I am excited to have video footage to share! Here are all the clips from Octavia Butler speaking on a panel discussion at UCLA in 2002. The full panel is on the Frank Herbert's Dune dvd (second disk, about 28 minutes). These are Ms. Butler's segments, brought to us by sonic1267 (4min3sec). The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgeyVE3NHJM Enjoy!
This video (and audio) interview was conducted by Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman on Nov. 11, 2005. During the 11-minute interview, Octavia talks about Fledgling and, more generally, about politics. I especially liked hearing her read from Parable of the Talents. Click here: Democracy Now! Interview
The Charlie Rose episode with Octavia Butler's interview is available online! The video of the entire episode is here on a fanpop Octavia Butler site. Octavia is the last interview of the episode. Thanks Cressida!
Here is a brief video clip from Space, a Canadian sci-fi channel. The 1-minute clip of the interview: http://www.spacecast.com/videoplayer_1606.aspx The originating page is: http://www.spacecast.com/spaceblog_1726.aspxIf the picture is cut off, try resizing your browser window.
A reprint of an interview conducted for a now-defunct journal, called Sojourner.
Possible Futures and the Reading of History
"I thought about doing a memoir, and I tried doing it, and it felt too much like stripping in public so I gave up. Either it would have to be dreadfully dull, or it would have been giving away things that don't altogether belong to me. My novels are the best of me. My novels and short stories are the best I have to offer..."
"Butler appeared on Science Friday in June of 2004, speaking in a panel discussion at the opening of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle." Check out this 33-minute discussion, available here: Octavia Butler, 1947-2006
I'm always on the lookout for video interviews so I was thrilled to find the website for Closer to Truth: Science, Meaning and the Future, a PBS show with discussions among scientists, scholars and artists. Here are the links:
AHA! MOMENT
Eye Witness: Octavia Butler
"Who would have imagined that when writer Octavia Butler gazed into a dog's eyes, her perspective would change forever?"
An essay on Oprah.com from May 2002.