The literary life of Octavia E. Butler

Butler described April 29, 1986 – when flames ripped through the Central Library – as one of her hardest days. She was riding the bus to the library when she heard about the fire. “[The bus driver] could have announced the death of one of my friends and not hit me as hard,” she recalled. “This was the death of so many friends…” Afterward, Butler was deeply involved in the library’s restoration.