One of the reasons that I love to read, in addition to experiencing other worlds, walking in the path of other characters, learning about the world around us, and escaping from reality for a short time, is to enjoy the beauty of words. Some writers are able to elevate their writing to a level of poetry and beauty that is exhilarating and joyful to read.
One writer, whose use of words, reaches poetic levels is Ray Bradbury. He is a writer not easily confined to one genre and whose work is defined by love of story. I have taught his work in several college classes in both Muhlenberg College and Lehigh University, and his writing has been an influence on me as a novelist.
I will offer two passages from his brilliant novel Dandelion Wine, a BildungsRoman or coming-of-age story, set in late 1920s in Green Town, Illinois. These passages are from the perspective of a boy who is beginning to see possibilities in life, both the external world and in himself.
The first passage is the opening of the novel:
It was a quiet morning, the town covered over with darkness and at ease in bed.
Summer gathered in the weather, the wind had the proper touch, the breathing
of the world was long and warm and slow. You only had to rise, lean from your
window, and know that this indeed was the first real time of freedom and living,
this was the first morning of summer.
Douglas Spaulding, twelve, freshly wakened, let summer idle him on its
early-morning stream. Lying in his third-story cupola bedroom, he felt the tall
power it gave him, riding high in the June wind, the grandest tower in town. At
night, when the trees washed together, he flashed his gaze like a beacon from
this lighthouse in all directions over swarming seas of elm and oak and maple.
Now . . . (1)
That is an extraordinary opening to a novel. It pulls the reader into the story with a seemingly simplistic prose, but within that simplicity is beauty and the poetry of the world being seen through young eyes.
Another passage shows Douglas at night time:
Douglas sprawled back on the dry porch planks, completely contented
and reassured by these voices, which would speak on through eternity, flow
in a stream of murmurings over his body, over his closed eyelids, into his
drowsy ears, for all time. The rocking chairs sounded like crickets, the crickets
sounded like rocking chairs, and the moss-covered rain barrel by the
dining-room window produced another generation of mosquitoes to provide
a topic of conversation through endless summers ahead. (33)
Both excerpts, in my view, are beautiful, compelling, and poetic. All writers should read and study Ray Bradbury.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. New York. Avon Books. 1999.
Bradbury is highly underrated and under-appreciated. I think of him as one of the great American writers.
Thank you for this tribute to him.
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You are very welcome, and I agree with you.
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I did not know that Ray Bradbury was such a poetic writer and that opening chapter is, yes, so beautiful. Thank you for sharing! K D 🙂
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You are so welcome!
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I reblogged this on my blog! K D
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Thank you so much!
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Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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I imagine that I don’t have to tell you again how much I love Ray Bradbury. I love to experience his words!
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I am not surprised in any way!
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Never read anything by Ray Bradbury, but this has inspired me to do so!!
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I am very happy about that!
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Reblogged this on K. D. Dowdall and commented:
Ray Bradbury’s beautiful metaphors in his opening chapter, is stunning and I love this kind of writing, so poetic in nature. Thank you Charles for another great literary post! K D 🙂
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You are very welcome!!
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I enjoyed reading this gentle story telling. Learned something. 🙂
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His writing is beautiful.
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This is one of his books that I haven’t yet read – and now I realise that I must. Thank you for sharing, Charles:)
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You are very welcome!
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Charles, this writing is so good that I read it over a few times. It truly is poetic in how it feels to the reader. I must read this book. Ray Bradbury is a gifted writer. Thank you!
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You are very welcome, and I love the sense of wonder about the world and words in his books.
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Yes, YES!
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He’s like the Dave Thomas of writing…. so down to earth we miss the subtleties of his prose and the magical power he has with imagery… yet we return to the drive-thru again and again ever wanting more!
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Now, that is a wonderful simile!
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Well chosen. The writing is lovely, clear and unpretentious.
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Thank you, and I agree.
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Ray Bradbury is one of my absolute favorites, and in the top 2 of authors from whom I’ve learned most about writing, the other being Hemingway. I have tons of underlining and notes in my copy of Zen in the Art of Writing, plus notes on a stack of index cards. And Dandelion Wine is such an awesome book. I have literally been brought to tears reading sections of it aloud.
My favorite Stephen King book, Hearts in Atlantis, which is one of his non horror books, as you probably know, has a passage in it that I copied down in my reading journal years ago, and it was one that mentioned Bradbury:
From pg. 511 in my copy:
“There had been magic that summer, even at the age of fifty he did not question that, but he no longer knew of what sort it had been. Perhaps he had experienced only the Ray Bradbury kind of childhood so many smalltown kids had, or at least remembered having; the kind where the real world and that of dreams sometimes overlapped, creating a kind of magic.”
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This is wonderful!
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I am now inspired to look for Ray Bradbury books!
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That is wonderful! I think you will enjoy them.
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