Jonathan R. Eller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036293
- eISBN:
- 9780252093357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036293.003.0037
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's anxiety about long fiction amid critical praise in 1951. By the time Bradbury's Miracle Year had run its course, he had successfully built a new story ...
More
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's anxiety about long fiction amid critical praise in 1951. By the time Bradbury's Miracle Year had run its course, he had successfully built a new story collection around the Illustrated Man framing device. And with the February 1951 release of his second Doubleday book, Bradbury was beginning to solidify his reputation as a major market book author. This chapter starts with a discussion of the critical acceptance for Bradbury's The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles, focusing on their favorable reviews, their publication in major American and British trade houses, and the mass-market paperback contracts Bradbury received for both of them. It then examines Bradbury's private worry about whether he would be able to build book-length success, similar to what he achieved with the Chronicles, out of an expansion of “The Fireman” novella. Finally, it looks at Don Congdon's advice for Bradbury to pursue the conventional realism of the Mexican stories and develop them into a 60,000-word novel.Less
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's anxiety about long fiction amid critical praise in 1951. By the time Bradbury's Miracle Year had run its course, he had successfully built a new story collection around the Illustrated Man framing device. And with the February 1951 release of his second Doubleday book, Bradbury was beginning to solidify his reputation as a major market book author. This chapter starts with a discussion of the critical acceptance for Bradbury's The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles, focusing on their favorable reviews, their publication in major American and British trade houses, and the mass-market paperback contracts Bradbury received for both of them. It then examines Bradbury's private worry about whether he would be able to build book-length success, similar to what he achieved with the Chronicles, out of an expansion of “The Fireman” novella. Finally, it looks at Don Congdon's advice for Bradbury to pursue the conventional realism of the Mexican stories and develop them into a 60,000-word novel.
Jonathan R. Eller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036293
- eISBN:
- 9780252093357
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036293.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This book chronicles the making of an iconic American writer by exploring Ray Bradbury's childhood and early years of his long life in fiction, film, television, radio, and theater. It measures the ...
More
This book chronicles the making of an iconic American writer by exploring Ray Bradbury's childhood and early years of his long life in fiction, film, television, radio, and theater. It measures the impact of the authors, artists, illustrators, and filmmakers who stimulated Ray Bradbury's imagination throughout his first three decades. This biography follows Bradbury's development from avid reader to maturing author, making a living writing for the genre pulps and mainstream magazines. Unprecedented access to Bradbury's personal papers and other private collections provides insight into his emerging talent through his unpublished correspondence, his rare but often insightful notes on writing, and his interactions with those who mentored him during those early years. They also provide insight into his very conscious decisions, following the sudden success of The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, to voice controversial political statements in his fiction. The book illuminates the sources of Bradbury's growing interest in the human mind, the human condition, and the ambiguities of life and death—themes that became increasingly apparent in his early fiction. It elucidates the complex creative motivations that yielded Fahrenheit 451. Revealing Bradbury's emotional world as it matured, the book highlights the emerging sense of authorship at the heart of his boundless creativity.Less
This book chronicles the making of an iconic American writer by exploring Ray Bradbury's childhood and early years of his long life in fiction, film, television, radio, and theater. It measures the impact of the authors, artists, illustrators, and filmmakers who stimulated Ray Bradbury's imagination throughout his first three decades. This biography follows Bradbury's development from avid reader to maturing author, making a living writing for the genre pulps and mainstream magazines. Unprecedented access to Bradbury's personal papers and other private collections provides insight into his emerging talent through his unpublished correspondence, his rare but often insightful notes on writing, and his interactions with those who mentored him during those early years. They also provide insight into his very conscious decisions, following the sudden success of The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, to voice controversial political statements in his fiction. The book illuminates the sources of Bradbury's growing interest in the human mind, the human condition, and the ambiguities of life and death—themes that became increasingly apparent in his early fiction. It elucidates the complex creative motivations that yielded Fahrenheit 451. Revealing Bradbury's emotional world as it matured, the book highlights the emerging sense of authorship at the heart of his boundless creativity.
Jonathan R. Eller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036293
- eISBN:
- 9780252093357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036293.003.0035
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's auspicious year as a writer during the winter and spring of 1950. Between the fall of 1949 and the fall of 1950, Bradbury submitted major works such as The ...
