Butler is one of the futurists who will be honored in the Smithsonian’s expansive “Futures” exhibition, which will mark the Institution’s 175th anniversary and will debut in the Arts and Industries Building late this year. In developing science fiction writing as her craft, after disparaging a campy sci-fi flick, Butler became a master storyteller whose unique works revealed how members of the African diaspora could use their own power to shape alternative futures. Recognizing current inequality in many areas, including access to technology, Afrofuturists look beyond that imbalance to the opportunity for brighter futures. Afrofuturism has been defined as “the intersection of sci-fi and Black pride” and as “a reimagining of a future abundant with arts, science and technology as seen through a Black lens.” Works of Afrofuturism typically feature African iconography as well as elements of technoculture. Although her work began before the term had been introduced by critic Mark Dery in 1993, Butler has been situated in the vanguard of Afrofuturism, a phenomenon that celebrates the exploration of futures for the African diaspora. Her 1993 book, Parable of the Sower, was a New York Times notable book when it first came out, but in 2020-27 years after its publication, her prescient tale of a world upended by global warming and failed leadership reached the Times’ best-seller list. In 1995 she became the first science fiction writer to win a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Since then, Butler has gathered a large contingent of loyal fans who continue to see new possibilities through her work.īutler, who died in 2006, received two Nebula Awards, two Hugo Awards, and a lifetime achievement award in writing from the PEN America Literary Awards. Butler started writing at the age of 10 and begged her mother to buy her a typewriter. After seeing it, the budding storyteller said she knew that she could do something better. When she became successful, the award-winning author revealed that her inspiration was the unimaginative 1954 film, Devil Girl from Mars. Butler discovered the appeal of science fiction when she was 12.
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