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  • A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler

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A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler

by Lynell George (Author) Format: Hardcover
4.8 out of 5 stars (118)
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A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler offers a blueprint for a creative life from the perspective of award-winning science-fiction writer and "MacArthur Genius" Octavia E. Butler. It is a collection of ideas about how to look, listen, breathe--how to be in the world. This book is about the creative process, but not on the page; its canvas is much larger. Author Lynell George not only engages the world that shaped Octavia E. Butler, she also explores the very specific processes through which Butler shaped herself--her unique process of self-making. It's about creating a life with what little you have--hand-me-down books, repurposed diaries, journals, stealing time to write in the middle of the night, making a small check stretch--bit by bit by bit. Highly visual and packed with photographs of Butler's ephemera, A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky draws the reader into Butler's world, creating a sense of unmatched intimacy with the deeply private writer.

There's a great resurgence of interest in Butler's work. Readers have been turning to her writing to make sense of contemporary chaos, to find a plot point that might bring clarity or calm. Her books have become the centerpiece of book-group discussions, while universities and entire cities have chosen her titles to anchor "Big Read," "Freshman Read," and "One Book/One City" programs. The interest has gone beyond the printed page; Ava DuVernay is adapting Butler's novel Dawn for television. A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky brings Octavia's prescient wisdom and careful thinking out of the novel and into the world.

A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky will be beloved by both scholars and fans of Butler, as well as aspiring writers and creatives who are looking for a model or a spark of inspiration. It offers a visual album of a creative life--a map that others can follow. Butler once wrote that science fiction was simply "a handful of earth, a handful of sky, and everything in between." This book offers a slice of the in between.

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  1. ISBN-10
    1626400636
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1626400634
  3. Publisher
    Angel City Press,U.S.
  4. Publication date
    30 Nov. 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    17.78 x 1.02 x 22.86 cm
  7. Print length
    176 pages
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Product description

Review

"A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler ... is more than just a biography of the famed science-fiction writer who spent years working and living in Pasadena. It provides a glimpse of the creative life, offering ideas about how to look, listen and breathe-how to be in the world."
--Brenda Rees "Pasadena Now" (8/22/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"... a stark picture of a writer struggling against unbelievable odds to realize her stated dream of becoming a successful author of science fiction.
George has done aspiring writers an immense service by making the road map and method contained in Butler's papers accessible through this beautiful book."--Smaran Dayal "Harvard Review" (5/21/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"... an intimate and intensely sympathetic portrait ...
... a biography like few others, a free-floating, unstuck-in-time sojourn through Butler's life where we are by turns learning from her as the accomplished master (the certified, bona fide Genius) she would become while simultaneously rooting for her as a young person who is still figuring it all out, full of self-doubt and scared of what failure will mean for the rest of her life. This is a literary biography, a work of creation and imagination in its own right; George is not afraid to put the reader in its subject's mind, to intuit what her life must have felt like. It is as much a novel as it is scholarship.
They ought to hand this book out in schools."--Gerry Canavan "Los Angeles Review of Books" (6/19/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky is a book about the writer's life that will be relatable to many others pursuing creative work.

Ultimately, A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky became a book not just for Butler's fans. By focusing on how Butler wrote, how she handled the struggles that came her way and how she stayed focused on her goal while dealing with life, it's essential reading for any writer."--Liz Ohanesian "Pasadena Star-News" (10/11/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky spotlights Butler with the same verisimilitude that Butler herself used to show us the future of our world.
...
A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky accomplishes many missions simultaneously. Whether the reader wants to learn more about what made Octavia Butler so influential or if they want to learn how to be as influential as Octavia Butler, Lynell George provides a roadmap that reveals Octavia Butler's secret recipe for expanding space and time."--Mike Sonksen "Boom Magazine" (12/9/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"A must-read for all the fans of this great writer's work. We knew Octavia and loved her--this is such a great book on her life and the craft of writing."--Maxine Wally "W Magazine" (2/11/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"Butler's taskmaster perfectionism and relentless financial fears are on display throughout "A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky," which presents an intimate, vivid portrait of the writer's life detailed with extracts from Butler's notebooks, journals, letters, bills, calendars, marginalia, shopping and to-do lists and a mountain of library slips."--Bliss Bowen "Pasadena Weekly" (10/29/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"George's book exists to motivate readers to maximize their potential. Maybe that's not the worst thing; indeed, it's the kind of book Butler would have cherished, a template for regaining confidence and focus when things look particularly bleak."--Ed Park "Harper's Magazine" (2/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"George's book offers a portrait of the writer that is neither biography nor a collection of annotated ephemera. Instead, A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky defies the typical language of literary investigation to hover above and around the work. To read it is like watching a researcher--George herself--as she pores over the traces Butler left."--Niela Orr "Alta Online" (11/2/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"George's book shows how Butler expanded space and time through her discipline and concentration and offers a roadmap for those who want to do the same."--Mike Sonksen "L.A. Taco" (12/9/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"To read George's book is to see a little of how hard Butler had to work for her calm and crispness, how much pain she encased in its smooth, thin shell. ..."--Jenny Turner "London Review of Books" (2/18/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"Ultimately, the reader is left with a wealth of inspiration and a sense of familiarity with the world of the otherwise private writer."--Grace Felder "The Portalist" (9/24/2021 12:00:00 AM)