More
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's auspicious year as a writer during the winter and spring of 1950. Between the fall of 1949 and the fall of 1950, Bradbury submitted major works such as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man to various publications. His readers were beginning to make little distinction between his science fiction, his fantasy, and his semiautobiographical Green Town stories. Finally, Don Congdon was overcoming major market editorial resistance to Bradbury's stylistic originality and his specialized subjects. This chapter examines Bradbury's remarkable successes during the first weeks of 1950, which saw his science fiction tales “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “To the Future” being bought by Collier's, and “The Illustrated Man” by Esquire. It also discusses other significant developments in Bradbury's career, including a productive publishing visit to New York, his return to California to receive his “Invisible Little Man” award, and make his keynote address at the Bay Area society's annual banquet.Less
This chapter focuses on Ray Bradbury's auspicious year as a writer during the winter and spring of 1950. Between the fall of 1949 and the fall of 1950, Bradbury submitted major works such as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man to various publications. His readers were beginning to make little distinction between his science fiction, his fantasy, and his semiautobiographical Green Town stories. Finally, Don Congdon was overcoming major market editorial resistance to Bradbury's stylistic originality and his specialized subjects. This chapter examines Bradbury's remarkable successes during the first weeks of 1950, which saw his science fiction tales “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “To the Future” being bought by Collier's, and “The Illustrated Man” by Esquire. It also discusses other significant developments in Bradbury's career, including a productive publishing visit to New York, his return to California to receive his “Invisible Little Man” award, and make his keynote address at the Bay Area society's annual banquet.
Jonathan R. Eller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036293
- eISBN:
- 9780252093357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036293.003.0033
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's private failures in his first attempts at publishing novel-length fiction during the late 1940s. It first considers Bradbury's belief in writing as a purely ...
More
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's private failures in his first attempts at publishing novel-length fiction during the late 1940s. It first considers Bradbury's belief in writing as a purely emotional endeavor before discussing his frustrating encounters with the major trade publishing houses over his proposed projects that included an illustrated book based on the vampire “Family” stories; an outline for the Illinois novel, now titled Summer Morning, Summer Night; and a wide-ranging collection of Bradbury tales brought together under the still-unsold title story, The Illustrated Man. It also discusses Bradbury's disappointment stemming from Farrar & Straus's rejection of all three short stories that were part of The Illustrated Man, and how this rejection led Bradbury to lash out at Don Congdon.Less
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's private failures in his first attempts at publishing novel-length fiction during the late 1940s. It first considers Bradbury's belief in writing as a purely emotional endeavor before discussing his frustrating encounters with the major trade publishing houses over his proposed projects that included an illustrated book based on the vampire “Family” stories; an outline for the Illinois novel, now titled Summer Morning, Summer Night; and a wide-ranging collection of Bradbury tales brought together under the still-unsold title story, The Illustrated Man. It also discusses Bradbury's disappointment stemming from Farrar & Straus's rejection of all three short stories that were part of The Illustrated Man, and how this rejection led Bradbury to lash out at Don Congdon.
Jonathan R. Eller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036293
- eISBN:
- 9780252093357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036293.003.0034
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's professional and personal milestones that followed the crisis of 1949 involving The Illustrated Man. The insights that emerged from Bradbury's April 1949 exchange ...
More
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's professional and personal milestones that followed the crisis of 1949 involving The Illustrated Man. The insights that emerged from Bradbury's April 1949 exchange of letters with Don Congdon renewed the writer's confidence in his submissions. Since then, he worked with Congdon ever more closely to have his Green Town stories, science fiction tales, and fantasies get through the offices of the mainstream magazine editors. By June 1949, Congdon had at least eighteen active story files. This chapter discusses memorable moments in Bradbury's life and career in 1949, including his interaction with UCLA's writing group; his lectures on writing; and his meeting with Theodore Sturgeon and Walter Bradbury. It also considers Bradbury's readings during the period and concludes by noting the transformation of his concept of a Martian story collection into a unified work more in line with Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.Less
This chapter examines Ray Bradbury's professional and personal milestones that followed the crisis of 1949 involving The Illustrated Man. The insights that emerged from Bradbury's April 1949 exchange of letters with Don Congdon renewed the writer's confidence in his submissions. Since then, he worked with Congdon ever more closely to have his Green Town stories, science fiction tales, and fantasies get through the offices of the mainstream magazine editors. By June 1949, Congdon had at least eighteen active story files. This chapter discusses memorable moments in Bradbury's life and career in 1949, including his interaction with UCLA's writing group; his lectures on writing; and his meeting with Theodore Sturgeon and Walter Bradbury. It also considers Bradbury's readings during the period and concludes by noting the transformation of his concept of a Martian story collection into a unified work more in line with Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.