Events › Octavia's First Afronaut: History, Resistance and Black Futures

In honor of Black History Month, Octavia Butler scholar Briana Whiteside will provide insight into the author's earliest efforts to reimagine Black women’s lives and futures by discussing the character Alanna, from Butler's novel, Survivor.

In her early Patternist books, Octavia Butler established the themes of identity and transformation that echo throughout her writing and into her more well-known novels, Kindred and Parable of the Sower. 

One novel in that series, Survivor (1978), was not included in the re-published series compilation, Seed to Harvest (2007.)  Briana will talk about why that novel was rescinded (at Butler's request) and why the novel is an important touchstone in Butler's remarkable career. 

Briana Whiteside, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and is currently writing a book titled, Octavia E. Butler and Healing Justice. She also owns her own consulting and publishing business.

Please register.

Reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities is available by request. Email access@kcls.org at least seven days before the event. Automated closed captioning is always available for online events.