Friday, April 10, 1998
Ray Bradbury gives talk at UCLA
LITERATURE: Writer tells of successes at site where he wrote
‘Fahrenheit 451’
By Gregory Mena
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Ray Bradbury came to UCLA to give a speech, but no one had to
tug at his coat sleeves for him to open his mouth.
His audience, about 270 future producers, playwrights and
admiring readers, showed up to listen. But before their eyes,
Bradbury transformed himself from a story teller into a
teacher.
Bradbury, distinguished novelist and poet, recounted the
triumphs of his literary career in an unbroken run of anecdotes. He
talked about his longing for success, moments of unexplained
inspiration and finally, about his firm confidence in his writing
ability.
Bradbury’s Wednesday visit to UCLA precedes a new film version
of The Martian Chronicles expected to be out next year and a new
film version of Fahrenheit 451 currently being planned.
The evening with Ray Bradbury, sponsored by Melnitz Movies,
included a screening of Fahrenheit 451 following Bradbury’s book
signing and talk.
For those truly interested in cinema, Bradbury advised learning
the "history of metaphor" in all of the worlds great poetry and to
study all the great comic strips.
His enormous success notwithstanding, he was very generous with
encouragement. He urged people to dedicate themselves to their
writing, even to the exclusion of others if necessary.
"What I want for you is to be a maniac like me," Bradbury
said.
He also warned people about unrealistic expectations of success
and riches.
"It is a long road. You have to take the punches," he said.
"There is no guarantee."
It makes sense that Bradbury returns to UCLA to tell about his
new projects.
Bradbury wrote a rough draft for Fahrenheit 451 here at UCLA in
a span of nine days. Fahrenheit 451 is an eerie futuristic novel
about book burning which many people think of when they hear
Bradbury’s name.
As the story goes, Bradbury wrote the novel using a coin
operated typewriter in the UCLA library in 1950.
The machines allowed a half hour per dime. As time ticked away,
Bradbury wrote crazily and often had to relay between the
typewriter and a new source of coins. In the end, he finished the
draft with ninety eight dimes.
Aspiring writers in the crowd absorbed this story and others.
Third-year film student Jen Harrington, accepted Bradbury’s message
and encouragement.
"He’s incredibly inspirational," said Harrington, who plans to
direct in the future.
"I want to go home and finish my screenplay,." she said.
Another student asked Bradbury a practical question which
bothers some writers. "Do you ever sit down to write and nothing
comes out?" she asked.
His answer, which largely sums up his experience, was that
blockage results from choring over a "lousy" idea.
"I never worked a day in my life. I just played," Bradbury
said.
"That is the only answer to writing."
Along with his screenplays, Bradbury is currently working on
three other books.MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin
At the James Bridges Theatre, Ray Bradbury described his passion
for writing novels, plays and poems to UCLA students.