Authors: Ray Bradbury By Biography.com Editors and A+E Networks, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.11.16 Word Count 668 Level 880L

Ray Bradbury pictured in August 1975 Alan Light

Synopsis: Ray Bradbury was a popular American science fiction and fantasy writer. His best- known book is "Fahrenheit 451," a study of future American society. Bradbury won a special Pulitzer award in 2007 and is one of the most celebrated writers of the 21st century. He died in 2012 at age 91.

Early Life

Ray Douglas Bradbury was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Illinois. His parents were Leonard Spaulding Bradbury, a utility worker, and Ester Moberg Bradbury, who was from Sweden. Bradbury had a pleasant life as a child, which he later described in his writing. He was a huge fan of magicians. He also loved to read adventure stories, especially by L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

When he was about 12 years old, Bradbury decided to become a writer. He later said that he wanted to follow his heroes and "live forever" through his writing.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Bradbury's family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1934. He joined his school's theater club and sometimes befriended Hollywood stars. His first official pay as a writer came for writing a joke for a television show. After high school, Bradbury could not afford to go to college, so he went to the library instead.

"Libraries raised me," he later said. "I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years."

Literary Works And Honors

To support himself while he wrote, Bradbury sold newspapers. His first short story appeared in a Hollywood fan magazine in 1938, the year he graduated from high school. The next year, he printed his own fan magazine, Futuria Fantasia. He wrote nearly every article in it.

Bradbury sold the story "Pendulum" in November 1941. Bradbury became a full-time writer by early 1943. His first collection of short stories, "Dark Carnival," was published in 1947.

That year, he married Marguerite "Maggie" McClure. He met her when she worked at a bookstore. McClure supported the family for awhile so he could work on his writing for little pay. The couple had four daughters, Susan, Ramona, Bettina and Alexandra.

In 1950, Bradbury published his first big work, "The Martian Chronicles." It detailed the fight between humans colonizing Mars and the Martians living there. Bradbury's stories began to appear in comic books and on TV in 1951.

Bradbury's book "Fahrenheit 451" was published in 1953, and it became popular for its talk about censorship, or limiting what people can say or read. In 2007, Bradbury said that censorship was not the main theme of the book. He said it is a story about how television discourages an interest in reading.

He might not have liked television, but Bradbury wrote many screenplays, including one for the movie "Moby Dick" in 1956. Bradbury had his own TV series for a time until 1992, using his short stories.

Bradbury wrote for several hours every day for much of his life. He published more than 30 books, close to 600 short stories, and many poems and other works.

Bradbury was pleased to be asked to provide ideas for the U.S. exhibit at the 1964 World's Fair. "Can you imagine how excited I was?" he later said. "'Cause I'm changing lives, and that's the thing. If you can build a good museum ... if you can build a good world's fair ... you're changing the future."

Death And Legacy

Bradbury kept writing well into his 80s. He did not travel as much or make many public appearances, but he would give interviews and help to raise money for his library.

In 2007, Bradbury received a special Pulitzer award for his work. In his final years, Bradbury felt good about having achieved his dream of living forever through his books and writings.

Bradbury died in Los Angeles on June 5, 2012, at age 91. His writings, which have been published in 36 languages around the world, will be remembered for years to come.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Select the sentence from the section "Early Life" that BEST shows why Bradbury wanted to be a writer.

(A) He also loved to read adventure stories, especially by L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

(B) He later said that he wanted to follow his heroes and "live forever" through his writing.

(C) His first official pay as a writer came for writing a joke for a television show.

(D) After high school, Bradbury could not afford to go to college, so he went to the library instead.

2 What effect did starting Futuria Fantasia have on Ray Bradbury?

(A) When he started it, he met his wife, Maggie.

(B) When he started it, he wrote for a Hollywood fan magazine.

(C) When he started it, he would soon become a full-time writer.

(D) When he started it, he began making more money.

3 Which sentence from the section "Literary Works And Honors" BEST supports the idea that Bradbury was dedicated to this writing?

(A) The next year, he printed his own fan magazine, Futuria Fantasia.

(B) In 1950, Bradbury published his first big work, "The Martian Chronicles."

(C) Bradbury had his own TV series for a time until 1992, using his short stories.

(D) Bradbury wrote for several hours every day for much of his life.

4 Why was Ray Bradbury so excited to help with the 1964 World's Fair?

(A) He believed that building something well could change the future.

(B) He believed that he was extremely skilled at building museums.

(C) He believed that his ideas would make the World's Fair better.

(D) He believed that the U.S. exhibit would be one of the most important events in his career.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.