Classroom

Ray Bradbury's work is used in all sorts of classrooms, particularly in the US. Fahrenheit 451  is frequently adopted for Big Read programmes, and adaptations of his works (especially the short film All Summer in a Day and the graphic novel of F451) have extended his popularity.

Boston University recently published an account - in their One Day, One Class series - of how one lecturer uses the short story "I Sing the Body Electric" to illuminate ideas about robotics. Read about Joelle Renstrom's class here.

Whitman Honour for Bradbury

The only direct connection I know between Ray Bradbury and Walt Whitman is Bradbury's borrowing of Whitman's title "I Sing the Body Electric". Bradbury's short story of that title, dealing with an android grandmother, is of course titled in reference to Whitman's poem.

Now there is another connection. Among Bradbury's countless awards there is now a Champion of Literacy award, which was presented to him at the 2nd Annual Walt Whitman Birthplace Association's Benefit for Literacy Gala held at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. Of course, Bradbury wasn't there in person, but he gave his thanks via a pre-recorded acceptance speech.

The full story is here.

Dubious honours

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on the British website Good Show, Sir! which collects - parades might be a more appropriate word - the most laughable examples of science fiction and fantasy book cover art. Unicorns, cat people, bare-breasted ladies... and centaurs... seem to be among the most frequent visual elements on display there.

I took a look over my shelves to see which book covers I could offer to the site, and came up with an awful Bradbury cover, plus a few others. Little did I know that the 1969 British Corgi paperback edition of I Sing the Body Electric! would end up being the highest rated cover on the whole site.

Click here to see the cover, and the witty responses it garnered from the site's visitors.

I also posted this Harlan Ellison cover, which prompted a response from Mr Ellison himself.

Bradbury on Screen

If you're looking for a new study guide to Fahrenheit 451, you might want to consider this lively new effort from 60secondrecap.com. In ten bitesize video chunks, you will receive an insight into Montag's world. According to the website:

"60second Recap™ wants to make the great works of literature accessible, relevant, and, frankly, irresistible to today’s teens. Through 60second Recap™ video albums, we seek to help teens engage with the best books out there ... not just to help them get better grades, but to help them build better lives."

Judging by the first video, the creators are well aware that 60 Second Recap potentially exemplifies the very things that Fahrenheit 451 rails against!



Another Bradbury-inspired animation has appeared on YouTube. This one is based on "I Sing the Body Electric!" and the 1980s TV movie adaptation The Electric Grandmother. Animated by Eric Kilkenny, this is I Wonder Where My Grandmother Is: