Ray Bradbury, American literature legend, died on Tuesday at age 91, his publisher confirmed.
The author wrote more than 50 books in his lifetime, mostly in the genre of science fiction, horror and mystery. He is best known for his science fiction work such as “The Martian Chronicles,” “Dandelion Wine,” “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and his classic novel “Fahrenheit 451,” which has been controversially taught in school since it was published in 1953.
Several of Bradbury’s works have been turned into films, including “Fahrenheit 451.” He even scripted a few screenplays, like the 1956 version of “Moby Dick,” according to the Huffington Post.
“What I have always been is a hybrid author,” Bradbury said in 2009. “I am completely in love with movies, and I am completely in love with theater, and I am completely in love with libraries.”
The author continued writing into his old age. Even a stroke was not able stop the famous writer from working. The Associated Press said he was “turning out new novels, plays, screenplays and a volume of poetry.”
Bradbury’s career was prolific, to say the least, and he was recognized with several lifetime achievement awards, most notably the National Book Award in 2000.
“Everything I’ve done is a surprise, a wonderful surprise,” Bradbury said when he accepted the award. “I sometimes get up at night when I can’t sleep and walk down into my library and open one of my books and read a paragraph and say, `My God, did I write that? Did I write that?’, because it’s still a surprise.”
Danny Karapetian, Bradbury’s grandson, spoke about him to i09.
“If I had to make any statement, it would be how much I love and miss him, and I look forward to hearing everyone’s memories about him. He influenced so many artists, writers, teachers, scientists, and it’s always really touching and comforting to hear their stories. Your stories. His legacy lives on in his monumental body of books, film, television and theater, but more importantly, in the minds and hearts of anyone who read him, because to read him was to know him. He was the biggest kid I know.”