Book Description

Explore this visual biography of Octavia Butler's creative process where Lynell George reveals how the acclaimed writer fashioned her unique life and art from limited resources--an intimate glimpse into a private genius's world.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Angel City Press,U.S.
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 30 Nov. 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1626400636
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1626400634
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 612 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 17.78 x 1.02 x 22.86 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 1,251,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars (118)

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  1. Lynell George

    Lynell George

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  2. Lynell George

    Lynell George

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    Lynell George is an award-winning Los Angeles-based journalist and essayist. She is the author of three books of nonfiction including "No Crystal Stair: African Americans in the City of Angels," and the L.A. Times Bestseller, "After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame," a collection of essays and photography, exploring the city where she grew up. As a former staff writer for both the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Weekly, she's long focused on social issues, human behavior, as well as visual arts, music, and literature. Her writing has appeared in various collections, including "Speculative Los Angeles, (Akashic Books), "Writing Los Angeles" (Library of America), and "Another City: Writing from Los Angeles" (City Lights). Her liner notes for "Otis Redding Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings" won a 2017 GRAMMY. Her latest book, "A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler," (Angel City Press) is a finalist for a 2021Hugo Award in the Related Work category.

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
118 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

  • lamae
    5 out of 5 stars
    awesome read
    Reviewed in the United States on 13 June 2021
    Format: Hardcover
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    I loved this book so much, I could not even put it on my bedside. It was on top of the covers on my bed. It took me to the places Octavia Butler went as a child and young woman in Pasadena. It took me inside of her head (as best one can get to such a place via the evidence). I learned about her writing process, but also about her self-determination. I know what it is like to have a dream and the need to conjure up the persistence required to achieve that dream. One can go hungry. One can spend a lot of time alone. Butler dared to follow her own vision and we're the beneficiaries. She wanted to write! She had a strong mother who made sure she had a typewriter! I have used Butler's Kindred in my classrooms and watched the intrigue on the faces of students from very different backgrounds. Butler's ability to take us into the past and future via words is a gift. The mementoes that the author had photographed for this book are a real treat, too. I have plenty of receipts from the days when I had to decide whether I was going to eat or not. It was affirming to see Butler on a similar journey.

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  • Farmerjanis
    5 out of 5 stars
    beginning to understand Octavia Butler's life
    Reviewed in the United States on 12 March 2024
    Format: Hardcover
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    If you want a glimpse into Octavia Butler's life, this is a good way to get started. Enjoyable and insightful.

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  • Devon
    5 out of 5 stars
    Great insight
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 July 2024
    Format: Hardcover
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    Well written and love the layout of the book

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  • Kirk Byron Jones, PhD, DMin
    5 out of 5 stars
    Soul to Soul
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 December 2020
    Format: Hardcover
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    It takes a thirsty soul to be filled with the soul of another. Lynell George’s deep desire to touch the essence of Octavia Butler’s writing calling and creating serves as a reservoir of insight and courage to us all.

    Soul to Soul
    Kirk Byron Jones, PhD, DMin
    5 out of 5 stars
    Soul to Soul
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 December 2020
    Format: Hardcover

    It takes a thirsty soul to be filled with the soul of another. Lynell George’s deep desire to touch the essence of Octavia Butler’s writing calling and creating serves as a reservoir of insight and courage to us all.

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    Thank you. We’ll investigate in the next few days.
  • Amazon Customer
    5 out of 5 stars
    What a phenomenal person!
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 November 2020
    Format: Hardcover
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    What a gift to the world! I really appreciated this very illuminating work. I luv Octavia Butler even more. Thank you for this inside view of our GEM!

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