Parable of the Sower Project
Exploring connections between literature and environment
Our Mission
Octavia E. Butler's novel Parable of the Sower was published in 1993, but imagines Southern California in 2024, facing environmental and social collapse. Through funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, our project will use Butler's haunting story to explore humanist questions like what our responsibilities to one another and the environment are, how we create communities, and what gives meaning to our lives.
Upcoming events
RSVP for upcoming eventsOctober 15, One City One Book event at Contemporary Club 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Butler’s novel addresses issues we’re still wrestling with - the social inequities of climate change, the importance and fragility of community, and what it means to care for others. Bring your questions, large and small, and join a community discussion of the novel. Note: event runs 6:00-7:30, late arrivals welcome.
October 26, One City One Book event at Smiley Library, 2:00-3:30 pm (Graphic Novel edition)
When you couple Butler’s powerful prose with equally powerful visuals, the result is pretty spectacular. Join us for a discussion of the graphic novel adaptation, exploring the story itself as well as the effect of changing the media through which it’s told
October 30, Eaton Lecture, 6:00pm, Hall of Letters 100 (and zoom)
John Jennings, award-winning graphic novelist, will speak about his work adapting Octavia E. Butler's novel to the graphic novel medium, and what it means to visualize her text and Black Speculative Fiction more broadly. (Click here to join remotely on 10/30 at 6pm)
