. Winner of both
the Nebula and Hugo Awards as well as a MacArthur "genius" grant, the
first for a science fiction writer, Butler created worlds that
challenged notions of race, sex, gender, and humanity. Whether in the
postapocalyptic future of the Parable stories, in the human inability to
assimilate change and difference in the Xenogenesis books, or in the
destructive sense of superiority in the Patternist series, Butler held
up a mirror, reflecting what is beautiful, corrupt, worthwhile, and
damning about the world we inhabit. In interviews ranging from 1980
until just before her sudden death in 2006, Conversations with Octavia
Butler reveals a writer very much aware of herself as the "rare bird" of
science fiction even as she shows frustration with the constant
question, "How does it feel to be the only one?" Whether discussing
humanity's biological imperatives or the difference between science
fiction and fantasy or the plight of the working poor in America, Butler
emerges in these interviews as funny, intelligent, complicated, and
intensely original. Conseula Francis is associate professor of English
and director of African American studies at the College of Charleston.
Her work has been published in the Langston Hughes Review.
