gardenparty

wild seed, Octavia Butler (via blkqueerdo)

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (via wellconstructedsentences)

RAVENCLAW: “Prodigy is, at its essence, adaptability and persistent, positive obsession.” –Octavia E. Butler (Parable of the Sower)

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (via wellconstructedsentences)

IT’S ALL AMAZING IT’S GREAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE ALL THE DISCOURSE ON IT

Ayana A.H. Jamieson ( @ayanaahj ) is the founder and director of the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network (@oeblegacy). In December 2016, she led a bus tour through Pasadena and Altadena, California, exploring Butler’s hometown and the ways its landscapes and politics influenced her worldview. In this episode, Tom Carroll of Tom Explores Los Angeles (@tomexplores)  talks with Jamieson about this tour and the importance of geographical context in understanding Butler as a writer. 

“This family. What can I say. What an honor to have photographed them for eight years. A couple of months ago, the Social Office came to me and said they were thinking of using a family photo for this year’s White House holiday card. So I thought of Justin Trudeau. I know you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Earlier this year we hosted the Canadian Prime Minister for a formal State Dinner. Malia and Sasha attended as guests. Before the dinner, I did a family photo in the White House residence. But later, when the Trudeaus arrived, the two families spent some time on the Truman Balcony with their respective delegations. At one point, the Prime Minister asked if we could do a photo of he and his wife with the Obama family. Click, click, click. Then, he said I should do a photo of just the Obamas. I could have said, ‘Sir, we already did one before you arrived.’ But instead, I clicked off a few quick frames. And lo and behold, it was this picture that Justin Trudeau asked me to take which everyone loved as the choice for the 2016 White House holiday card.” —Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza

From Charlie Rose to NPR & Beyond

This is the last week to see Radio Imagination: Artists in the Archive of Octavia E. Butler before the new year! The Armory will be closed December 24 - January 2. Stop in today from 12 - 5!  

In a city as big as Los Angeles, with such a well-documented car culture, we often hear that you need a car in LA. But what can the experience of public transit offer a writer? What about an artist? In this episode, we take a ride from West Hollywood to Downtown with commissioned Radio Imagination artist and LA-native Lauren Halsey. Halsey’s work takes inspiration from her neighborhood in South LA, and the visual culture of small businesses throughout Los Angeles. Like Butler, she gets around on public transit, but there was a time when she used to drive…

Octavia Butler. “So be it! See to it!” Futuristic Witch Spell.