This was published in the Globe and Mail on June 8th, but I’ll take a chance and repost it here. Friend and prolific Canadian author J.R. Colombo’s remembrance is touching.
I REMEMBER RAY BRADBURY
JOHN ROBERT COLOMBO
June 8, 2012
I was in my early teens when I read The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. These are among his first collections of science-fiction stories, and many of these stories are classics. To this day I recall the thrill of first reading “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “The Third Expedition” from the first book and “The Veldt” and “Kaleidoscope” from the second.
I never met Mr. Bradbury, but I did receive a letter from him. When my book Mostly Monsters appeared in 1977, I sent him a copy, hoping that he might enjoy the subject if not the style. It consists of “found poems” about strange and sometimes sympathetic creatures from other worlds. I did not expect a reply.
But a week later, I received a lovely typewritten letter from Mr. Bradbury in which he thanked me for sending the book. He said he enjoyed reading it. His letter ended with three words that are engraved in my memory: “We are twins.” I have yet to receive a more appreciative accolade. I could not imagine being the twin of any writer other than Mr. Bradbury.