SPOTLIGHT(^) C
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n 2000 I made my way up the
walkway of a house outside
of Seattle with my husband,
author Steven Barnes, to see his
longtime friend Octavia Butler.
We were greeted by the sound of
Motown music blasting through the
windows. We had to knock hard to
be heard.
Octavia answered the door, apolo-
gizing. “I listen to music when I write,”
she said.
And so began our 90-minute
visit, which Steve and I recorded
to write an article about her. I had
met Octavia—and Steve—only three
years earlier, at a Black science fic-
tion, fantasy and horror confer-
ence at Clark Atlanta University. For
much of that visit, I listened to her in
rapt awe while I marveled at where
I was sitting, embraced by books
cramming the shelves, being served
lentil soup and French bread by the
Octavia Butler.
With her six-foot height and a
deep, distinctive voice that made
listeners lean in to hear her every
carefully chosen word, Octavia was
a giant in life—and her power and
impact have continued to grow since
her death in 2006. A television series
based on her novels about telepaths is
in development at Amazon Prime Vid-
eo, and her papers are housed within
the palatial walls of the Huntington
Library Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens in San Marino. Her collection
is not far from where she grew up in
Pasadena, but it’s a universe away
from the humble beginnings that
framed her childhood.
In Honor of
Octavia Butler
Butler is credited with being the creator of Afrofuturism for good reason
BY TANANARIVE DUE
Butler,
circa 1984
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ESSENCE.COM I 72 I SEPTEMBER 2019