PLANK JUNE 7, 2012
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In January 2005 I received a copy of a special edition of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. It was inscribed by the author, and the inscription began:
Dear Stan, A lifetime ago—summer 1953—you flew to L.A. to feed me ice cream and advice on how to finish this novel! What a grand summer!
Actually we were together only four days, but it was grand, and there was ice cream.
In 1953 I was the editor-in-chief of Ballantine Books, and when we acquired Ray’s manuscript, his agent warned me about proofs. Ray, he said, was notorious for fussing with them at length. What was worse, when he was stressed, he over-ate. When I sent the proofs of Fahrenheit 451 to Ray in L.A., we were already behind in our schedule, and when he kept delaying his return of them, I decided to go out and get them.
He welcomed me. He was worried about some points in the book and wanted advice but was reluctant to ask for it. Now it was at his door—or rather at my hotel. We spent four days in my room, poring over the manuscript, with Ray, as his agent had promised, sending out frequently for ice cream—to help his stress. Well, I couldn’t let him eat alone, so we both put on weight. I felt as if I were dealing with a giant of enthusiasm streaked with doubt that was subdued by ice cream, which I forced myself to eat in order to help him.
I worked with Ray on one more book, The October Country, but this was a collection of stories that had already been published, so it needed little work. I regretted that I couldn’t go out there for that book, too.
Through the years I have not kept up with his writing as I wish I had, but I’ve seen the progress of Fahrenheit 451 to its present prominence and of course was gratified by François Truffaut’s interest. Others who admired Ray’s work in general include Bertrand Russell, Christopher Isherwood, and Ingmar Bergman. Ray must have known that he was one of those increasingly rare artists whose work attracts a wide audience, from popular up and vice versa. Humanitarian that he was, he must have liked that.
Stanley Kauffmann is the film critic for The New Republic.
5 comments
Unlike many Science-Fiction authors, Ray's work seemed to be more about the art and great writing than it was great ideas. The great ideas were in there, but so was an amazing amount of sentiment. He was a man who could make a short-story about a kid getting a new pair of sneakers, feeling like he could out-run the wind. Look it up, I think it's in "Dandelion Wine". But much of Ray's work demonstrated that Science-Fiction didn't have to be wooden characters in sense-of-wonder surroundings. No, it could be as good as mainstream fiction. Better, in fact, because he still imbued it with that sense of wonder.
- AllanL5
June 7, 2012 at 2:19pm
Fahrenheit 451 has had a profound influence on my life. Thank you for being its midwife.
- zardoz67
June 7, 2012 at 2:22pm
I know this might sound crude, but I am thankful that Stanley is still kicking and is well enough to write such a nice column. Don't forget, Ray Bradbury was the younger man seeking an older man's advice back in 1953
- blackton
June 8, 2012 at 12:16am
I am sorry, I knew Stanley was alive, but when I realized that Ray Bradbury, who died at 91, was the younger of the two and I just thought, wow. I want to have what Stanley Kauffmann has been having.
- blackton
June 8, 2012 at 12:19am
Funny end comment there blackton (me too, what Kauffmann is having). Thanks for posting this Stanley and 'making the sacrifice' to get the work to publication, one of my favorites a young kid devouring all the sci fi I could get my hands on. It's nice to have another connection to the book.
- jet
June 8, 2012 at 9:10pm