Goingback gone back

Announcement from author Owl Goingback:

Hurricane Jeanne

After a full year of hurricane repairs, Owl and his family are once again living in their home. They would like to thank the many friends and supporters who helped them through a rather difficult time.

Horror films from Asia Extreme

From Sci-Fi Slacker:

ASIA EXTREME ... has begun releasing a great collection of Asian horror in the USA. Here is a listing of some of the recent releases plus reviews of many of the films.

New blog: Afrogeeks

It has become necessary

for a symbol, a nime, phenomenological psychopomp that can encapsulate everyone from Octavia Butler to Alice Coltrane and still leaves room for the unborn un-reality makers who perform in the void that we all coalesce from; A banner that those geeks of African descent who can quote Deep Space Nine can join under; A standard by which those Samuel Delany junkies who bump Outkast can stand by; A flag black comic book readers can wave to distinguish themselves with; A sign posted on the doors of houses where little nappy headed children are educated about orishas, griots, the symbology of the dollar bill, while given sonic guided tours of John Coltrane’s Interstellar space

On the Importance of Imaginative Literature (article by Vandana Singh)

Excerpt:

Science fiction and fantasy are often accused of being escapist, trivial, and mindless, portraying bug-eyed alien monsters, scantily clad women, spaceships and bizarre other worlds, while Real Literature concerns itself with humanity's true problems, the struggles of the Self to become whole in a hostile world and so on. Often the movies and books of science fiction and fantasy are in fact frothy and shallow. But I have recently read a book by Ursula K. Le Guin called "The Telling" that concerns itself with the dominance of a space-faring culture over one that it just beginning to take its technological first steps. It is about cultural survival and personal freedom under totalitarian rule. It is about self-imposed cultural censorship. It is about colonialism of the mind. Nothing to do with the real world, eh?

Read Vandana Singh's complete article here.

Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain

Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain
Edited by Andrea L. Bell and Yolanda Molina-Gavilán

From a review by Joe Sutliff Sanders, published in Strange Horizons:

This new collection is a godsend for people who want to see what a large part of the rest of the world is doing with science fiction. It's full of stories that are very much science fiction, not magical realism -- whatever that means this week -- or fantasy or ghost stories.

"Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out

"Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out
By Sierra S. Adare

At its core, this book is a social study whose purpose is to explore the responses of First Nations peoples to representative "Indian" stereotypes portrayed within the TV science fiction genre. Participants in Adare's study viewed episodes from My Favorite Martian, Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager, Quantum Leap, The Adventures of Superman, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Reactions by viewers range from optimism to a deep-rooted sadness. The strongest responses came after viewing a Superman episode's depiction of an "evil medicine man" who uses a ceremonial pipe to kill a warrior.

Sierra S. Adare, of Laramie, Wyoming, is an independent scholar, a documentary filmmaker for Educational Fundamentals, and a member of the Word Craft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. She has been a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University’s American Indian Program and an instructor at Haskell Indian Nations University.

WARNER BOOKS, SEVEN STORIES PRESS, THE CARL BRANDON SOCIETY, AND OTHERS ESTABLISH THE OCTAVIA E. BUTLER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Octavia E. Butler



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Linda A. Duggins
Senior Publicist, Warner Books
212-522-2926
Email

Nisi Shawl
Carl Brandon Society
Email

WARNER BOOKS, SEVEN STORIES PRESS, THE CARL BRANDON SOCIETY, AND OTHERS ESTABLISH THE OCTAVIA E. BUTLER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

New York, NY -- March 21, 2006 -- Warner Books, Seven Stories Press, Beacon Press, The Carl Brandon Society, Writers House, and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame announced today the creation of The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of the internationally acclaimed fiction writer, who passed away last month.

The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund will enable writers of color to attend one of the Clarion writing workshops where Ms. Butler got her start. It has been established to honor and affirm her legacy by providing the same opportunity and experience Ms. Butler had to future generations of emerging writers of color. In addition to her stint as a student at the original Clarion Writers Workshop in Pennsylvania in 1970, Ms. Butler taught several sessions for Clarion West in Seattle, Washington, and Clarion in East Lansing, Michigan, giving generously of her time to a cause she believed in.

On hearing about the scholarship, Walter Mosley commented, “Octavia Butler has been a beacon for thousands of us. She carved out a place in the darkness and made a berth where there was none. This award will continue her legacy making sure that others will find their way to harbor.”

The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund will be administered by The Carl Brandon Society. The first scholarship will be awarded in 2007. Please send your tax deductible contributions made payable to “The Carl Brandon Society” and note that it is for “The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund.” The Carl Brandon Society’s address is P.O. Box 23336, Seattle, WA, 98102. Visit the Carl Brandon Society website for more information on how to contribute.

“Octavia's death only a few months after her novel's publication was an unexpected blow, forcing us to weep about what we had lost, the unwritten dreams that might have flowed from this fine writer's pen….Octavia left us with Fledgling, one last piece of her heart and soul.”
—Tananarive Due, American Book Award recipient, author of Joplin's Ghost

“She was sweet, and kind, and generous, and brilliant. And now she is gone. Travel well, my friend. Rest deeply.”
― Steven Barnes, author of Lion’s Blood

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Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) was the first black woman to come to international prominence as a science fiction writer. Incorporating powerful, spare language and rich, well-developed characters, her work tackled race, gender, religion, poverty, power, politics, and science in a way that touched readers of all backgrounds. Butler was a towering figure in life and in her art and the world noticed. A critical force, she received numerous awards, including a MacArthur “genius” grant, both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement award.

"If Eleanor Roosevelt had been born black and with a rich, teakwood voice, she would have become Octavia Estelle Butler. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Estelle was a Great Woman."
-- Harlan Ellison, award-winning author and editor