Ray Bradbury descends on Bakersfield Festival of Books - By N.L. Belardes

Legendary author Ray Bradbury greets the crowd

Ray Bradbury at 86 years of age reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien’s twilight years. You know the legendary photos of Tolkien. Makes you wish you had been around to hear a lecture from him on Shakespeare or Beowulf. Such wonder poured from his mind into books—what about the lecture halls? You’d think just one speech might have been a seed of literary wisdom, that once planted, would grow into something remarkable. Bradbury’s like the Tolkien of our era, only of sci-fi heroism. He represents an age in writing nearly gone, of a different literary genre world, yet he’s accepted the change of the modern era. He’s content with medical advancements and technological know-how of the New Millennium. He knows he made it to the future. Bradbury’s theory? Love…



Certain interviews list Bradbury as legendary, and he is. It’s almost blasphemy not to start a phrase with “The legendary Ray Bradbury”. And he was in the house—down at the CSUB Icardo Center at a Festival of Books; and he loves life and his career, still.

I was amazed to learn that Bradbury and I both read Edgar Rice Burroughs works of sci-fi, that we'd both seemed equally amazed at the John Carter of Mars series. Of course, he went on to write a series of shorts that were tied together into The Martian Chronicles. Although I've tackled sci-fi, my love is still literature and memoirs.



After listening to Bradbury speak, my thoughts weren’t, Here’s a legend, as much as, Here’s someone who understands what it means to be a writer. Perhaps Tolkien was just a common man after all, too. Bradbury struggled like the rest of us, and got lucky along the way. His speech was phenomenal, motivating, loving—an encouraging love letter to fellow humans to strive toward dreams. Even Malcolm Margolin was inspired. I thought he’d heard it all. My favorite line? Bradbury spoke elegantly as he sat in a wheelchair, his hair a tousle of white locks. He raised his hands to his head and spoke loudly, “I have an imagination theatre between my ears!”

My heart rumbled.

When Bradabury first began to speak I sat off to the side. I’d been visiting with Malcolm Margolin, publisher of Heyday Books. But then I felt strangely out of touch, out of focus. I moved to the front and plopped down where all the little kids sat. I watched the kids. I was a kid. Some grew bored, some had no idea who the speaker was. Some listened and fidgeted as kids do. Who is this cantankerous old guy telling me to love dinosaurs and planets I thought I could feel one of them thinking. Bradbury hardly moved in his wheel chair, except for his hands, which he used to gesture to the audience, pointing outward as if touching hearts and souls.



At 86 it can’t be easy to speak to a crowd. Yet Bradbury made talking about his life to an audience as fresh as if he’d been twelve yesterday. That would have been 1932. Imagine such a world nearly forty years before I was born—and that was yesterday to Bradbury—the heart of the Great Depression. And now here he travels the world and promotes books and theatre and film. He’s been tied to them all… He talked about Fahrenheit 451 becoming a book and a film. He didn’t talk about his battles with Michael Moore over Fahrenheit 9/11, and how his old title became sadly twisted into a Hollywood political machine. He spoke more of the positives: having helped start the screenwriters, screen actors, and directors’ guilds in Hollywood.

I heard about Bakersfield’s book festival from Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books a few months ago. Instead of purchasing a table, I decided to just cover the event for the Paperback Writer blog. And I’m glad I did. Though next year I hope Noveltown helps at a greater level, I think this year was great just to see what Bakersfield had to offer to a literary crowd.


Malcolm rubs his eyes. An editor's work is never done...

Before Bradbury spoke I talked to folks affiliated with literature in the Central Valley. Of course there was Mr. Posh himself, Malcolm of Heyday. He set up shop and sat quietly editing a manuscript. “I hired a protégé,” he said. I gave him a hard time about not answering emails—so a protégé is good for such a publisher who seems everywhere all at once. I can’t imagine being so busy: such a traveler. He’s a really funny guy who loves humor in life as much as inspiration through people. He met chingpea and immediately said, “What’s your story?” It’s tough to throw chingpea off, which Malcolm wasn’t trying to do.


I heard that chingpea kissed Malcolm's beard, searching for his cheek. We later discovered her lips hanging from his chin hair.

Chingpea smiled, I'm not sure how much of her story she shared. I'm certain they spoke with Matildakay about Noveltown and life while I wandered around to meet more literary folks. I love how Malcolm gains a quick fan club everywhere he goes. Yet in some regards he's just a shy man, curious about people's stories...

I met Rebecca Buckley, author and founding member of Wizards of Words out of Visalia, California. We talked about her stories being contemporary fiction and not romance novels. She passed me Midnight at Trafalgar Square and Love Has a Price Tag and I promised to read her works and check out her websites.


Author Rebecca Buckley, pictured on right with her sister

I should add that if you purchase a copy of Midnight at Trafalgar Square, you will be eligible to win a round trip ticket to London. Talk about a cool prize…


Illustrator Gita Lloyd talks to the crowd

Gita Lloyd sat drawing Clifford the Big Red Dog after she gave an inspirational talk to the crowd. She’s an amazing artist who recently created an ofrende (altar) for the local Day of the Dead celebration at Golden State Mall. She joked with me as I snapped a play-by-play of her drawing. You can see some of her really great works of art at the new Bakersfield airport terminal named after retired congressman Bill Thomas. I love Gita. I see her around town sometimes. Her in a her dark hat, dark clothes, cane, smiling, drawing, touching the life and energy around her...

Here Gita draws Clifford the Big Red Dog for a fan:















Mike Russo stood behind big stacks of some of his biggest sellers: books by Ray Bradbury and Gerald Haslam. If Haslam spoke at the event I missed it as I was an hour late upon my arrival. I’m sure he had something enlightening for the audience about his days as a kid from Oildale. You know, fistfights on the streets of Bakersfield sort of thing.


