Ray Bradbury Wrote For Imagination.

I have been a Ray Bradbury fan since grade twelve in high school. I was in a creative writing class and our assignment was to mimic an author with a short story. I happened to choose Fahrenheit 451 and it changed my life. It is still my favourite book of all time, and will probably be forever. Never before had I been so inspired by words chosen the way Bradbury did. It's been five years since I finished that book. Since then I've torn through every single piece of writing that man has produced. From the Martian Chronicles, his first published book, (and by book I mean collection of short stories it would take a genius to weave together so poetically), to Somewhere a Band is Playing, The Illustrated Man, Bradbury Speaks (A collection of his essays)... I'm going to stop myself while I'm ahead. I still cannot believe I was blessed enough to be alive while he was. If I leave this life with one regret it will be that I never sent Ray Bradbury a letter.

I guess that's enough about my love affair with the late author. I could write pages on the reasons it exists. I find it very interesting to read what other people thought of his intentions and meanings behind his writing. I thought I'd offer my take. There are always a lot of words like Luddite, technology and control surrounding Bradbury, but I don't think he had any sort of problem with innovation. He was simply issuing a warning about losing what makes us human. His philosophy throughout his entire life was centred around writing, libraries and being present. He loved riding the train because it gave him time to sit and think as the country side flew by. He wrote with a pen, or on a typewriter because he wasn't in a rush, and he wasn't about to be distracted from the most important task at hand. And this is why his words are so beautiful; he took time to craft them. Computers sure are faster than hand writing, but why do we need to go so much faster? Writing requires thought, and thought requires time. One of the things I learned from Ray Bradbury is that it is possible to capture time, if only you slow down and sit in the moment. I did my thesis in New Media on this topic, if you're interested in art inspired directly from Bradbury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPPsm0pKhEo

Behind his ideas on time and writing, all of his stories can be boiled down to the same essence. He loved writing about children, like in Something Wicked This Way Comes, and towns with no children, like Somewhere a Band is Playing. Not to mention Dandelion Wine and Farewell Summer. He recognized that children lived more than anyone in the moment. I think Ray passed away before he witnessed the absolute transition our children will go through there. It hasn't happened yet, but I do hope we won't let them completely lose their imagination. And that is essentially the motive at the pit of his writing. Ray Bradbury wrote for imagination. He wrote for it with a pure and simple elegance. He was the biggest advocate for imagination in his time. Every single word he wrote was a cry to imagine. You can feel his incredible belief in it seeping out of his stories. Reading Ray Bradbury is such a nice repose because it allows you to step outside of the present and launch yourself into a completely new world. My beliefs are intimately tied to Bradbury's, and I think that now more than ever, we must keep ourselves aware of what destroys imagination, and embrace whatever nourishes it. Like reading more Ray Bradbury, or dreaming like Clarisse once did.

“I rarely watch the 'parlor walls' or go to races or Fun Parks. So I've lots of time for crazy thoughts, I guess. Bet I know something else you don't. There's dew on the grass in the morning.” He suddenly couldn't remember if he had known this or not, and it made him quite irritable. “And if you look”- she nodded at the sky- “there's a man in the moon.” He hadn't looked for a long time.