SPEAKER_03: Reboot your credit card with Apple Card. It gives you unlimited daily cash back that can earn 4.15% annual percentage yield when you open a savings account. A high yield, low effort way to grow your money with no fees. Apply for Apple Card now in the Wallet app on iPhone to start earning and growing your daily cash with savings today. Apple Card subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Savings accounts by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC, terms apply.
SPEAKER_05: Hey, can I let you in on a little secret? Ugh, I'm obsessed with the Drop app. Drop makes it so easy to score free gift cards just for doing my everyday shopping at places like Ulta, Sam's Club, and Lyft. So if you're like me and love a good shopping spree, download Drop today and join the secret club of savvy shoppers. And use my code, getdrop999 to get $5.
SPEAKER_01: AT&T and Verizon lure you in with their best phone offers only to lock you into a three-year phone contract, not at T-Mobile. Now with T-Mobile's best Go 5G plans, upgrade when you want. Every year or every two, you decide. Visit T-Mobile.com to take charge of your upgrades.
SPEAKER_06: Get two-year financing on Go 5G Plus and Next. One-year upgrade on Go 5G Next requires financing new qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six plus months with 50% paid off. Upgrade ends financing in any promo credits. Visit T-Mobile.com.
SPEAKER_00: Hi, it's Jenny. We're currently gearing up for season three of Encyclopedia Wamanica. In the meantime, we're mixing things up, bringing back some of our favorite episodes in many week-longish themes. Our current theme is storytellers. Stay tuned for a brand new season coming in September. Thanks for listening. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. Today we're talking about a woman who forever changed the science fiction genre, the one and only Octavia Butler. Octavia Estelle Butler was born on January 25, 1991. On June 22, 1947, her father, Lawrence James Butler, a shoe shiner, died when she was very young. So Octavia was raised by her mother, Octavia Margaret Guy. They lived in Pasadena, California. Octavia's mother worked as a maid to support the family. As a young child in the 1950s, stories were Octavia's escape from reality. America was in a period of transition amidst the post-World War II boom, the rise of the Cold War, and the start of the civil rights movement. Octavia was a very shy, tall child who kept mostly to herself. She loved books and started writing her own stories from the age of 10. Her love of reading was unhindered by the fact that Octavia was dyslexic. Though money was often short, to support her daughter's interests, Octavia's mother picked up books wherever she could and helped Octavia get a library card. When Octavia was 12 years old, she discovered a genre that would change her life, science fiction. She later said, "'It appealed to me more even than fantasy "'because it required more thought, "'more research into things that fascinated me.'" Octavia dreamed up alternate universes, drawing from sources including astronomy and botany. After graduating from high school, Octavia enrolled at Pasadena City College where she earned an Associate's of Arts degree in 1968. She later also studied at California State University Los Angeles and continued her education via writing programs. She took a course through the Screenwriters Guild Open Door program with award-winning sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. And while attending the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, she sold her first story. Octavia always focused on writing, but she also took on other jobs to support herself. She was a telemarketer, a dishwasher, and even a chip inspector in a factory. She would often wake up at two in the morning to write. After five years of rejection, Octavia sold her first novel. The book, entitled Patternmaster, is set in a distant future when humans are equipped with telepathic powers. It was published the following year and critics applauded the well-built plot and well-developed characters. Soon after, Octavia published two more novels, "'Mind of My Mind' and Survivor." Using the money earned from advances on her previous novels, Octavia took a trip to Maryland to research her next award-winning book, Kindred. She wrote the first and last chapters of the book during a three-hour wait at a bus station. Kindred is about a young Black woman who travels back in time to the 19th century U.S. South to save the life of her white ancestor. In a New York Times interview, Octavia said she drew inspiration from her mother's job. She said, "'I didn't like seeing her go through back doors. If my mother hadn't put up with all those humiliations, I wouldn't have eaten very well or lived very comfortably. So I wanted to write a novel that would make others feel the history, the pain and fear that Black people have had to live through in order to endure.'" For some, science fiction is a way to escape problems in the real world. For Octavia, science fiction was a way to shine a light on those problems. She used other worlds to examine real human experiences and address issues facing humanity. Her works touch on the environment, race theory, Black feminism, queer theory, and disability studies. She was a pioneer in the development of Afrofuturism. Octavia had a powerful certainty and drive in her writing career, evidenced in the archives of her work at the Huntington Library. She wrote, "'I shall be a bestselling writer,' and, "'I will find the way to do this. So be it, see to it.'" She was right. Octavia won many awards, including the 1984 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and Hugo Award for Best Novellet. In 1995, she received a Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation, becoming the first science fiction writer to do so. With this grant, she was able to buy a house for her mother and herself. In 2005, Octavia was awarded a place in Chicago State University's International Black Writers Hall of Fame. By that point, her books had been translated into at least 10 languages, selling more than one million copies. A year later, in 2006, Octavia died after taking a fall in her Washington home. She was 58 years old. Since her death, Octavia Butler's writing has become even more popular. Her work is featured on college campuses, and there are plans for some of her stories to be adapted for film and television. One of her books, Parable of the Sower, feels particularly prescient. Set in the 2020s, Parable of the Sower is based in a world that's largely collapsed due to climate change, class inequality, and corporate greed. In her work, Octavia exposed flaws of this world by creating others. Her uncanny ability to see, understand, and reveal deep-seated problems continues to inspire and provoke readers today. All month, we're talking about storytellers. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Womanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02: You're at a place you just discovered, and being an American Express Platinum card member with global dining access by Resy helped you score tickets to quite the dining experience. Okay, chef. You're looking at something you've never seen before, much less tasted. After your first bite, you say nothing because you're speechless. See how to elevate your dining experiences at americanexpress.com slash with Amex. Don't live life without it. Terms apply.
SPEAKER_04: If the Caribbean is calling, but your wallet is keeping you from answering, here's some great news. Now you can get more sand for your dollar on your next all-inclusive beach vacation with the cheap Caribbean.com Budget Beach Finder. Just set your price range, and the Budget Beach Finder will show you the best deals across tons of different beach destinations. Easily compare vacay packages in Mexico, Jamaica, Punta Cana, and more to find exactly what you're looking for at the best price possible.
SPEAKER_01: AT&T and Verizon lure you in with their best phone offers, only to lock you into a three-year phone contract, not at T-Mobile. Now, with T-Mobile's best Go 5G plans, upgrade when you want. Every year or every two, you decide. Visit tmobile.com to take charge of your upgrades.
SPEAKER_06: Get two-year financing on Go 5G Plus and Next. One-year upgrade on Go 5G Next requires financing new qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six plus months with 50% paid off. Upgrade ends financing in any promo credits. See tmobile.com.
