#375: HNY! This month, let’s read and discuss “The Spectacular Life of Octavia E. Butler”

Join us on Sunday, January 29 to discuss E. Alex Jung’s outstanding profile

Happy New Year, Loyal Readers! 🎉

I’m wishing you a warm, dry, and peaceful day as I write this from cold, wet, and stormy California. To those of you in the Bay Area, I’m hoping you’re staying safe, and to the loyal readers across the country, my apologies for the weather you might be experiencing soon. ☔️ 🌨 ☃

Let’s kick off the eighth year of The Highlighter with January’s Article of the month, “The Spectacular Life of Octavia Butler,” by E. Alex Jung. Even if you’re not a fan of Ms. Butler (which you should be!), you’ll appreciate this well-written profile.

The Spectacular Life of Octavia Butler

Octavia E. Butler wanted to be a famous writer. So she manifested it into existence. “I shall be a bestselling writer,” she wrote in her journal. “This is my life. I write bestselling novels. My novels each travel up to the top of the bestseller lists and they reach the top and they stay on top. So be it! See to it!” In this beautifully written profile, the result of extensive research at The Huntington Library, E. Alex Jung reveals enchanting details of Ms. Butler’s extraordinary life. “I never bought into my invisibility or non-existence as a Black person,” she wrote in her journal. “As a female and as an African-American, I wrote myself into the world. I wrote myself into the present, the future, and the past.” (33 min)

For Butler, writing was a way to manifest a person powerful enough to overcome the circumstances of her birth and what she saw as her own personal failings. Her characters were brazen when she felt timid, leaders when she felt she lacked charisma. They were blueprints for her own existence. “I can write about ideal me’s,” she wrote on the cusp of turning 29. “I can write about the women I wish I was or the women I sometimes feel like.”

This month, I warmly invite you to read, annotate, and discuss “The Spectacular Life of Octavia Butler” as part of Article Club.

If you’re interested, this how things will go:

• This week, we’ll read the article

• Next week, we’ll annotate the article as a group

• The following week, we’ll listen to our interview with Mr. Jung

• On Sunday, Jan. 29, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, we’ll discuss the article

If this will be your first time participating in Article Club, I’m 100% sure you’ll find that you’ll feel welcome. We’re a kind, thoughtful reading community. Feel free to reach out with all of your questions.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter Article Club. Hope you liked it. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback. I’d love to hear from you.

To our 14 new subscribers – including George, Paul, Naomi, Karen, Mandi, Neal, Samuel, Dave, and Ivan – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Omar! Olala! Olga!), you’re pretty great, too. VIPs Camille and Gail, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are some ways you can help out:

📬 Invite your friends. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? Share with them today’s issue and urge them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you very much for spreading the word.

☕️ Buy me a coffee to express your appreciation of the newsletter

❤️ Become a paid subscriber for $3 a month, like Abby and Sara (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes, including exclusive audio letters from me to you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!