Cultural Exchange: Parable of the Sower
Earthseed Day & The Ampersand's First Ever Read-Along
Welcome to the Cultural Exchange Book Club and The Ampersand’s very first Read-Along. I’m so happy and grateful to be reading Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and I’m super excited to invite you to join me.
Why this book?
For those of you who don’t know, yesterday was Earthseed Day - the day that the novel’s protagonist Lauren Olamina writes the first entry in her journal. Within this diary, she records everything she experiences in the chaotic, broken America she currently lives in, including what happens on one terrible night that changes everything.
I say “currently” because, although the novel was released in 1993, the story begins on July 20, 2024 and the similarities to how things actually are now are spookily accurate.
I’ve been a huge fan of Butler’s work since high school, when I first read her novel Kindred (which has since been adapted into a much-loved but ill-fated TV series). Another of her standout works is the short story collection Bloodchild, parts of which still haunt me. The anthology is a great place to start if you’re unfamiliar with her work.
It was Butler who inspired me to write my own speculative fiction and it was a real career highlight to host a workshop as part of ONCA’s Butler-inspired Future Fictions Symposium back in 2018.
How will this Read-Along work?
I’ll read each journal entry in the novel on the day it says it’s written on and then post my thoughts in the chat. Take this as your open invitation to join the chat and post your comments too.
No worries if you join a little late, just catch up when you can and avoid spoilers by not checking the chat until you're up to date.
&, Of course, you will need to be a subscriber to access the chat.
⚠️Important note: I'll only write about a journal entry in the novel the day after so that everyone has chance to read it first. So, today in the chat, you’ll find my thoughts on Lauren's first journal entry, which begins with yesterday's date.
When we’ve finished reading the book, I’ll collate some of the most interesting thoughts into a bumper issue of Cultural Exchange, crediting all those who participated in the Read-Along.
See you in the chat!
xK
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I love this. I read this books a few years ago and been meaning to get back into it. This is such a unique way to experience it. I’m gonna try and keep up with you hahaha. I need to catch up with day 1