The Russos, both father and son lead the way in Central Valley Independent Bookstores


Author Gerald Haslam pens his John Hancock for a fan

When Russo saw me after I walked in the door he said, “Malcolm Margolin’s looking for you.” I’d just cancelled a Noveltown event with a Heyday author and got reamed online by one of their workers for not canceling sooner. At that point I expected Malcolm to crush my noggin’ with a double smack from a thick anthology like Highway 99 upside my head. Yes, I was feeling guilty. What can I say? There are ethnic parts of the Central Valley community who fight with themselves and won’t work with outsiders. What could I do? Life is about successes and failures. “I know a guy who builds bridges,” Malcolm said. “He once told me that if all the bridges he built never fell, then he’d be out of a job.”

I spoke with Sherry Wade, Youth Services Coordinator at the Kern County Library about youth programs. What could Noveltown do to help? We’re going to talk more. I gave her a copy of Lords and her eyebrows raised… Hopefully she’ll still talk to me after such a dastardly sweep of foggy Bakersfield prose. By the way, I was flattered beyond belief when Malcolm told me he liked Lords. I can’t get a better compliment, although Bakersfield thespian, Mark Tarango recently wrote about taking a copy of Lords to Ghana, Africa. I feel like a world traveler when my literature travels. It’s amazing the adventures that books go on.

Malcolm's words were golden.

Bakersfield harbors some of the highest unemployment levels in the state of California. In fact, there are a lot of negatives about Bakersfield that reflect on the economy, low paying jobs, high teen pregnancy and low literacy rates. Thank goodness there’s the Kern Adult Literacy Council who put on the Second Annual Festival of Books in Bakersfield. This was a much needed event that will grow (A St. Patty's Day hockey jersey raffle will benefit their program)

Why? You see, there’s a problem in Bakersfield regarding literacy rates and literary interest.

Sure, there’s a successful Independent Bookstore who hosts great events. Sure, there’s a Barnes and Noble and Borders and Writing and Reading Clubs. Sure, there’s a fledgling Indy Press in Noveltown and a successful blog in Paperback Writer to back it up. But where are the big events, the hosts of people, and throngs of literary culture?

You hear the crickets?

Malcolm and I have talked about the Central Valley and the cultural hardships it endures. “Bakersfield is marginalized from the literary world. And now you run a press that is within that margin.”

Yeah, I know. Malcolm is right. Noveltown started against the ropes in 2005. And with about two bucks in our grassroots pockets, that makes for a fight that’s not going to be a knockout. We have to get to round sixteen before we can really start pummeling our way into the world of literature. The key is what Cindy Wathen wrote to me not long ago: distribution and events.


You too can volunteer with the Kern Adult Literacy Council. Here, I meet one of the volunteers...

In comes the Kern Adult Literacy Council. They’ve sparked a part of the ongoing Bakersfield Renaissance that I have been talking about: film, music, theatre, literature and media all coming together. And that comes from their love in helping adults learn to read. So why not a literary event to help celebrate and bring people together and educate on what they do? People like Ashley Hurst who I met at the Bakersfield Festival of Books worked hard to help bring Bradbury, Heyday Books (they have a great valley series worth checking out), Russos, et. al. And they worked with the Bakersfield Californian as well. After talking with several people I learned the event grew from last year. But it’s going to take new faces, new ideas, new arms stretching around the literary world. Great job so far!


Rick Van Horne promotes his Bakersfield High School book on football culture: Friday Night Heroes: 100 Years of Driller Football



Believe me, I’m working on it from my end. I’d like to see all the writers I have been connecting to come to Bakersfield, to speak, to energize, to help spark the life and love that Bradbury energized in me.

Love.

It’s the key. But don't forget about not giving up, and committment, etc.

“And if anyone stands in your way, push them out! Throw them aside!” Bradbury yelled. It was his only truly angry moment. Flashes of his own past sparkled in his eyes. He was remembering.

I nodded. I understood. Most artists would.






Local Author and Illustrator give a talk on their Buck Owens book, Freight train Running...

After I spoke with the father of the Freight Train Running Illustrator (also the father of a local country singer) I met up with one of my professors: Dr. Nancy Edwards, a Bakersfield poet and Creative Writing instructor at Bakersfield College. I passed her a copy of my novel and we spoke about her upcoming Spring course. She knows Gary Enns of Cerro Coso's Metamorphoses Literary and Art Journal. I suddenly felt like the world was small (Due dates for submissions are coming up fast!)

One of my most interesting meetings was a brief talk with Robert Self of Baby Tattoo Books. I picked up several titles from him that I will be reviewing, including Alien Xmas by the Chiodo Brothers, Kings of the Road, by Ragnar, and Tales of the Sisters Kane by Christy Kane. These books are an eclectic look into photography, painting, drawing, poetry and storytelling. I have a catalog that lists their wonderful selection of books for kids and adults.


Robert Self talks to me during a brief interview about Baby Tattoo books


We talked about book distribution, artists, and more...

Robert is a big guy with big dreams and we talked about how he got into publishing books of art, poetry and stories. “I just did it. I didn’t know what I was getting into but knew I wanted to publish books. Distribution has gotten easier because I have a lot of titles to choose from now. And I work with artists who know marketing. Otherwise I won’t talk to them.” I looked at the copy of the Chiodo Brothers book he gave me. It was signed by all four brothers. They’re infamous for Killer Clowns from Outer Space.

That rocked my day.

They're also doing stop motion work for The Simpsons and a host of others. I really dug this little clip from Innards.

Now if I could just get a tour of the studio...

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Friday, November 10, 2006. You can leave your response.