Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler

Cultural critic Morris (Close Kin and Distant Relatives) examines in this unique biography the “personal struggles, historical context, and creative obsessions” behind the work of Octavia Butler (1947–2006). Morris notes that Butler’s prolific oeuvre invites readers to imagine the future in a way that prioritizes seeking truth and rejecting tyranny, making use of “positive obsession,” a term Butler coined to describe her desire to write. Morris demonstrates how Butler spoke to America’s horrors, noting that her novels “pay close attention to the workings of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism to spin a horrifying near future.” In 1993’s Parable of the Sower, set in 2024, Butler reflected on Reagan’s presidential run and in doing so, foresaw Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to “make America great again.” As an “ardent surveyor of history,” Butler shed light on the antebellum South in her 1979 novel Kindred, which was inspired by a classmate of Butler’s who believed their enslaved ancestors to be cowards. Morris powerfully frames Butler’s work and career through her politics and personal struggles, including the way poverty “threatened to crush her spirit.” The result is a moving study of the life and creative pursuits of a literary pioneer. Agent: Tanya McKinnon and Carol Taylor, McKinnon Literary. (Aug.)