{"product_id":"a-handful-of-earth-a-handful-of-sky-the-world-of-octavia-butler-9781626400634","title":"A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler\u003c\/i\u003e 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, \u003ci\u003eA Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky\u003c\/i\u003e draws the reader into Butler's world, creating a sense of unmatched intimacy with the deeply private writer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere'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. \u003ci\u003eA Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky\u003c\/i\u003e brings Octavia's prescient wisdom and careful thinking out of the novel and into the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLynell George\u003c\/b\u003e is a journalist and essayist. \u003ci\u003eAfter\/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame\u003c\/i\u003e is her first book of essays and photography, exploring the city where she grew up. As a staff writer for both the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eL.A. Weekly, \u003c\/i\u003e she focused on social issues, human behavior, visual arts, music, and literature. She taught journalism at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, in 2013 was named a USC Annenberg\/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow, and in 2017 received the Huntington Library's Alan Jutzi Fellowship for her studies of California writer Octavia E. Butler. A contributing arts-and-culture columnist for KCET.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Angel City Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50626128216338,"sku":"9781626400634","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d2af9b12-e0a0-4785-99db-0d409d7ec2d0.jpg?v=1732649578","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-handful-of-earth-a-handful-of-sky-the-world-of-octavia-butler-9781626400634","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}